Flag of Switzerland which was based on a white cross design. These flags usually showed a white cross drawn to the edge of the field in front of a background striped in the respective cantonal colours. From this type, the "flammé" military flag develops in the 17th century, which also came to be used by Swiss mercenary regiments by the end of the 17th century. The "flammé" design remained popular for military flags of the 18th and 19th centuries. A "flammé" flag was introduced as ordonnance for the Bernese troops in 1703. After the invasion of 1798, the authorities of the Helvetic Republic
Flag of Switzerland The Swiss cross is defined as Swiss Standard German consistently uses (cognate with "vane") rather than the term used for national flags in Germany. The name of the flag of the Swiss Confederation is a nominal compound, . While the proportions of the cross have been fixed since 1889, the size of the cross relative to the flag (the width of the margin separating the "cross couped" from the edge of the flag) had not been officially fixed prior to 2017. The annex to SR 232.21 provides an image specifying that the margin is to be of the same width