#swiss confederation

[illustratus]

Victory of the Swiss over the Burgundians at the Battle of Morat, 22 June 1476

by Jules Courvoisier

[softsoundingsea]

A little bit of Japan in Switzerland.

[charlesreeza]

A collection of early stained glass panels depicting the coats of arms of Swiss cantons, guilds and prominent individuals.  Photos by Charles Reeza at the Landesmuseum in Zurich.

[svenson777]

The battle of Murten, part of a woodcut by Heinrich Vogtherr the Elder from the chronicle of Stumpf 1548

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Original book title: Gemeiner loblicher Eydgnoschafft Stetten, Landen und Voelckeren Chronick wirdiger thaaten Beschreybung (Stumpfsche Chronik)

Background: The Battle of Morat (also known as the Battle of Murten) was a battle in the Burgundian Wars (1474–77) that was fought on 22 June 1476 between Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, and a Swiss Confederate army at Morat/Murten, about 30 kilometres from Bern. The result was a crushing defeat for the Burgundians at the hands of the Swiss.

Artist: Heinrich Vogtherr d. Ä. (1490 in Dillingen an der Donau – 1556 in Vienna) was an artist, printer, poet and medical author of the Reformation period.

[silentambassadors]

The Confoederatio Helvetica (Helvetia for short, and as the national personification of Switzerland - there she is on the stamp in the fourth row) existed as a loose confederation of cantons in protective alliance with each other since 1291, before the official establishment of the Swiss Confederation in 1848.  German, French, Italian, and Romansh are all official languages of Switzerland, and the Swiss franc has yet to be surrendered (Switzerland is not part of the European Union).

Stamp details: Stamps on top: Issued in: 1843 From: Canton of Geneva MC #1

Second row left: Issued on: March 3, 1843 From: Canton of Zurich MC #1

Second row right: Issued on: July 1, 1845 From: Canton of Basel MC #1

Third row: Issued in: 1850 From: Bern, Swiss Confederation MC #5-7

Fourth row: Issued on: February 27, 1948 From: Bern, Swiss Confederation MC #498

Stamps on bottom: Issued on: January 7, 1998 From: Bern, Swiss Confederation MC #1633-1636

Recognized as a sovereign state by the UN: Yes (since November 10, 2002) Official name: Swiss Confederation; Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft; Confédération suisse; Confederazione Svizzera; Confederaziun svizra; Confoederatio Helvetica Member of the Universal Postal Union: Yes (since July 1, 1875)

[illustratus]

SWISS ON THE MARCH

[illustratus]

Battle of Arbedo

[charlesreeza]

Standesscheibe - Stained glass panel, c 1513, featuring the Bernese coat of arms crowned by the imperial eagle - in the Bernisches Historisches Museum.