Flag and coat of arms of the canton of Neuchâtel

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Coat of arms of the canton of Neuchâtel
Flag of the Canton of Neuchâtel
Flag of the city of Neuchâtel
Coat of arms of the Prussian Principality of Neuchâtel until 1848

The coat of arms of the canton of Neuchâtel is a tricolor in the traditional sense, similar to the flag of Italy in three columns from left to right showing the colors green, white and red. In the red third there is a symbolized Swiss cross in the upper right corner .

Blazon

The official blazon of the coat of arms of the canton of Neuchâtel reads:

Twice split by green, silver and red with a floating silver cross in the upper left corner.

It is called “in the left upper corner” because the left and right are heraldically swapped from the position of the shield holder .

history

See also the paragraph on the separation from Prussia in the article of the Canton of Neuchâtel.

Until 1848, the area of ​​the canton of Neuchâtel belonged to Prussia as a principality . At the time, another coat of arms was common, which corresponded to the heart shield from the coat of arms of the city ​​of Neuchâtel : a gold shield with a red pole, topped with three silver rafters. The post with the three rafters corresponds to the characteristic common figure in the coat of arms of the Counts of Neuchâtel, who died out in the Middle Ages .

In the course of the changes that took place in Switzerland after the Napoleonic occupation, the government of the still young canton decided on May 1, 1848, after protests, to finally break away from Prussia and join the modern federal state of Switzerland . The French language, which was already predominant in a large part of the area, gave rise to regional identification with the surrounding French-speaking cantons of Switzerland.

On April 11, 1848, the current form of the canton's coat of arms was determined with the colors green for independence (as is common in other cantons in Switzerland, such as Thurgau , which also underwent a change in color, or Vaud ), white and red from the city coat of arms accepted. As a sign of voluntary solidarity with Switzerland, the Swiss cross was adopted as an ornament in the upper right corner.

During the 19th century, both coats of arms were used for seals and official writings. In the 1950s, the cantonal government made a short-term decision to adopt the municipal coat of arms of the city of Neuchâtel, but failed in 1954 in a referendum among the canton's population .

Trivia

The resemblance to the flag of Italy is purely coincidental, but has been parodied many times.

literature

  • Louis Mühlemann: coat of arms and flags of Switzerland. 3. Edition. Bühler-Verlag, Lengnau 1991, ISBN 3-9520071-1-0 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wiki Genealogy: Coat of Arms of the Canton of Neuchâtel, going back to Mühlemann, s. Bibliography
  2. ↑ Coat of arms of the Canton of Neuchâtel in the Official Wappenlexikon