DE-3825677 The national flag of Switzerland

Switzerland's national flag is a red square with a white cross on it. The arms of the cross do not reach the borders. The Swiss Cross, as it is often called by the native population, is a generalization of the coat of arms of the canton of Schwyz, one of the three founding members of the Old Swiss Confederacy back in 1291.

Schwyz played a leading role in the early days so its name soon was being used for the confederacy as a whole. When the Swiss went to battles in those days, the soldiers of each federal state had their own style of clothing and carried their own cantonal banner with them. As the confederation grew, they needed a common symbol to recognize friend from foe and applied white stripes in the form of a cross on their clothes and helmets.

But what are the origins of the white cross on the coat of arms of Schwyz? During the middle ages, Switzerland was first part of Charlemagne's great continental European empire (around A.D. 800). His sons split the empire in three parts, the eastern part (including Italy, the Alps and Germany) was called the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation. When the German emperor went to Italy around 1230, soldiers from Schwyz accompanied him. It is reported that he was very pleased about the support they gave him and granted them the privilege to add a white cross to their red banner.

The modern design of a white cross suspended in a square red field was introduced only during the Napoleonic period, first used in 1800 during the Hundred Days War by General Niklaus Franz von Bachmann and this flag was introduced as the official national flag in 1889.

In modern days the Swiss flag is enthusiastically flown around the year from private and commercial buildings as a display of patriotism and often together with the cantonal and municipal flags. On the National Day of Switzerland, August 1, the streets and buildings of Swiss towns are traditionally festooned in celebration with Swiss flags and banners.

This postcard came from Uwe (20 January 2015) Postcrossing and the Swiss flag depicted on it does not look quite right.  The white cross is too small.