Vivid banners or flags of the 26 Swiss cantons hang between Renaissance and Baroque former merchant houses with oriel windows in Vordergasse in the old town at Schaffhausen, northern Switzerland. Behind them rises the medieval Obertor tower, the former western entrance to the city and the oldest surviving part of its fortifications.
Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen canton, northern Switzerland: bright banners or flags displaying arms or emblems of the 26 Swiss cantons hang above Vordergasse in the Altstadt or old town, lined with Renaissance and Baroque former guild or merchant houses with prominent oriel windows. Rising to the left is the medieval Obertorturm, the oldest surviving structure of the city’s fortifications. The Obertor Tower, first mentioned in 1273, was once the home of the noble Fridbolt family. It formed the western entrance to the city and all the goods transported on the River Rhine between Lake Constance and Basel had to pass through it. Former Schaffhausen mayor Hans Friedbold sold the tower to the city in 1461 and it was raised to its current height in 1513. The Obertorturm then served as a watchtower, with its guard ordered to ring a bell if enemy troops were seen or if a fire broke out. Two yellow flags bearing the canton of Schaffhausen black ram emblem, here seen from their reverse side, flank a single red and white flag bearing the arms of the Schwyz canton. Beyond them hang further banners with the emblems of the cantons Solothurn, St Gallen, Valais and Appenzell Ausserrhoden. Schaffhausen was a medieval city state that grew around the Benedictine monastery of All Saints. It was an Imperial free city from about 1200 AD and was given a charter of liberties by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1277. In 1330, Schaffhausen was pledged to the powerful Hapsburgs, but it managed to buy its independence and become a full member of the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1501. The city was badly damaged during the Thirty Years’ War of the early 1600s and its ancient Rhine bridge was destroyed by fire.
Size: 2832px × 4256px
Location: Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen canton, Switzerland
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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