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Flag of Grisones

Ibex, a cross and the colours of the three medieval leagues: Switzerland’s largest canton fixed its flag in 1932, bringing four coats of arms together in one.

Flag of Grisones
Coat of arms
Learn to read it Test yourself

The flag, in figures

Every fact about the flag, each with what it means.

Properties
Normal flagFIAV symbol: the form of the flag.
Use
CivilFIAV symbol: who may fly the flag.
Adopted
193224 May 1932 · 94 years ago
Colours
  • Black
  • White
  • Blue
  • Yellow
Reference shades: the official one may vary slightly.
Coat of arms
YesIt carries the coat of arms on the cloth.

Take a closer look

  • Division

  • By the flagpole

  • Towards the fly side

  • Ibex

How it is described

The flag in the words of vexillology and heraldry.

Vexillological description

It is a rectangular field divided into three parts. The upper half is split in two and the lower one is a white band with a black animal. The emblems are painted directly onto the cloth, with no coat of arms framing them.

Division
two horizontal halves; the upper one is further split vertically.
By the flagpole
black half and white half, on the flagpole side (the pole).
Towards the fly side
four blue and yellow pieces crossed by a cross that inverts the colours; the fly side is the free edge.
Ibex
a black mountain goat, leaping, over the white band below.

What it carries

Each element and how many of the 1,390 flags in the catalogue carry it. In yellow, the rarest.

Its history in dates

Every date in its story, at a glance.

  1. 1367

    The League of the House of God was born in Chur in 1367 to resist its bishop

  2. 1524

    In 1524 they formed the Free State of the Three Leagues

  3. 1803

    In 1803 the country became a Swiss canton

  4. 1932

    The cantonal parliament approved the current simplified design on 24 May 1932

The full story

How it was born, how it has changed and what it means.

The flag of Grisones is not one coat of arms but three: it brings together the emblems of the leagues that formed the largest canton in Switzerland.

How it came about

The League of the House of God was born in Chur in 1367 to resist its bishop; the Grey League in 1424, against the nobles of the Black League; and the League of Ten Jurisdictions in 1436, to save its local courts. In 1524 they formed the Free State of the Three Leagues, which never had a flag of its own: each league went to war with its own. In 1803 the country became a Swiss canton, and the Grey League lent it its name (Graubünden, Grisones).

How it has changed

From 1803 to 1932 the three arms were drawn together on a single field, stacked and with supporters: heraldically awkward. The cantonal parliament approved the current simplified design on 24 May 1932, and the government fixed its official description on 8 November.

What it means

  • Black and white half

    the Grey League, with a play on its name.

  • Cross on blue and yellow fields

    the League of Ten Jurisdictions, with the colours swapped between ground and cross.

  • Black ibex

    emblem of the House of God, symbol of freedom, agility and courage.

Fun facts

  1. The complete arms

    The original emblems were more crowded: the Grey League carried Saint George and the dragon, and the Ten Jurisdictions a wild man with a flag in one hand and an uprooted fir in the other.

  2. Colours of 1803

    On 5 May 1803 the parliament fixed the colours of the canton as grey, white and blue in that order, one per league.

  3. A precedent on a medal

    The three arms together, inside a single shield, were first drawn on a medal by Jakob Stampfer, of 1548: it did not spread, and they went on being drawn separately.

Localisation

How much have you learnt?

Test what you have read about the flag of Grisones.

  1. 1. Which one is the flag of Grisones?

  2. 2. Which of these elements appears on the flag?

  3. 3. In which year was the current flag adopted?

Sources

Sources consulted:

Credits

Flag image: Kanton Graubünden, Anton Nigg, Wikimedia Commons · Public domain.

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