Flag of Switzerland
Description
- A white cross on a red square field — one of only two square sovereign flags
- The design dates to the Old Swiss Confederacy and was formally standardised in 1841
- Construction: a square red field (1:1 ratio, unique among national flags along with Vatican City)
- A white equilateral Greek cross is centred, each arm one-sixth longer than it is wide
- The cross extends to within 1/6 of each edge
Trivia
- The Swiss flag and the Vatican flag are the only two square sovereign-state flags
- The white cross represents neutrality and independence
- Switzerland's flag has remained unchanged since 1841
Flag of Switzerland
Switzerland's flag displays a white Greek cross on a square red field — one of only two square sovereign flags (the other being Vatican City). The white cross dates to the 13th or 14th century when Swiss soldiers sewed white crosses onto chain mail for battlefield identification.
The white cross symbolizes Christianity and the Old Confederacy's field sign. The red background's origin remains debated; some historians trace it to the blood of Christ, others to the Bernese flag. During the Helvetic Republic under Napoleon (1798-1803), a tricolour was briefly used, but the Swiss Cross was restored in 1814.
json:data
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"title": "Flag of Switzerland",
"ratio": "1:1",
"use": {
"as": "national flag and ensign",
"since": "1841"
},
"colors": [
{
"color": "red",
"hex": "#DA291C",
"cmyk": "0/100/100/0",
"pantone": "485 C",
"note": "Represents courage and determination"
},
{
"color": "white",
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"cmyk": "0/0/0/0",
"note": "Represents peace; forms the Swiss cross with equilateral arms"
}
],
"desc": "- A white cross on a red square field — one of only two square sovereign flags\n - The design dates to the Old Swiss Confederacy and was formally standardised in 1841\n - **Construction:** a square red field (1:1 ratio, unique among national flags along with Vatican City)\n - A white equilateral Greek cross is centred, each arm one-sixth longer than it is wide\n - The cross extends to within 1/6 of each edge",
"article": "switzerland/flag.md",
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"officialName": "Swiss Confederation",
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"cs": "switzerland/flag.cs.svg",
"trivia": "- The Swiss flag and the Vatican flag are the only two square sovereign-state flags\n - The white cross represents neutrality and independence\n - Switzerland's flag has remained unchanged since 1841",
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"_name": "Switzerland",
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"_namePart": ""
}