Flags and arms of cantons of Switzerland Flags and arms of cantons of Switzerland Each of the 26 modern cantons of Switzerland has an official flag and a coat of arms. The history of development of these designs spans the 13th to the 20th centuries. The cantons are listed in their order of precedence given in the federal constitution. This reflects the historical order of precedence of the Eight Cantons in the 15th century, followed by the remaining cantons in the order of their historical accession to the confederacy. "Standesfarben" were used to identify the (historical) cantons when the full banner was not available for display, although
Cantons of Switzerland until the late 15th century. "Ort" was increasingly replaced by "Stand" (plural: "Stände") "estate" about 1550, a term taken to imply liberty and sovereignty. Abolished in the Helvetic Republic, the term was revived in 1815 and remains in use today. The French term "canton" adopted into German after 1648, and then only in occasional use until the early 19th century: prominent usage of "Ort" and "Stand" gradually disappeared in German-speaking Switzerland from the time of the Helvetic Republic. Only with the Act of Mediation of 1803 did German "Kanton" become an official designation, retained in the Swiss Constitution of 1848.