Canton of Fribourg
46.7237.061Coordinates: 46° 43′ N, 7° 4′ E; CH1903: 571130 / 174714
Fribourg (abbreviation FR; Swiss German Frybùrg, French Fribourg, Italian Rhaeto-Romanic
, Franco-Provençal ) is a canton in western Switzerland. It belongs to both French-speaking French-speaking Switzerland and German-speaking Switzerland. About two-thirds of the population speak French and just under one-third German, making Fribourg one of the officially multilingual cantons, along with the cantons of Bern, Valais and Graubünden. The capital is the city of the same name, Fribourg.
Geography
The Canton of Fribourg is the eighth largest canton in Switzerland, covering 1670.8 square kilometres. Topographically, Fribourg can be divided into two larger areas: The northern and western parts belong to the Swiss Plateau, the southeast to the Swiss Pre-Alps (see the main article Fribourg Pre-Alps).
The highest peak is the Vanil Noir at 2389 m. It is located in the south of the canton in the Gruyère district, on the border with the canton of Vaud. The lowest point is at 430 m, on Lake Neuchâtel (Lac de Neuchâtel).
The neighbouring cantons are the Canton of Vaud to the west and south, the Canton of Berne to the east and north, and to the northwest Fribourg borders the Canton of Neuchâtel through Lake Neuchâtel.
Pre-Alps of Fribourg: Dent de Brenleire (2358 m, front right) and Vanil Noir (2389 m, back)
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of the Canton of Fribourg shows a shield divided by black and silver. This coat of arms originated from the banner of the city of Fribourg when it was released from the sovereignty of Savoy in 1477. At that time, the Savoy crosses on the city gates were replaced by a representation showing a double shield divided in black and white, surmounted by the imperial coat of arms. The banner is first depicted in 1410 in the Fribourg Handfesten. In the 17th century, a second coat of arms was created and used in parallel. It showed in blue three adjoining pewter towers sloping down to the left, crowned by a black eagle. This coat of arms originated from the Fribourg town seal and was combined with the old coat of arms in a four-part shield. When the modern canton of Fribourg was created in 1803, the coat of arms was separated. Since then, the canton has used the old shield divided by black and silver, the city the blue coat of arms with the pewter towers. The cantonal colours were initially white and black. From 1500 onwards, black and blue came into use. It was not until 1831 that the cantonal colours were again set at white and black.
