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Gruyères commune (Fribourg/Freiburg canton, Switzerland)

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Gruyères

image by Pascal Gross

Gules, a Crane rising Argent.
Željko Heimer, 4 November 2000

A room in the castle of Gruyères has murals depicting the development of the flag. I forgot the exact details, but an early duke carried a plain red banner in battle. Later he impaled a crane (grue) on the pike as a good luck charm. Perhaps he eventually got tired of carrying dead smelly birds, and the crane ended up more economically on the flag itself.
Todd Mills, 4 November 2000

[Here one of those pictures of the Count of Gruyères at the battle of Nancy in 1477 with his flag (source), here a look into the Knights Hall in Castle Gruyères (source)]

[Note: The spelling of the commune is Gruyères, as opposed to the district which is spelled Gruyère]