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Switzerland Flag - Swiss Confederation
SKU: CHF35P
The flag of Switzerland known as the Canton of Schwyz is believed to originate from one of three competing legends. The first was the Theban Legion who converted en masse to Christianity during the rein of Emperor Maximilian. The second was the Reichssturmfahne dating back to the 12th Century, and the third was the Arma Christi, in which legend states King Rudolph I of Habsburg in 1289 permitted the addition of a Christian cross on the formerly uniformly red battle flag.
The oldest known specimen of the Schwyz flag dates to the Burgundy wars of 1474-77. It was an asymmetrical white cross, drawn in greater detail, including the body of Christ. The equilateral cross became predominant during the 17th century. In 1339, white strips of textile were sewn onto the uniforms of the combined troops of the Old Swiss Confederacy in a cross formation at the Battle of Laupen. This was in contrast to the red St. Georges cross of Habsburg Austria, and the St. Andrew’s cross used by Burgundy and Maximilian. General Niklaus Franz von Bachmann used the white cross in a red field in battle in 1800 and 1815. The symbol was adopted as national symbol in the federal contract of 1815.
The flag of Switzerland is traditionally a red square with a bold, equilateral white cross in the center. Switzerland is one of only two sovereign nations using a square flag, the other being the Holy See. The Swiss flag is also flown in a more traditional rectangular form known as the civil and state ensign and is often flown on boats and residences.
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