Flag and coat of arms of the canton of Valais

Coat of arms of the canton of Valais

Coat of arms of the diocese and the city of Sion / Sion

Seal from 1582

Coat of arms from 1802

Coat of arms in today's form on the Nufenen Pass

The flag and coat of arms of the canton of Valais shows in two columns on the heraldic right side (seen from the observer left) four five-pointed red stars on a white background, on the heraldic left side (seen from the observer right) four similar stars white on a red background. In the middle, five stars can be seen cut in half, half of which are in the white resp. protrude red ground. The 13 stars stand for the 13 tens or districts of the canton.

Blazon

The official blazon of the coat of arms reads:

Split by silver and red with 13 stake 4,5,4 placed five-pointed stars in alternated tinctures.

history

The canton's coat of arms is based on that of King Rudolf III. in 999 AD the bishopric / diocese of Sitten was given back the coat of arms, which was first mentioned in writing in 1220.

Since its origins it has shown the colors silver and red, the colors were no longer adjusted (apart from the usual color change from silver to white). In 1507 it was first proven with the stars as the coat of arms of the canton. However, there were still nine stars to be seen, five heraldically on the left and four on the right, no stars halved in the middle. Between 1511 and 1519 manuscripts can be seen in which coats of arms with six stars can be seen. In the later 16th century the number of stars varied greatly, in all sources without exception, 6, 7, 9, 11 and even 16 stars were recorded. When the canton of Valais became a republic in the late 16th century , the middle star appears for the first time, it shows seven stars with the division 3 left, 1 middle, 3 right, the official seal of this time comes from Year 1582. In the middle of the 18th century, the coat of arms slowly crystallized into its present form. The seven stars were expanded to 12, which corresponded to the 12 districts of the canton. The 12 stars can be seen in the coat of arms from 1802.

In 1810 the Valais was integrated into Napoleonic France and was no longer part of the Helvetic Republic until 1813 . After the withdrawal of the French troops, the new French republic gave the area back to Switzerland. When the Canton of Valais was re-established on May 12, 1815 , the coat of arms with the 13 stars was unveiled for the first time. The 13th star corresponded to the new district of Conthey . The coat of arms has not been changed since then.

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 Valais, going back to Mühlemann, see references
2. ↑ Wappenlexikon ngw.com Canton Wallis page ( Memento of the original from March 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Web links

Commons : Symbols of the canton of Valais  - Collection of images, videos and audio files