Why has the flag of Swiss canton Jura been travelling the world?

Jura pride in South America. Cédric Prudat

The authorities in Jura, northwestern Switzerland, recently organised a photo competition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the vote to create the country’s youngest canton. Jura residents were invited to send in their favourite snaps of the cantonal flag from around the world.

From the highs of Mount Everest down to the lows of the Maldives, from Cameroon to Iceland – the Jura flag flew all over the world, thanks to those who carried it in their luggage.

In 2015 Jonathan Fleury took it on a journey through the African continent. It seemed logical to him to unfurl the Jura banner on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 metres) in Tanzania.

Jonathan Fleury took the flag with him to Kilimanjaro. Jonathan Fleury

“We told ourselves we should take the flag with us, so that when we reached the summit we could show it to everyone. As someone from Jura, for the youngest Swiss canton, it’s a matter of pride to show that we’re there. It’s moving for us to do such beautiful things,” he said on Swiss public television, RTSExternal link.

‘People have revealed a part of themselves’

Alongside Jonathan Fleury, 450 other people took part in the “Il flotte notre drapeau” (our flag is flying) photo competition organised by canton Jura to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the vote, on June 23, 1974, that led to the creation of the canton on January 1, 1979.

Some 450 people took part in the competition and carried the flag out into the world. Valentin Zuber

The jury was impressed by the variety of snapshots received. “It’s interesting to see how much people have also revealed a part of themselves, a part of their lives, sometimes their family or an event in their lives. That touched us,” said politician and jury president Martial Courtet.

The competition is now closed. The jury will select a panel of images that will be exhibited on the esplanade of the Jura Theatre from June 23 to August 11, offering “an open-air gallery of Jura identity”, as the organisers put it.

The Jura flag far away from home. Alessio Donzé

‘Symbol of struggle’

Unlike the other 25 Swiss cantons, the Jura flag was created in 1947, 32 years before the canton gained its sovereignty. This may explain the attachment of the people of Jura to their cantonal emblem.

“A symbol like a flag can be the result of an identity. For the people of Jura, the symbol was in a way the graphic symbol of their struggle. It was at the forefront of all important events and people kept it in their collective memory. It is unifying, it is victorious and it is hopeful,” says Jean Kellerhals, a sociologist at the University of Geneva.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

The flag even went under water. Basile Charmillot / Nathalie Lasselin