Zürich’s square flag is divided diagonally into equal blue and white fields. On a mounted flag, the blue field remains against the hoist.
Design structure
A diagonal runs from the upper hoist corner to the lower fly corner. Blue fills the lower-hoist half and white the upper-fly half. The design is the banner form of the arms shared by the canton and the City of Zürich.
Display colors
Screen reference / HEX #0070B4HEX #FFFFFFOrientation at the mast
Because a flag can be viewed from either face, a fixed “left” and “right” description is unreliable. Zürich’s municipal archive gives the operational rule: blue is always placed at the mast or staff.
Historical record
Zürich’s blue and white colors are recorded on banners from 1315. The diagonally divided arms have been used since the 14th century; the city archive records the design in color on a banner from 1437.
Source trail
Kanton Zürich: cantonal administration and the Zürich arms ↗
Stadt Zürich archive: the Zürich arms and flag orientation ↗
Understanding the historical milestones
The imported record distinguishes three claims: blue and white are recorded on banners from 1315; diagonally divided arms have been used since the 14th century; and a colored banner depiction is dated 1437. These refer to different historical evidence—banner colors, use of the arms, and a dated depiction. They do not establish one verified adoption date for the present flag design.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do hoist and fly mean, and which side should be blue?
The hoist is the edge attached to the pole or staff; the fly is the free edge opposite it. The existing record gives the rule for Zürich as blue at the mast, meaning blue at the hoist. Screen-left and screen-right depend on the face being viewed and where the pole appears in that view, so they are not fixed names for the flag’s edges. The supplied illustration shows one reference view and does not establish how its reverse is rendered.
Limits of the display colors
The page uses #0070B4 for blue and #FFFFFF for white as display references. These screen values are not verified textile specifications or universal manufacturing standards. The supplied record does not establish physical color tolerances or certified print equivalents, and these values alone are not production instructions.
Illustration documentation
The supplied illustration record has no recorded creator, license, or source URL. It serves as a reference illustration, but its reuse rights are not established by the supplied documentation. The simplicity of the flag design does not establish permission to reuse this particular artwork.