Landesflagge (state flag) | |
Use | Civil flag and ensign |
---|---|
Proportion | 3:5 |
Adopted | 26 May 1954 |
Design | A tricolor of red-white-red, defaced with an emblem. |
Landesdienstflagge (state service flag) | |
Use | State flag and ensign |
Proportion | 3:5 |
Adopted | 1954 (West); 1990 (Whole) |
Standard of the Berlin Senate | |
Use | State flag |
Proportion | 1:1 |
Adopted | 1990 |
The state flag of Berlin, Germany has three stripes of red-white-red, the two outer stripes each occupying a fifth of its height, the middle the remaining three-fifths. It is emblazoned with a bear on the civil flag, while it bears the coat of arms of Berlin on the state flag.
The civil flag of West Berlin was adopted on 26 May 1954. Designed by Ottfried Neubecker, it came in second in the 1952 contest, the winner having been rejected by the Senate. The bear is placed slightly off-center toward the left.
A bear could be found on seals, coins, and signet rings from as early as the late 12th century (but not as a heraldic charge before 1709), presumably due to a canting association with the city's name. [1]
The state flag replaces the bear with the full coat of arms, with the bear inside the escutcheon. Being the state flag for West Berlin, it became the flag of the entire city after the reunification of Germany in 1990. [2] Prior to that, it had also been the naval ensign, as no other existing flag could be used. The proportions of the flag are 3:5. [3] However, it was only used until 2007 when the Abgeordnetenhaus passed a bill to abolish the state flag. Since then, Berlin has had only one official flag.
Between 1618 and 1861 a bicolor of black over white was used as both a civil and state flag, under Brandenburg and successive Prussian rules.
Between 1861 and 1912, a horizontal triband ("tricolor") of black, red, and white was used in the proportions of 2:3. It was designed by Ernst Fidicin based on the colors of Brandenburg following the coronation of Wilhelm I on 19 December 1861.
Between 1913 and 1954, the civil flag was similar to the current one, except the design of the bear was different. Until 1935, the emblem itself was not established.
From 1955 on, East Berlin had the addition of two white stripes taking the outside halves of the upper and lower red stripes, and a slightly different design for the bear inside an escutcheon, topped with a crown. [4] The East Berlin flag was therefore a slightly modified version of the old state flag, with the civil flag being deliberately avoided in East Berlin—and conversely, adopted as official in West Berlin—due to the bear in the civil flag being off-center to the left and facing left, strongly suggesting an orientation toward the West. The West Berlin flag was adopted for all of Berlin after 1990.
The senator for the Interior and Sports has designated several official flag days. [5] On these days, the Berlin flag must be flown on all public buildings. They include:
Date | Name | Reason |
---|---|---|
27 January | Commemoration Day for the Victims of National Socialism | Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp (1945) |
8 March | International Women's' Day | International Women's' Day is a public holiday in Berlin since 2018 |
18 March | Anniversary of the 18 March 1848 | Anniversary of Uprisings during the German Revolution (1848) |
1 May | Labour Day | Established for German labours to demonstrate for the promotion of workers' rights |
8 May | Commemoration Day for the Liberation from National Socialism | Anniversary of the Victory in Europe Day 1945. |
9 May | Europe Day | Anniversary of the Schuman Declaration (1950) |
23 May | Constitution Day | Anniversary of the German Basic Law (1949) |
17 June | Anniversary of 17 June 1953 | Anniversary of the Uprising of 1953 in East Berlin and East Germany |
20 June | Commemoration Day for the Victims of Deportation | Introduced in 2015 by the German Federal Government (World Refugee Day) |
20 July | Anniversary of 20 July 1944 | Anniversary of the plot around Claus von Stauffenberg who tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler unsuccessfully (1944) |
3 October | Day of German Unity | Anniversary of German reunification (1990) |
9 November | Commemoration Day for the November Revolution and Declaration of the Republic (1918), November pogroms (1938) and the Fall of the Wall (1989) | |
The Second Sunday before Advent | People's Mourning Day | In memory of all killed during wartime |
On the Commemoration Day for the Victims of National Socialism and People's Mourning Day, flags must be flown at half-mast. In addition, they are to be flown on days of the election of the federal president, to the European Parliament, the Bundestag, the Abgeordnetenhaus and borough assemblies.
All 12 boroughs have a flag.
The national flag of Switzerland displays a white cross in the center of a square red field. The white cross is known as the Swiss cross or the federal cross. Its arms are equilateral, and their ratio of length to width is 7:6. The size of the cross in relation to the field was set in 2017 as 5:8. Alongside the flag of Vatican City, the Swiss flag is one of only two square national flags in the world.
The coat of arms of Germany, also known as Bundesrepublik Deutschland displays a black eagle with a red beak, a red tongue and red feet on a golden field, which is blazoned: Or, an eagle displayed sable beaked langued and membered gules. This is the Bundesadler, formerly known as Reichsadler. It is one of the oldest coats of arms in the world, and today the oldest national symbol used in Europe.
The coat of arms of Bern, along with the associated flag and heraldic colours, are used both by the Swiss city of Bern and by the canton of the same name. They were also used by the former district of Bern until its abolition in 2009.
The German state of Brandenburg has a coat of arms depicting a red eagle.
The coat of arms of Berlin is used by the German city state as well as the city itself. Introduced in 1954 for West Berlin, it shows a black bear on a white shield. On top of the shield is a special crown, created by the amalgamation of the mural crown of a city with the so-called people's crown, used in Germany to denote a republic. Berlin's various boroughs use their own emblems.
The coat of arms of Hamburg, along with the flag of Hamburg, is regulated by the constitution of Hamburg and law. The colors of Hamburg are white and red. One of the oldest versions of the castle is found on a seal in 1241.
There are three flags of Hamburg, Germany. The Landesflagge, the State flag of Hamburg (Staatsflagge) and the admiralty flag (Admiralitätsflagge) consist of the coat of arms of Hamburg on a red flag.
The civil flag that serves as the symbol of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, consists of five horizontal stripes, that are from the top to bottom: blue (ultramarine), white, yellow, white, and red (vermilion). It was designed by Norbert Buske and adopted on 29 January 1991. It is a combination of the historical flags of the Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania.
The flag of Bremen consists of at least eight equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, and checked at the hoist. It is colloquially known as Speckflagge. The civil flag does not contain the coat of arms. The state flag exists in three versions
The flag of Brandenburg is a horizontal bi-color of red over white, with the arms of the state (land), in the center. The coat of arms of the state shows on a shield in white (silver) a red eagle, looking to the right, with wings decorated with trefoils in gold and armored gold. In its current form, the flag was adopted on 30 January 1991, with further enshrinement in Article 4 of the Constitution of the State of Brandenburg.
The flag of Upper Silesia serves as the symbol of the historical and geographical region of the Upper Silesia in Poland, and as one of the symbols of the Silesian people; it is divided horizontally into two stripes: yellow on the top and blue on the bottom. It originated as the flag of the Prussian Province of Upper Silesia adopted in 1920, with its colours based on the coat of arms of Upper Silesia. The flag is also popular symbol used by the Silesian Autonomy Movement and the Silesian Separatist Movement
The coat of arms that serves as the symbol of the city of Szczecin in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland depicts the head of a red griffin with a yellow (golden) beak wearing a yellow (golden) crown, placed on the blue background.
The flag is the symbol of the city of Szczecin in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland.
The flag of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland is a trapezoid divided into red stripe on the right, and white stripe on the left, with a white eagle with yellow (golden) beak, legs, stripes on its wings, and a ring on its tail, featured in the middle of the red stripe. It was adopted in 2000.
The flag that serves as the symbol of the historical and geographical region of the Western Pomerania is divided horizontally into two stripes: light blue on the top and white on the bottom. It originated as the flag of the Province of Pomerania, Prussia, used from 1882 to 1935. Since 1996, it is officially recognized as the symbol of the historical region of Western Pomerania within Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, Germany.
The flag that serves as the symbols of the Koszalin County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northwest Poland was established in 2001, and the coat of arms, in 2002.
The coat of arms and flag that serve as the symbols of the Police County, in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland were established on 28 June 2000. They were designed by Radosław Gaziński.
The flag that serves as the symbol of the historical and geographical region of the Mecklenburg is divided horizontally into two stripes: light blue on the top and white on the bottom. It originated as the flag of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, adopted in 1813. Since 1996, it is officially recognized as the symbol of the historical region of Mecklenburg within Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
The coat of arms of Pomerania, also known as the Pomeranian Griffin, is the symbol of Pomerania, a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. It depicts a red griffin with yellow (golden) beak and claws, placed within a white (silver) shield. It originates from the late 12th century.