Subdivisions of Switzerland Subdivisions of Switzerland The Swiss Confederation comprises the 26 cantons of Switzerland. Each canton has its individual structure for further subdivisions. For statistical purposes, Switzerland is subdivided into seven regions at the NUTS-2 level: The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848. Each canton has its own constitution, legislature, government and courts. Most of the cantons' legislatures are unicameral parliaments, their size varying
Flags and arms of cantons of Switzerland arranging cantonal insignia in shields ("escutcheons") as coats of arms arises in the late 15th century. The "Tagsatzung" in Baden was presented with stained glass representations of all cantons in ca. 1501. In these designs, two cantonal "escutcheons" were shown side by side, below a shield bearing the Imperial Eagle and a crown, flanked by two banner-bearers. Based on these, there arose a tradition of representing cantonal arms in stained glass ("Standesscheiben"), alive throughout the early modern period and continued in the modern state. The flag of Zürich is derived from a blue-and-white design attested since the 1220s, the diagonal