Arbon commune (Thurgau canton, Switzerland)

Last modified: 2026-02-28 by martin karner
Keywords: arbon | thurgau | frasnacht |
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Argent on a mount Vert a tree with branches in saltire Gules and four leaves of the Second with a nest a bird and two chicks statant Sable and a fourth bird volant of the Same all on a base of the of the First outlined and having four barrulets wavy Sable overall two fishes naiant reversed Azure.
Christopher Southworth

Photo from the townhall.

The canting flag/coat of arms represents the "happy tree" (Latin: Arbor Felix, from the Roman settlement with this name) on the shore of Lake Constance. The Arbon coat of arms was first documented in the 14th century and has been supplemented over the centuries with fish. There has been much speculation about the number of fish and the falling young bird, but the significance of these elements has not been conclusively clarified. The tree could be a linden tree, the birds could be hawks.
Martin Karner

• Arbon (c. 1959 – 2001)
• Frasnacht (until 1997)

• Yacht Club Arbon
• Arbon district
• Thurgau canton
• Switzerland
  
  
• Gemeindewappen der Schweiz: Arbon (by A. Oberholzer, 1918, German | additional note)
• Addition: Noch einmal das Wappen der Stadt Arbon (by Ferdinand Gull, 1919, German)
• Das alte Wappen von Arbon (by Felix Hauptmann, 1920, German)

Arbon (c. 1959 – 2001)

At a time in between, a simpler version of the flag/coat of arms was in use (since late 1950s), which was published in 1960 in the book "Die Gemeindewappen des Kantons Thurgau", until the old version was reactivated by the city council in 2001.

Frasnacht (until 31 December 1997)

In red a white ash leaf.
The name Frasnacht goes back to the time when the Romansh language was predominant in the region. It comes from the Latin fraxinetum (ash wood), which makes the emblem canting.
The colours refer to the bishop of Constance.

On 1 January 1998 Frasnacht became part of Arbon.