Each of the 26 modern cantons of Switzerland has an official flag and a coat of arms. The history of development of these designs spans the 13th to the 20th centuries. List The cantons are listed in their order of precedence given in the federal constitution. This reflects the historical order of precedence of the Eight Cantons in the 15th century, followed by the remaining cantons in the order of their historical accession to the confederacy. Standesfarben were used to identify the (historical) cantons when the full banner was not available for display, although there is overlap; Unterwalden and Solothurn share the same colours, as do Basel and Appenzell, and with the accession of the modern cantons, Valais and Basel-City, and St. Gallen and Thurgau. Heraldic charges Of the 26 cantons since 1999 (22 cantons in 1848, accession of Jura in 1979, three half-cantons designated "canton" in 1999): six flags are simple bicolor designs, per fess (Lucerne, Fribourg, Solothurn, Ticino), per bend (Zürich) or with a central bend (Zug). The coats of arms of Ticino and Lucerne have the peculiarity that they are per pale even though the flags are per fess. eight flags with heraldic animals: the bear for Bern and for Appenzell (both Innerrhoden and Ausserrhoden) the bull for Uri the ram for Schaffhausen the ibex for Graubünden (at the time only one of three coats of arms shown side by side for the Three Leagues) the eagle (Reichsadler) for Geneva two lions for Thurgau three with the bishop's crozier or Baselstab, for Basel (Basel-City and Basel-Country) and Jura three with a key (Keys of Heaven), for Unterwalden (both Obwalden and Nidwalden) and for Geneva two cantons show the Swiss cross, for Schwyz on solid red, and for Neuchâtel in the corner of the "revolutionary" tricolour two with stars, Valais and Aargau, the latter with additional wavy lines representing rivers two with letters for Appenzell Ausserrhoden (VR for Ussere Rhoden) and Vaud (inscription 'Liberté et Patrie'). the image of a pilgrim (Saint Fridolin) for Glarus the fasces for St. Gallen Distinctively, Swiss cantons use square flags. History Historically, the number of cantons was: eight from 1352 to 1481, see Eight Cantons thirteen from 1513 to 1798, see Thirteen Cantons twenty during the time of the Helvetic Republic, from 1798 to 1803, without official flags or coats of arms twenty-two from 1848 to 1978, including three cantons divided into