500 Years of the Pontifical Swiss Guard

A Swiss Guard taking his oath on the flag; the state name 'CITTÀ DEL VATICANO', the inscription 'Guardia Svizzera Pontificia' and the years '1506' and '2006'; the name of designer Orietta Rossi, the initials of engraver Maria Carmela Colaneri, and the mint mark 'R'.

On 22 January 1506, 150 mercenaries from the Swiss cantons, led by Captain Kaspar von Silenen, marched into the Vatican and became the personal bodyguard of the popes from that day forward - a date the Swiss Guard still observes as its founding day. Its reliability was proven early on: during the Sack of Rome in 1527, 147 guardsmen died fighting the troops of Charles V to enable Pope Clement VII to flee to Castel Sant'Angelo. This willingness to sacrifice shaped the Guard's self-image lasting to this day. The corps continues to recruit exclusively from unmarried, Catholic Swiss men who must have completed basic training in the Swiss army. The familiar Renaissance uniform, traditionally attributed to a design by Michelangelo - though in fact modernised around 1914 - is among the most recognisable images associated with the Holy See.

The Swiss Guard stands within the broader context of Switzerland's long military tradition: Swiss mercenaries were sought-after fighters across Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, and several European dynasties maintained their own Swiss troops. Only the Vatican has preserved this relationship into the present day. Vatican City is among the smallest sovereign states in the world, and the Pontifical Swiss Guard is at the same time one of the oldest still-active military corps worldwide. On the 500th anniversary in 2006, the Vatican honoured the existence of this unique institution with its own commemorative coin.