Switzerland

Map of Switzerland

Flag of Switzerland




Switzerland's national flag is a red square (not a rectangle!) with a white cross on it, whose arms do not reach the borders. Until 1890 the arms of the white cross had the same width as their length, but then it was decided that they should be one sixth longer than wide. The Swiss Cross, as it is often called by the native population, is a generalization of the coat of arms of canton Schwarz, one of the three founding members of the Swiss confederation back in 1291.

History of  Switzerland

Switzerland evolved over many centuries from a loose alliance of small self-governing towns and states, beginning with the confederation of Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden in 1291, to a fully-fledged federal state of 26 cantons.
Despite periods of political, social and religious unrest, unity prevailed in the Old Swiss Confederacy. However, the French invasion of 1798 was to be a turning point in the country’s history, ushering in the first of several changes in government – the short-lived Helvetic Republic – that would continue until 1848.
The birth of modern-day Switzerland was accompanied by the creation of a federal constitution that laid the permanent foundations for national cohesion and the pursuit of the common good, while upholding the country’s cultural and linguistic diversity.