Coat of arms of Bern

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The coat of arms of Bern.
The flag of Bern.

The coat of arms of Bern, along with the associated flag and heraldic colours, are used both by the

district of Bern
until its abolition in 2009.

The coat of arms of Bern is on a red field a yellow diagonal band charged with a black

vilené
of the field. The flag of Bern is square and depicts the coat of arms. The heraldic colours of Bern are red and black.

Heraldic beast

The hunt for the bear as depicted in the Tschachtlan chronicles. Note the original coat of arms above the gate.

The heraldic beast of Bern is the

Konrad Justinger
's chronicle puts it:

Nu wart des ersten ein ber gevangen, darumb wart die stat bern genempt; und gab do den burgeren in der stat ein wappen und schilt, nemlich einen swarzen bern in einem wissen schilt in gender wise.
Then they caught a bear first, which is why the city was called Bern; and so the citizens had their coat and shield, which was a black bear in a white shield, going upright.[1]

The bear motif is in evidence as early as 1224 (on city seals), and has remained in use ever since. Today the city of Bern still has bears featured directly outside its Altstadt in the Bärengraben.

Coat of arms

The Bern-Rych coat of arms from the Berner Chronik of Michael Stettler, 1620.

As Justinger's chronicle reveals, Bern's original coat of arms was an upright black bear on a white shield (which is, incidentally, the coat of arms of

Rudolf II of Austria, son of Emperor Rudolf II von Habsburg. According to Justinger, a Bernese salvaged a part of the ensign as the fortunes of war turned against Bern, and Tschudi
recounts:

Und als die von Bern bis ze der zit in ir paner den bern in wijssem veld gefuert, wars damals verendert in ein rot veld, von wegen das die paner ... von bluot was rot worden.
Until then, those of Bern carried the bear in a white field, but the field turned red that day, as the banner was drenched in blood.[2]

The chronicler Stumpf then adds that the diagonal band changed from silver to gold to celebrate the eventual Bernese victory over the House of Habsburg.

The coat of arms of the State and Republic of Bern, around 1790.

As long as Bern still considered itself (at least formally) to be part of the Holy Roman Empire, subject to the Emperor, this was reflected in its coat of arms. The imperial eagle was placed above the Bernese shield, constituting a compound coat of arms known as the Bern-Rych, or "Berne-Empire". Eventually, Bern formally gained the full sovereignty it had long since de facto possessed with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, but it was not until 1700 that the eagle was replaced with the Republic's trefoil crown that signified ultimate temporal power.[3] This crown is still used by the canton, which places it on top of the coat of arms on its official documents. The city of Bern uses a mural crown on top of its coat of arms, while the district uses no crown.

Other flags of Bern

The war flag of the

Ancien Régime, depicting a white cross on black and red flammé, is sometimes flown in lieu of or alongside the state flag.[4]

In

vertical flags, the state colours red and black are sometimes used. Yellow is not counted among the state colours.[5]

  • War Flag of the Ancien Régime
    War Flag of the Ancien Régime
  • State colours, sometimes used as a vertical flag
    State colours, sometimes used as a vertical flag

Adaptations

A flag for the

reichsfrei
) over two fields in the cantonal colours of red and black. As opposed to most other Swiss flags, which are quadratic, the flag's format is specified as "an upright oblong in the proportions of 23 to 26".

The city of New Bern, North Carolina uses almost the same flag, except that its bear does not have a red penis.

  • Flag of the Bernese Oberland
    Flag of the Bernese Oberland
  • Flag of the City of New Bern, North Carolina, which is almost identical
    Flag of the City of New Bern, North Carolina, which is almost identical

See also

References

Literature

Most of this article has been adapted from: Pascal Ladner, Siegel und Heraldik, in: Rainer C. Schwinges (ed.), Berns mutige Zeit: Das 13. und 14. Jahrhundert neu entdeckt, Bern, Schulverlag blmv AG und Stämpfli Verlag AG, Bern 2003,

, p. 244-245.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Quoted from Vinzenz Bartlome / Urs M. Zahnd, Gründung und Sage, in: Schwinges, op.cit., p. 23.
  2. ^ Quoted from Ladner, op.cit.
  3. , p. 129.
  4. ^ "Geschichte".
  5. ^ "Grundelemente. Farben". Gestaltungsrichtlinien BE | Règles de présentation BE (in German). Retrieved 2020-06-29. Gelb gehört heraldisch nicht zu den Berner Farben […] ('heraldicly, yellow does not belong to the Bernese colours').
  6. ^ BeO Das Magazin, Autumn 2007[permanent dead link], p. 13

External links