Flags or banners strung across the busy Vordergasse in the old town at Schaffhausen, northern Switzerland, represent the 26 cantons or member states of the Swiss Confederation. The two nearest the camera are the emblems of Glarus (pilgrim holding a staff and bible) and Schaffhausen (a black ram).
Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen canton, northern Switzerland: colourful flags or banners displaying the arms or emblems of the 26 Swiss cantons, the member states of the Swiss Confederation, fly on a sunny July morning above the Vordergasse, one of the traffic-free streets, busy with shoppers, in the historic Altstadt or old town. The distinctive emblems nearest the camera represent the cantons of Glarus (pilgrim holding a staff and bible) and Schaffhausen (black ram), while others represented by banners strung further up Vordergasse include Aargau, Obwalden, Basel-Stadt, Uri, Basel-Landschaft and Zug, as well as the national emblem, the white cross on a red ground of the Swiss Confederation. Schaffhausen was a city state in the Middle Ages, striking its own coins from 1045. Five years later, the counts of Nellenburg founded the monastery of All Saints and the town grew around it. It was an Imperial free city from about 1200 AD and in 1277, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf I gave it a charter of liberties. In 1330, Emperor Louis of Bavaria pledged Schaffhausen to the Hapsburgs, but their power waned and it eventually bought its independence. Schaffhausen then allied itself with some Swiss confederate states, becoming a full member of the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1501. The town was badly damaged during the Thirty Years’ War of the early 1600s and its ancient Rhine bridge was destroyed by fire. The old town also features remains of city walls, fountain statues and some Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque guild and merchant houses with oriel windows and frescoed facades.
Size: 2832px × 4256px
Location: Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen canton, Switzerland
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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