Flags in mourning in Switzerland: occasions, duration and forms

In Switzerland, flying flags in mourning means above all setting the Swiss flag at half-mast. When this happens on federal buildings is set out in the Federal Council’s instructions on flags on federal buildings of 20 April 2016. The Swiss Armed Forces’ flag regulations contain their own rules for military sites and funerals. Cantons and communes decide for their own buildings.

Federal occasions

The instructions name deaths on which flags are lowered without any further decision, and leave disasters to the President of the Confederation:

• Death of the serving president of the National Council or the Council of States: half-mast on all federal buildings with a flagpole throughout Switzerland, from the day of death until the funeral.
• Death of a serving member of the Federal Council: likewise throughout Switzerland from the day of death until the funeral.
• Death of the serving Federal Chancellor: half-mast on the Bundeshaus West on the day of death and the day of the funeral.
• Death of a serving head of state of a country with which Switzerland has diplomatic relations, of an ambassador accredited in Switzerland or of the head of an intergovernmental organisation: half-mast on the Bundeshaus West on the day of death and the day of the funeral.
• Disasters or events of particular significance: the scope and duration are decided by the President of the Confederation; the order is issued by the Federal Chancellery.

Who issues the order in each case is listed in the guide to half-mast.

The national day of mourning in 2026

After the fire in Crans-Montana on 1 January 2026, 9 January 2026 was, according to a Federal Council press release, dedicated throughout the country to the memory of the victims. President Guy Parmelin and the Swiss churches invited the population to a minute’s silence at 2 p.m., church bells rang across the country, and in Bern the flags of the Federal Palace and the federal buildings were set at half-mast. The day shows how the instructions are applied to an event of particular significance: the duration of half-mast is decided case by case.

Mourning in the armed forces

The Swiss Armed Forces’ flag regulations govern flags in mourning on the death of members of the armed forces in detail. In peacetime, flags are lowered on the death of service members during their military service, of the Chief of the Armed Forces and of their direct subordinates. The order is given as soon as the death is known and lasts until 6 p.m. the following day; a longer period can be set in particular cases.

On at least one flagpole at the site, the Swiss flag is set at half-mast. All other flags on poles follow, except foreign flags and the flags of international organisations. If there is no pole or half-mast is technically impossible, mourning is marked in another form with the Swiss flag that gives the deceased the appropriate honour.

Flags at funerals

For military funerals, the flag regulations describe several forms:

• Before marching off, the ribbon of the colour is edged with a mourning band, which is removed after the ceremony.
• The coffin can be draped with a Swiss flag as a pall. The centre of the Swiss cross lies at about chest height of the deceased. The flag stays on the coffin and is covered with earth or cremated.
• When the song “Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden” is played, the colour bearer lowers the colour slowly three times over the open grave or at the urn grave.

The regulations expressly state that the wishes of the family and local customs are decisive for the form and course of a military funeral.

Association flags

In many communes, association flags – of bands, shooting clubs or gymnastics clubs – accompany the funeral of a member. For military associations, the flag regulations state that association flags are not military colours and may be carried by all members. How an association flag is carried at a funeral is up to each association.

Private mourning

There are no rules for private individuals. Those who lower their own flag to half-mast on a death in the family or during national mourning can follow the army’s procedure: first raise it to the top, then lower it, and at the end raise it to the top again before taking it down. With hanging flags or poles without a halyard, half-mast is not possible. More in the guide to flag types.