Switzerland Flags – Swiss Flag, Bunting & Hand Flags

The Swiss flag: a white cross on red

The Switzerland flag is a bold white cross on a red field, the arms of the cross equal in length and each one-sixth longer than it is wide. The white cross was the field sign of the Old Swiss Confederacy from the Battle of Laupen in 1339 and the red flag with the cross was carried by federal troops from 1840; the Federal Council fixed the design on 12 December 1889 and the exact red, Pantone 485, in 2007. The flag is square, one of only two square national flags in the world alongside the Vatican’s, and it is the model for the Red Cross emblem, which simply reverses the colours in honour of its Geneva founders. At sea and abroad Switzerland uses a rectangular 2:3 version, and that is the shape of the flag most buyers want on a pole or a wall; our Switzerland flag is that 2:3 flag in 3x2, 5x3 and 8x5ft with the cross drawn to the federal proportions, printed through so it reads correctly from either side.

National Day, the ski season and the Nati

Swiss National Day on 1 August, commemorating the Federal Charter of 1291, is marked by the embassy, the Swiss Church in London and Swiss clubs in Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh with lantern parades, bonfires and a great many flags. The ski season brings the flag out at chalet bars, Alpine-themed Christmas markets and fondue nights from November to March, and the summer is for Swiss wrestling, the Montreux Jazz tribute nights and the Geneva and Zürich festivals. In sport it is the Nati at the Euros and World Cup, Swiss tennis at Wimbledon, ice hockey and the Olympic skiers. Swiss restaurants, watch and chocolate retailers and the banks around Swiss Cottage and the City fly a flag all year.

Which size Swiss flag?

Chalet bars, garden poles and market stalls usually take the 5ft x 3ft Swiss flag. The 3ft x 2ft Swiss size fits a shop window, bedroom wall or short pole; the 8ft x 5ft is for a club or office flagpole or a stage backdrop; the 20x12in Swiss size goes on a Swiss supporter’s hand pole or a car. Brass eyelets set in a sewn header are fitted to every Switzerland size, with rope-and-toggle or clip fittings offered on DuraFlag.

Flagtex or DuraFlag?

A fondue night, a tournament or a Christmas market only needs Flagtex, printed on woven polyester. Flagtex Nylon comes at 5ft x 3ft in a lighter fabric that lifts in light air. For the pole outside a Swiss company’s UK office or a club that flies every day, DuraFlag adds weight with knitted polyester, double-stitched hems and a reinforced header. A Swiss flag ordered before 2pm leaves the same day; every grade of the white cross is stocked in and dispatched from our Stoke-on-Trent warehouse.

Switzerland bunting

For a chalet bar, a National Day garden, an Alpine Christmas market or a school Switzerland week, Switzerland bunting repeats the white cross on red in rectangle or triangle pennants. Swiss runs come in 3m, 5m, 9m and 20m lengths of weatherproof polyester sewn on a strong tape; combine with Austria and Germany bunting for an Alpine theme.

Hand flags and table flags

The tennis, the football and the 1 August lantern parade are the outings for Switzerland hand flags, sized 9x6in and 18x12in on wooden sticks. Place the 6x4in Switzerland table flag and base on a restaurant counter, at a watch retailer or in a classroom, with the chrome-mounted satin table flag for a bank reception, a boardroom or on a conference table. Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland’s other neighbours appear under world flags.

Swiss flag FAQs

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