#swiss canton

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Capricorns (Alpine ibex) clash on spring meadows in the Swiss canton of Grisons

Photograph: Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA

[wikipediapictures]

Bettlach railway station

[europeposts]

Sisikon, Switzerland: Sisikon is a municipality in the canton of Uri in Switzerland. It is situated on the shore of Lake Lucerne. Sisikon is served by the Sisikon station, situated within the municipality and on the Gotthard railway. Sisikon can be accessed by road via the Axenstrasse. Wikipedia

[lionofchaeronea]

Romans Passing Under the Yoke, Charles Gleyre, 1858

[huariqueje]

Terrasse Iseltwald - Jeanne Marguerite Frey-Surbek, 1976.

Swiss, 1886–1980

Oil on canvas, 50 x 64 cm.

[mothmiso]

Switzerland (2) (3) by Robert Schaub

Via Flickr:

(1) (2) Susten Pass (3) Furka Pass     

[hopefulkidshark]

Verbier, Switzerland: Verbier is a village located in south-western Switzerland in the canton of Valais. It is a holiday resort and ski area in the Swiss Alps and is recognised as one of the premier off-piste resorts in the world. Some areas are covered with snow all year. Skiers have settled in the Verbier area in order to take advantage of the steep slopes, varied conditions, and resort culture. Wikipedia

[holyartisanperfection]

Calle rural típica del pueblo de montaña "Cantón del Tesino", en Suiza meridional.

[gregor-samsung]

La Rançon de la gloire [The Price of Fame] (Xavier Beauvois, 2014)

[bitcoinversus]

Zurich Cantonal Bank Launches Bitcoin and Ethereum Trading

Zurich Cantonal Bank (ZKB), one of Switzerland’s largest financial institutions, has announced a significant move into the cryptocurrency market. The bank now allows its customers to trade and store Bitcoin and Ethereum directly from its platform. https://twitter.com/bitcoinsensus/status/1831297645966459235?s=51 This offering will integrate with the bank’s existing services, including ZKB…

[diemelusine]

City gate of La Neuveville, Switzerland.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Yesuitus2001

[sitting-on-me-bum]

A story on Switzerland’s wild daffodils

The fragrant flower grows wild in selected spots of the Swiss Canton Vaud

Photograph by author Luciano Abriata.

[postcard-from-the-past]

Sempione road by Gondo, Valais canton of Switzerland

Swiss vintage postcard

[alter-petrus]

🇳🇴🤝🇮🇹🤝🇸🇲

Italian speakers at Eurovision 2023

[petermorwood]

@k-phoenix reblogged with tags:

#bern mention!!! yippie #also. that's a dick in the second picture. bear dick.

Yes it is. :->

Heraldically that's called a "pizzle", and if distinctive enough is actually mentioned in the blazoning.

For instance the bear of Bern is described thus:

Gules, on a bend Or, a bear passant Sable, langued, armed and pizzled of the field - A red background with a gold (yellow) diagonal band, on which walks a black bear with a red tongue, claws and willy.

The bear of Appenzell:

Argent, a bear rampant Sable, langued, armed and pizzled Gules - A silver (white) background on which stands a black bear, front paws raised, with a red tongue, claws and willy.

The bear of St Gallen:

Argent a Bear rampant Sable, langued and in his virility Gules, armed and gorged Or - A silver (white) background on which stands a black bear, front paws raised, with a red tongue and willy, gold (yellow) claws and collar.

Thereon hangs - or is well-hung, as you'll see - a tale, indeed ein Schwanz.

*****

A couple of years ago @dduane and I had a sleepy bedtime-ish discussion about heraldry (it was posted here), part of which involved the problems which might arise if a heraldic animal - and thus the place or person it represented - was insulted by not seeming Masculine enough.

This actually happened in Switzerland, around the 1570s, when a printer making calendars decorated with cantonal arms forgot - or possibly "forgot", because people are like that - to include an important detail on a heraldic bear, thus turning it female.

Which Was Not On.

According to a couple of Swiss friends, this almost provoked a small war between cantons Bern and Appenzell - they were Bernese, enough said - whose arms looked like this (Appenzell left, Bern right)...

...but it was actually between Appenzell and the city of St Gallen, whose arms looked like this.

Here's an interesting side-note - for many years St Gallen city had been involved in a squabble with land-grabby St Gallen abbey, whose arms looked like this...

...so it's just possible that the printer, probably working with black-and-white woodcut illustrations - made a genuine mistake over which heraldic bear he was trying to insult.

Anyway, the perceived insult prompted enraged letters from Appenzell cantonal council, up to and including a threat of war, though in the end they were satisfied by having all the unsold calendars recalled and destroyed.

*****

It's an example, if you need one, of a literal dick-measuring contest that could have turned very nasty.

Switzerland's principal export at that time was mercenary soldiers, and the ones who weren't currently hired out were at home, more than willing to get in some killing practice in case they forgot how to do it...

[witekspicsoldpostcards2]

CANTON of VAUD - commemorative post card from SWITZERLAND >>> 100 years / centennial