Edelweiss shirt chosen as motif for the ESAF 2025 commemorative stamp

(CONNECT) The team responsible for product management at Swiss Post has chosen the Edelweiss shirt as the motif for the ESAF 2025 commemorative stamp. The design is the protected property of the Jenni family from Märithuesli AG, which has granted permission for it to be used, as Swiss Post writes in a press release. The Edelweiss shirt is particularly popular among wrestlers, making it the perfect choice for the special stamp commemorating this year's Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival (ESAF) in the canton of Glarus. The distinctive feature of the edelweiss pattern is the broad, wildflower that stretches across a light blue background.

This year’s commemorative stamp resembles a small square of fabric, whereby the design extends beyond the serrated edges of the stamp so that a book of ten stamps forms a single unit and fabric panel. The original fabric of the Edelweiss shirt is woven from double-threaded yarn, making it robust yet soft to the touch. While the Edelweiss shirt was originally worn as workwear, according to the Jenni family it has also been popular in wrestling since the 1970s.

The Jenni family has been producing shirts in the Bernese Oberland, a mountainous area in the south of the canton of Bern, for 45 years. These are then sold at several locations under the Märithuesli AG brand, with Edelweiss shirts being particularly popular with the public. “Our customers were repeatedly requesting Edelweiss shirts, but as this market had almost completely dried up at the time, we were unable to find a supplier anywhere. Eventually, we found a weaving mill, purchased fabric, and hired a seamstress”, as Samuel Jenni explains in the press release.

The Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival (ESAF) 2025 is set to take place August 29-31, with the canton of Glarus, otherwise known as the Glarnerland, hosting the event for the first time. Across a festival site of some 70 hectares, approximately 270 wrestlers, 70 stone throwers and 350,000 visitors are expected to attend this year’s event. ce/nta