1° August

Swiss National Day

Best wishes to our beautiful and beloved Switzerland

To send sincere congratulations to our beloved Switzerland, we decide to retrace the motivation for our celebrations. In just a few lines, we want to give an insight into the long years that have created a piece of Swiss history.

So let’s delve a little into the past, back to the year 1291 to be precise.

That was when the Federalism Pact was signed. A pact in which the canons of Uri, Unterwalden and Schwyz solemnly promised each other mutual support. Legend has it that the representatives of the three founding cantons, the “Three Confederates”, swore on the meadows of the Rütli above Lake Lucerne to liberate the country from the Habsburgs.

It was not until much later, when the 1993 referendum commemorated this alliance, that this date was officially recognised as a day of celebration throughout Switzerland.

But now for some interesting facts about the Swiss flag:

The origin of the red flag with the white cross goes back to the Battle of Laupen in the canton of Bern in 1339. To distinguish themselves from the other combatants on the battlefield, the Swiss soldiers sewed a white cross onto their chain mail, and later the cross also appeared on the weapons and flags of the Swiss soldiers.

…But that’s not all…

The choice of the Swiss flag was not so simple. During the Helvetic Republic (1798-1803), Napoleon Bonaparte decreed a green, red and yellow tricolour for Switzerland, which became the country’s first national flag. Immediately after the collapse of the Helvetic Republic, the tricolour flag was also abandoned.

The flag of the Swiss Confederation in its current form was created in 1840. Historians disagree on the reason for the choice of red as the background colour. Some believe it is an allusion to the blood of Christ, others assume that the red colour originates from the Bernese flag of the time. The square shape goes back to the standard format of war coats of arms at the time. In 1848, the red flag with the white cross finally became the national emblem and was enshrined in the constitution.

The Swiss flag has a special feature: it is square. Apart from that of the Vatican, it is the only flag in the world with this format. Therefore, the coat of arms and the flag of Switzerland do not differ as in other countries: both are basically the same, namely a square red flag with a white cross in the centre.

In gratitude for what Switzerland has given us and continues to give us, we join in the celebrations and wish you all a happy 1st August 2023.

Your team anfina