Symbols and traditions show what holds Switzerland together: flag, anthem, public holidays, customs and well-known figures.
The Swiss flag shows a white cross on a red background and is square on land. National Day is 1 August, the only public holiday set by federal law for the whole country. The national anthem is the Swiss Psalm, definitively official since 1981. The abbreviation CH stands for Confoederatio Helvetica, after the Celtic Helvetii.
Well-known traditions include Swiss wrestling (Schwingen), the alphorn, the Sechseläuten in Zurich and the Morgestraich at the Basel carnival. General knowledge also covers the William Tell legend, made world-famous by Friedrich Schiller in 1804, and Swiss inventions such as the pocket knife, Velcro and milk chocolate.
24 of the 32 questions on this topic in our question bank · Tap an answer to see if it is right. Under “Show answer” you find the solution with an explanation and the source.
Correct answer: B – White cross on a red background
The Swiss flag shows a free-standing white cross on a red background. The red cross on a white background, by contrast, is the emblem of the Red Cross – a reversal of the Swiss colours in honour of Switzerland.
Source: admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: D – Square
The Swiss flag is square – along with the Vatican's, one of the few square national flags. Only the flag flown by Swiss ocean-going ships is rectangular.
Source: admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: B – 1 August
The national day on 1 August commemorates the Federal Charter of early August 1291. It is celebrated with speeches, bonfires on hilltops, lanterns and fireworks. 12 September 1848 is the date of the first Federal Constitution.
Source: admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: A – 1 August
Only the national day on 1 August is enshrined in the Federal Constitution (Art. 110) as a public holiday. All other holidays, such as Christmas or Easter, are set by the cantons and can therefore differ from canton to canton.
Source: fedlex.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: C – Swiss Psalm (Schweizerpsalm)
The national anthem is called the 'Swiss Psalm' and begins in German with 'Trittst im Morgenrot daher'. Until 1961 'Rufst du, mein Vaterland' was sung, which had the same tune as the British anthem.
Source: admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: C – Since 1981
The Federal Council adopted the Swiss Psalm provisionally in 1961 and declared it the definitive official national anthem on 1 April 1981. It had been composed as early as 1841.
Source: admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: D – A female symbolic figure personifying Switzerland
Helvetia is the female personification of Switzerland and became a national symbol in the 19th century. She is shown with a spear and a shield bearing the Swiss cross, for example on the 2-, 1- and ½-franc coins.
Source: swissmint.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: B – Confoederatio Helvetica
'CH' stands for the Latin name 'Confoederatio Helvetica' (Swiss Confederation). Latin was chosen so as not to favour any one national language. The abbreviation appears, for example, on car number plates and in the internet domain '.ch'.
Source: admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: A – From the Helvetii, a Celtic tribe
The Helvetii were a Celtic tribe living in what is now Switzerland around the beginning of the Common Era. Their defeat by Julius Caesar at Bibracte in 58 BC is well known. The Latin names 'Helvetia' and 'Confoederatio Helvetica' derive from them.
Source: hls-dhs-dss.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: B – German, French and Italian; Romansh in dealings with Romansh speakers
The Federal Constitution distinguishes between national languages (Art. 4: German, French, Italian, Romansh) and official languages of the Confederation (Art. 70). The official languages are German, French and Italian; Romansh is official in dealings with Romansh-speaking persons.
Source: fedlex.admin.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: D – Since 1938
In a popular vote on 20 February 1938, Romansh was recognised as the fourth national language – partly as a sign against Fascist Italy's claims on Romansh. Since 1996 it has also been a partial official language of the Confederation.
Source: hls-dhs-dss.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: B – Shoot an apple off his son's head
According to legend, Tell refused to salute the hat of the Habsburg bailiff Gessler in Altdorf. As punishment he had to shoot an apple off the head of his son Walter with a crossbow. He later killed Gessler in the Hohle Gasse (sunken lane) near Küssnacht.
Source: hls-dhs-dss.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: A – Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller's drama 'William Tell' premiered in Weimar in 1804 and made Tell internationally famous. The play is still performed today, for example at the Tell plays in Altdorf and Interlaken.
Source: hls-dhs-dss.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: C – A traditional form of wrestling in sawdust
Schwingen is a traditional Swiss wrestling sport in which two wrestlers grip each other's special shorts and try to throw each other in a sawdust ring. At the Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival, held every three years, the 'Schwingerkönig' (wrestling king) is crowned.
Source: esv.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: C – A long wooden wind instrument
The alphorn is a wooden wind instrument several metres long, without valves. Herders once used it to communicate in the mountains; today it is a well-known symbol of Swiss folk music.
Source: myswitzerland.com · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: D – An interdenominational holiday on the third Sunday in September
The Federal Day of Prayer is celebrated in most cantons on the third Sunday in September and has been a joint holiday of Catholics and Protestants since 1832. Geneva instead observes the 'Jeûne genevois' on a Thursday in September.
Source: hls-dhs-dss.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: B – Zurich
At Zurich's Sechseläuten spring festival in April, the guilds parade through the city and the Böögg is burned on the Sechseläutenplatz. The faster its firecracker-filled head explodes, the finer the summer is said to be.
Source: sechselaeuten.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: A – The Morgestraich
The Basel Carnival begins at 4 a.m. on the Monday after Ash Wednesday with the 'Morgestraich': the city-centre lights go out and the cliques march through the streets with lanterns, piccolos and drums. Since 2017 the Basel Carnival has been on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.
Source: fasnachts-comite.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: B – Karl Elsener
Karl Elsener of Ibach (Schwyz) supplied soldier's knives to the army from 1891 and registered the officer's knife in 1897. His company is now called Victorinox. The red pocket knife has become a world-famous symbol of Switzerland.
Source: hls-dhs-dss.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: D – The hook-and-loop fastener (Velcro)
George de Mestral came up with the idea for the hook-and-loop fastener after a walk with his dog, when he noticed burrs stuck in its fur. He patented the invention in the 1950s; it is now used worldwide under the name 'Velcro'.
Source: hls-dhs-dss.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: B – Daniel Peter
Chocolatier Daniel Peter first made milk chocolate in Vevey in 1875, using Henri Nestlé's condensed milk. Rodolphe Lindt invented conching in 1879, which gives chocolate its melting texture.
Source: hls-dhs-dss.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: A – Johanna Spyri
Johanna Spyri from Hirzel (canton of Zurich) published 'Heidi' in 1880. The story of the orphan girl in the mountains of Graubünden has been translated into many languages and still shapes Switzerland's image abroad.
Source: hls-dhs-dss.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: C – Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746–1827) from Zurich campaigned for the education of poor children and called for a holistic education of 'head, heart and hand'. He worked in Stans, Burgdorf and Yverdon, among other places, and influenced education worldwide.
Source: hls-dhs-dss.ch · Checked October 2026
Correct answer: C – An Alpine herdsman (often called William Tell)
The 5-franc coin shows the head of an Alpine herdsman, popularly often called William Tell. The 2-, 1- and ½-franc coins show a standing Helvetia.
Source: swissmint.ch · Checked October 2026