A world-famous national flag!

As so often at the beginning of August, I celebrated our Swiss National Day, August 1, with friends from the Swiss Korean Business Council (SKBC) in a Swiss restaurant in Seoul. Everything was perfect that evening: interesting people, lively discussions, typical and delicious Swiss food. The famous August 1st Weggen was also a must. There was just one thing that irritated me – the Swiss flag.

Our national symbol, the Swiss flag, which is very prominently positioned, is rectangular and not square. I also observe this phenomenon to some extent in Switzerland.

The August 1st Weggen has been around since 1959 and is a yeast pastry that is offered for the Swiss National Day celebrations on August 1st in Switzerland. | Photographer Daniel Thomas Faller

I still remember well that a few years ago at the United Nations, the UN in New York, the Swiss flag – also there in the longitudinal rectangular format – had to be withdrawn under pressure from the Swiss Confederation and replaced by a correct, square flag.

The Swiss are proud of their world-famous national flag.

But why is “our” flag square at all? At my table, I asked my friends for an answer. Unfortunately, without much success. However, this question has left me no peace. And who better to give me the answer than our historian and former 2-star general Urs Gerber, who occasionally writes an article in our magazine and has experience with flags, banners, and standards…

Why is the Swiss flag – unlike all other national flags – square?

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. The cross later appeared on the weapons and banners of Swiss soldiers. The square shape goes back to the common format of war coats of arms at the time. Unlike most national flags of other countries, the Swiss flag and coat of arms are always square.

Why a white cross?

As shown, the whole thing originated as a marking on the soldiers’ chain mail from the Battle of Laupen in 1339. The flag of the Swiss Confederation was created in its current form in 1840. In Switzerland, the term flag is used instead of ensign. Historians argue about the reason for the red background color. Some believe it refers to the blood of Christ, others assume that the red comes from the Bernese flag of the time.

Are there any other countries that have a national flag that is not rectangular?

Apart from Switzerland, only the Vatican has a square flag.

The Vatican became a separate state in 1929 after the signing of the Lateran Treaty. The smallest state in the world also has its national flag. While the yellow (gold) symbolizes heavenly power, the white (silver) represents earthly power. The papal coat of arms is on the white area.

When I think of a cross on a flag, the Red Cross spontaneously comes to mind. Is there a connection between the Swiss Cross and the Red Cross?

There is indeed a direct connection. The first emblem was created in 1864. The governments attending the diplomatic conference that adopted the First Geneva Convention in 1864 decided that a clear neutral sign was needed on the battlefield to protect medical personnel and facilities. They opted for a red cross on a white background, the negative of the flag of neutral Switzerland. The resulting symbol had the advantage of being easy to produce and recognizable from a distance thanks to its high-contrast colors.

The Red Cross, red crescent, and red crystal emblems provide protection for military medical services and relief workers in armed conflicts. Moreover, the emblems are also used by National Societies of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in each country for identification purposes.

The use and misuse of the red cross, red crescent, and red crystal emblems are clearly defined in law. The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols contain several articles on the emblems. Among other things, they specify the use, size, purpose, and placement of the emblems, the persons and property they protect, who can use them, what respect for the emblems entails, and the penalties for misuse. Moreover, they also require each state party to the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols to enact legislation defining the use and preventing the misuse of the emblems on the national level.

I keep noticing that the white cross on a red background – mainly abroad – is “misused” for other purposes, for example as a marker for paramedics.

The Swiss coat of arms is legally protected. With the Federal Constitution of 1848, the coat of arms was enshrined in the constitution as the national emblem of Switzerland. The Federal Act on the Protection of the Swiss Coat of Arms sets out the legal framework.

The world’s largest Swiss flag is unfurled on the Säntis in eastern Switzerland on the eve of the national holiday. The flag, which measures 80 by 80 meters and weighs more than 700 kilograms, is mounted on Eastern Switzerland’s local mountain in a spectacular display. | Photo by Säntis-Schwebebahn AG

Will the Swiss Confederation now exert pressure on the Swiss restaurant in Seoul to fly a correct flag there too? I will certainly bring an original flag with me on one of my next visits. This one will be square…