The coat of arms of Bern, along with the associated flag and heraldic colours, are used both by the Swiss city of Bern and by the canton of the same name. They were also used by the former 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 bear with a red tongue, claws and penis walking upwards toward the hoist. The heraldic

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...

reads: ''Gules, on a bend or, a bear passant sable, langued, armed and 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 heraldic beast of Bern is the bear. It has long served as namesake, emblem, mascot and — at times — personification of Bern. The founding legend has it that Duke Berthold V of Zähringen vowed to choose as namesake the first animal his hunt met in the wood that was to be chopped down for the new city. Then, as

Konrad Justinger Conrad Justinger was a 14th-century chronicler who was probably born in Strasbourg.Bergier, p. 59. Justinger, who had learned the trade of a chronicler in his home town, appears to have moved to the city of Bern in the last quarter of the 14t ...

'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. 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 The Bärengraben, or Bear Pit, is a tourist attraction in the Swiss capital city of Bern. It is a bear pit, or enclosure housing bears, situated at the eastern edge of the old city of Bern, next to the Nydeggbrücke and the River Aar. Although ...

Coat of arms

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

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

). In the 13th century, the coat of arms changed to the one in use today. The modern coat of arms is already recognisable in Alsatian mercenary songs of 1375 reported by Justinger. The change, according to the chroniclers, was linked to the Battle of the Schosshalde in 1289 against the troops of Duke 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. 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. As long as Bern still considered itself (at least formally) to be part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, 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 Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

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. 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 A mural crown ( la, corona muralis) is a crown or headpiece representing city walls, towers, or fortresses. In classical antiquity, it was an emblem of tutelary deities who watched over a city, and among the Romans a military decoration. Later ...

on top of its coat of arms, while the district uses no crown.

Other flags of Bern

The war flag of the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for ...

, depicting a white cross on black and red flammé, is sometimes flown in lieu of or alongside the state flag. In vertical flags, the state colours red and black are sometimes used. Yellow is not counted among the state colours. File:Fahne Bern Alt.gif, War Flag of the Ancien Régime File:Red&black.svg, State colours, sometimes used as a vertical flag

Adaptations

A flag for the

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland ( en, Bernese Highlands, german: Berner Oberland; gsw, Bärner Oberland; french: Oberland bernois), the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern, is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context ...

, designed by B. v. Rodt, was accepted as official by the Bernese Executive Council in 1953.BeO Das Magazin, Autumn 2007
p. 13 It consists of a black eagle in a gold field (in reference to the region's old status as 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 A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...

. File:Flagge Berner Oberland.png, Flag of the Bernese Oberland File:Flag of New Bern, North Carolina.svg, Flag of the City of New Bern, North Carolina, which is almost identical

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, and , p. 244-245.

Footnotes

{{reflist

External links

''Berne''
at Flags of the World Bern Bern Canton of Bern