European Union and Europe The European flag consists of 12 golden stars in a circle on a blue background. The circle of stars symbolises the ideals of unity, solidarity and harmony among the peoples of Europe. The number of stars has nothing to do with the number of EU member countries. The European flag signifies not only the European Union but also Europe in a wider sense. The history of the flag goes back to 1955, when the Council of Europe - defending human rights and promoting European culture – adopted the design for its own use. Over the following years the Council of Europe encouraged the emerging European institutions to embrace the flag as well. In 1985, it was taken up by EU leaders as the official emblem of the European Union (called the European Communities at the time). | |
Austria From the 13th century onwards, the Austrian flag consisted of a red shield on a horizontal white band. The red-white-red bands appeared for the first time in 1787 on national military insignia. The current flag was adopted as Austria’s national flag in 1918 and as a civic emblem in 1921, and was reintroduced on 1 May 1945, when the German occupation ended. | |
BelgiumThe Belgian flag, a variant on the French tricolour, evokes the coat of arms of the Duchy of Brabant, which dates from the 12th century: a gilded lion with red claws and red tongue against a black background. When the Brabant Uprising broke out in 1787, the people of Brussels adopted the tricolour rosette in red, gold and black as opposed to the colours of Joseph II (red, white and red). When Belgium became independent in 1830, the current flag was officially adopted, but at the time the bands were placed horizontally. The following year the government passed a law adopting vertical bands. | |
BulgariaThe three national colours – white, green and red – are linked to those used by the Old Bulgarian Army. The left wing of the army was distinguished by white strips on its spears, the right being marked with red ones. The elite troops, arranged in the middle, had a green strip, which was the traditional colour of the ruler at the time. The three-coloured flag had first been used by the First Bulgarian Legion of Georgi Rakovski (1861) and then confirmed as Bulgaria’s national flag in the Turnovo Constitution (1879). | |
CroatiaThe Croatian flag consists of three horizontal stripes in red, white and blue. The coat of arms of Croatia is positioned at the centre of the flag. It features a red and white checkerboard which also forms the basis of the eye-catching jerseys of Croatian national sport teams, for example of the national football team. Additionally, the main shield is crowned by five smaller historical shields. The red-white-blue tricolour has been used since the 19th century, originally by revolutionaries in 1848. However, since then, the central emblem has changed several times. The current flag with the coat of arms in the centre was officially adopted in December 1990. | |
Cyprus The Cypriot flag, which was adopted when Cyprus became independent in 1960, represents the island and two olive branches against a white background, symbolising peace between the Greek and Turkish communities. The yellow of the island is an allusion to copper mined in Cyprus since the third millennium BC. Indeed, the word copper originates from the Greek name for Cyprus: Kypros. | |
Czech Republic Red and white are the traditional colours of Bohemia and feature on coats of arms dating from 1192 (a white lion against a red background). The first Czech red-and-white flag appeared during the First World War and became the first national flag of Czechoslovakia in 1918. Since it featured the colours of Bohemia alone, the blue of Moravia and Slovakia was added in 1920. The same flag was officially adopted as the national emblem of the Czech Republic in 1992. | |
DenmarkThe Danish flag, or Dannebrog, is probably the oldest in the world. Legend has it that the flag dates from 1219, when the Danish King Valdemar II, who was leading crusaders into battle, saw a white cross outlined against the dark sky and interpreted this vision as a command from God to attack the Estonians. The red background is believed to represent either the dark sky in which the king saw the cross or the blood spilt during the battle. | |
EstoniaThe horizontal tricolour in blue, black and white was adopted on 29 September 1881 by the Estonian students’ association Virona. During the 1905 and 1917 revolutions it was adopted by the Estonian people as their national flag, and it became the state emblem when independence was proclaimed on 24 February 1918. It was readopted in 1990, when Estonia regained independence. In Estonian folksongs blue represents the sky, black the earth and white the aspiration to freedom and hope for the future. According to an alternative interpretation, blue symbolises mutual trust and loyalty, black the Estonians’ presumed ancestors (a people dressed in black and mentioned by Herodotus in his Histories) and white the snow which covers the country for half of the year. | |
Finland From the 12th century until the early 19th century, Finland belonged to Sweden. After gaining its independence in 1917, it adopted a national flag with a Scandinavian cross that was based on the Swedish flag. Finnish sailing clubs had already flown the same flag half a century earlier, when Finland was still under Russian domination. The first person to suggest blue and white as the national colours was the poet Zachris Topelius in 1862. The following year the daily newspaper Helsingfors Dagblad proposed a white flag with a blue cross. Blue stands for the lakes and the sky and white for the snow-covered earth. | |
France The French flag dates back to the French Revolution of 1789. Red, white and blue rosettes were worn by the national guard right from the start of the revolution. White was the colour of the monarchy, while blue and red were the colours of the city of Paris. And so the tricolour rosette became an emblem of revolutionary patriotism. Red, white and blue were adopted by the French people and were soon to be seen on standards and flags. On 15th February 1794 the tricolour was made the national flag. The flag was designed by the painter David on the orders of the National Convention. | |
GermanyThe current German flag, which was adopted on 23 May 1949, the day on which the Federal Republic of Germany was established, recalls the flag of the German Federation of 1848 and the flag of the Weimar Republic (1919-33). Black, red and gold are the historical colours of Germany found on the uniforms worn by Baron von Lützow's Freikorps during the Napoleonic Wars and on the flags of Prussia. They are also the colours of the Holy Roman Empire: black represents the eagle, red its beak and talons, and gold the gilded shield. | |
GreeceWhen the government adopted the flags of the Greek army and navy in 1822, they all bore the same white cross, a symbol of Christian faith. Blue and white were chosen officially as emblems during the war for independence. Blue represents the sky and the sea and white the purity of the freedom fighters. The nine horizontal bands refer to the nine syllables of the Greek phrase: Eleftheria i Thanatos (Freedom or Death). The flag was reintroduced in 1978. | |
Hungary As early as the 17th century, red, white and green were an important motif at coronation ceremonies. In the 1830s patriotic citizens began to wear these colours, and during the 1848 revolution the tricolour was adopted as the national flag. It was officially reintroduced in 1957. The colours are those of Hungary’s coat of arms: red shield, white bands, patriarchal cross and three green hills. | |
Ireland The Irish tricolour, which was adopted in 1830, is based on the French flag. The disposition of the colours (green, white and orange) was altered several times and a final decision was not taken until the 1920s. The flag was formally adopted in 1937. Green stands for the predominantly Irish nationalist movement and orange (the colour of the House of Orange) for the Protestant community. White, in the middle, symbolises peace between the two communities. | |
Italy This was originally the flag of the Cisalpine Republic founded by Napoleon. It was influenced by the French tricolour and used from 1798 to 1802. It was reintroduced in 1848 by the King of Sardinia, who added the coat of arms of the House of Savoy to the white band, and became the flag of the entire Kingdom of Italy in 1861. When the monarchy fell in 1946, the coat of arms was removed. | |
Latvia The red-white-red banner was first used by the Latvian people in 1279. In 1917 Latvian artists decided to change the red to crimson and to make the white band narrower. Banned during the Soviet occupation, the flag was recognised as a civic emblem in 1988 and became the national flag once again in 1990. | |
LithuaniaIn 1918 the Council of Lithuania appointed a special committee to design the national flag. On 19 April of that year a horizontal tricolour in the colours of traditional Lithuanian dress was approved. Yellow represents the sun, the source of light, while green stands for nature and life. Red is the colour of love and the blood spilt in defence of the country. The Lithuanian flag was readopted in 1989. | |
Luxembourg The colours of the Luxembourg flag are those of the Luxembourg coat of arms. Inspired by the French flag after the revolution, it has slightly different proportions to the Dutch flag and a lighter shade of blue. Although it has been used as a national emblem since the 16th century, it did not become the official flag until 1972. | |
Malta The two colours of the flag are those of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem. The George Cross was added in 1942, when King George VI of England awarded it to the islanders in recognition of their heroic wartime resistance. The cross bears the inscription “For Gallantry”. The flag was not officially adopted as a national emblem until 1964, when Malta proclaimed its independence. | |
Netherlands The Dutch flag dates back to 1579, when the Netherlands proclaimed its independence. At the time it was orange, white and blue, the colours of William of Orange. Orange was replaced by red during the 17th century but it remains the national colour and, the national flag is always accompanied by an orange banner on official holidays or diplomatic visits abroad. The flag was officially adopted in 1796 and confirmed as the national emblem in 1937. It has slightly different proportions to the Luxembourg flag and a darker shade of blue. | |
Poland The Polish flag consists of two horizontal stripes, the upper one white and the lower one red. These two colours are the national colours of Poland. White represents a white eagle, which has been a symbol of Poland since the 13th century. In conjunction with a red background, it featured on many Polish banners, flags and coats of arms in the past. The white-and-red bicolour flag was officially adopted as the national emblem in 1919, one year after Poland proclaimed its independence. | |
Portugal In 1910, when the republic was established, the royal white-and-blue flag was replaced by today’s green-and-red flag. Red stands for the revolution and green for hope. The Portuguese coat of arms is superimposed on a sphere symbolising the major discoveries of Portuguese navigators. The flag was officially adopted in 1911. | |
RomaniaAlthough the three colours, so dear to the Romanians, date back to the time of Michael the Brave (1593-1601), the three-coloured flag is quite recent. It appeared for the first time in the first half of the 19th century and was officially adopted as the Romanian national flag on 1859, when Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected as sole prince, reuniting the two provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia. | |
Slovakia The horizontal white-blue-red tricolour of Slovakia appeared for the first time in 1848, but without the shield. The shield, representing three blue mountains and a patriarchal white cross against a red background, was not added to the flag until 1992, when Slovakia became independent. | |
Slovenia The Slovenian flag, also bearing a white-blue-red tricolour, was first used by Slovenian patriots in 1848. In 1991 Slovenia's new coat of arms was added to the flag. It represents the Triglav, the highest peak in the Slovenian Alps. The three yellow stars against a blue background are from the arms of the former duchy of Celje. The small waves symbolise Slovenia's rivers and the Adriatic. | |
SpainRed and gold were chosen as the national emblem in 1785, but the present Spanish flag was not adopted until 1981. The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Spain consists of a shield bearing the arms of the former kingdoms of Castilla (a castle), León (a lion rampant), Aragón (four vertical red bands against a golden background) and Navarra (a gold chain against a red background), with a pomegranate, the symbol of the kingdom of Granada, at the bottom. The pillars of Hercules, representing the Straits of Gibraltar, were added by Charles V to evoke the overseas expansion of his empire. The pillar bearing the word plus is topped by an imperial crown; the other pillar is topped by a royal crown. The present arms of the State are those of the Spanish monarchy, symbolised by the emblem of the Bourbon monarchy, which was restored in 1975: three golden lilies against a blue background. | |
Sweden Although the Swedish flag dates back to the 16th century, its current colours and proportions were adopted in 1982. By royal decree of 1569, King Johan III ordered that all vessels of the Swedish navy should fly the golden cross. The flag, based on the Danish Dannebrog, bears the colours of the Swedish coat of arms, which dates from the 14th century and consists of three golden crowns against a sky-blue background. | |
United KingdomThe current flag of the United Kingdom, known as the Union Flag or Union Jack, is a combination of the crosses of : - Saint George - Saint Andrew - Saint Patrick the respective patron saints of England, Scotland and Ireland. It was officially adopted in 1917. The first version of the flag was created when the kingdoms of England and Scotland were united in the 17th century. The cross of Saint Patrick was added in 1801, when Ireland was incorporated into the United Kingdom. |