Flag and coat of arms of the canton and the city of Zurich

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Coat of arms of the canton and the city of Zurich
Flag of the canton and the city of Zurich

The flag and coat of arms of the canton and the city ​​of Zurich are divided diagonally; the upper right (heraldic left) half is white, the lower left half is blue.

banner

The standard bearer of the Zurich stand on a painting from 1585 - the red swivel is clearly visible
The military flag of the Republic of Zurich until 1798

The flag is of older origin than the coat of arms. It has been known since 1315 that the Zurich flags were carried with them, and there are indications that these were blue and white. The flag, which is still in use today, has only been reliably documented since 1434. The origin of the colors blue and white is not known.

The Zurich banner and the swing

The importance of Schwenkels (long, red latzförmiger extension) as part of a banner (almost rectangular war flag) has been controversial since the Middle Ages. Some viewed the swing as a sign of honor or merit, while others saw it as a sign of a shame suffered, usually a loss of a banner. Zurich had a red swivel on its banner, which was already attached to the oldest datable banners from 1437. There are various explanations for this ingredient: According to tradition in Zurich, King Rudolf I of Habsburg is said to have awarded the badge of honor for helping in the war against the Bishop of Basel and for participating in the campaign against Ottokar of Bohemia . But it could also mean an upgrade of the banner after the rise to the imperial city. Another tradition sees the Schwenkel as a sign of shame for Zurich's loss of the banner to Winterthur in 1292. The latter interpretation was probably not shared in Zurich: when the Duke of Lorraine removed the Schwenkel from the Zurich banner after winning the battle of Murten (he thought in French tradition , in which the banner is upgraded as a result), because the Zurich-based company later sewed the swivel back on.

A special banner was called Julius Banner , the II. Pope Julius Zurich in 1512 gave as much for the war help in Italy. It was made of damask silk and had a corner quarter made of Florentine embroidery, in which the Holy Trinity and the coronation of Mary were depicted, including the coat of arms of Julius II. This banner is still preserved today and is in the Landesmuseum Zurich.

Military flag

In the 17th / 18th In the 18th century, the influence of foreign services replaced the old banners with more modern flags. The characteristic flame pattern prevailed for the military flags of most cantons. The continuous white cross was supplemented with flames in the colors of the state, in the case of Zurich with white and blue.

coat of arms

Creation of the coat of arms

Stand disk of the city of Zurich, detail from the glass window donated by Zurich in 1557 in the cloister of the Muri monastery
Coat of arms of the imperial city of Zurich, with the village coat of arms, from the Murer Plan 1576 (modern coloring)

The city ​​arms of Zurich , the shield divided diagonally by silver and blue, is documented for the first time on a seal of the Zurich court from 1389. The design of the coat of arms was based on that of the Rottweiler court , probably because the Zurich court was created based on its model. The first colored evidence of the blue and white coat of arms can be found from the 15th century on shields, paintings and above all on glass panes. The coat of arms is the fourth oldest coat of arms in the canton, only those of Winterthur (1276), Grüningen (1370) and Rheinau (1374) are older.

The current coat of arms of the city shows the diagonally divided shield, elevated by a wall crown, with two lions as shield holders. The wall crown serves to distinguish it from the cantonal coat of arms, which is never crowned, and with the old symbol of the city wall refers to the position of the municipality of Zurich as a city.

The lion as a shield holder

The lion as a shield holder is a popular symbol in heraldry and is also used in the Zurich coat of arms as a symbol of courage, strength, strength, boldness and bravery.

On the coins, mandates (regulations) and city views of Zurich was the coat of arms of the city of the imperial crown and the imperial eagle supported crowned and by two lions, sometimes many times a sword and orb hold. With this reference to the Reich , the Zurich government showed that it obtained its legitimacy from the emperor . This reference only disappeared towards the end of the 17th century, almost fifty years after the Confederation had officially left the empire with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Since the late 17th century, one of the lions has held a sword and the other a palm frond . There was also a single lion with a palm frond.

The Wasertaler , minted in 1660, was probably withdrawn because of its design and replaced by the Zurich Taler from 1661. This thaler shows a lion holding the Zurich coat of arms. One reason for the confiscation of the taler is said to have been the crowned coat of arms of the Wasertaler.

The lion became a symbol of Zurich as “Zürileu”. The ice hockey club of the City of Zurich also plays under the name ZSC Lions, formerly the “Zurich Ice Skate Club”.

  • Detail from the portal of the Zurich town hall from the 17th century. On either side of the inscription are two gold-plated lions as shield holders on the pillars. One of the two lions carries a sword, the other a palm frond. Originally he wore a scepter as a sign of the sovereignty of the city.

  • Two lions as shield holders on a Zurich thaler from 1727

Today's use of the coat of arms

The canton and the city of Zurich use the same coat of arms. The lion or lions are only used in the full coat of arms. While the full coat of arms of the canton of Zurich features a lion with a sword on the front (heraldic right) side (the sword as a symbol for war and state authority) and a lion with a palm frond on the back (heraldic left) side (the palm frond as a symbol of peace ) shows, two stylized lions are shown on the full coat of arms of the city as a coat of arms bearers. In addition, there is a wall crown over the coat of arms .

  • Coat of arms of the city of Zurich as the city logo, since 2005 without the lower bar. This modern, stylized variant may only be used by public offices.

  • Coat of arms of the city of Zurich, as it appears on the vehicles of the Zurich transport company .

  • The full cantonal coat of arms is reserved as a logo for the cantonal and government council of the canton.

  • Only a lion with the coat of arms (on the heraldic left) is used on the publications of the cantonal offices, but the offices are free to develop their own logos.

A uniform image for the administration of the canton of Zurich is in progress and will be introduced gradually in 2010.

See also

literature

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

Web links

Commons : Symbols of the Canton of Zurich (flag and coat of arms)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter M. Mäder; Günter Mattern: Flags and their symbols. Illustrated book Swiss National Museum, 4th Zurich 1993, p. 44.
  2. ↑ How the community got their coat of arms. In: The Landbote . June 22, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Helmut Kahnt: Das große Münzlexikon von A to Z , (2005), p. 518