Flag of Moravia

Last updated
Moravia
Historicka moravska vlajka.png
Use Other FIAV normal.svg
DesignHistorical flag of Moravia (the heraldic flag with Moravian Eagle), recommended by Czech Vexillological Society
Moravia
Flag of Moravia with eagle.svg
Use Other FIAV normal.svg
DesignFlag of Moravia as bicolor with gold-red checked eagle (from 2007), by Moravian National Community

An official version of the flag of Moravia, unlike the provincial Moravian coat of arms, does not exist, because such a flag has never been granted to Moravia. However, there are several documented variants of Moravian flags used in the past. The first recorded version dates from the mid-13th century. [1]

Contents

The oldest history

There is a description of a Moravian flag in the chronicle of Ottokar aus der Gaal (also known as Otacher ouz der Geul or Ottokar von Steiermark; born about 1265, died between 1318 and 1322): Die Steirische Reimchronik. [2]

Hern Dietrich Spatzmanen
sach man die banier leiten:
in einem rȏten samît breiten
was gewohrt ein lewe wîz.
ouch heten ir baniere flîz,
die von Merhaeren wârn:
ein geschâchzabelten arn
von rȏter und von wîzer varbe
sach man ob in begarbe
waejen von dem winde. [3] [4]

Jobst of Moravia, Gelnhausen Codex, 15th century Jost Moravsky, tez Lucembursky -.jpg
Jobst of Moravia, Gelnhausen Codex , 15th century

The history of the Moravian flag is very varied and begins in the 13th century in the context of the relations between Bohemia and Moravia organized within the construction of a centralized monarchy by the last kings of the Přemyslid dynasty. The colouring of the flag (or banner) was according to vexillological rules derived from the colours of heraldic coats of arms since the Middle Ages. [1]

The oldest depiction of coat of arms of Moravia, castle Gozzoburg in Krems Nejstarsi dochovane barevne vyobrazeni znaku markrabeci Moravy, hrad Gozzoburg v Kremzi.jpeg
The oldest depiction of coat of arms of Moravia, castle Gozzoburg in Krems

From the reign of Ottokar II of Bohemia, Moravia's coat of arms features a silver-red checquered eagle with a golden crown and claws, which looks to the right and is placed on a blue field.

The oldest surviving full-colour depiction of the coat of arms of Moravia is in a fresco in the hall of Gozzoburg Castle in Krems an der Donau, dating to the early 1270s. [5] The checquered eagle is documented in a depiction from 1286 and later in the late 13th and early 14th century. [6]

The colours of the chequered eagle were derived from the colours of the Bohemian lion (a silver lion on a red shield) and express the connection with the Bohemian king of Moravia and Bohemian monarchy, as, for example, historian Vladimír Růžek recalls. [7] One of the first documented illustrations of the banner of Moravia is the view in the 1407 Gelnhausen Codex, which depicts the Moravian Margrave Jobst of Moravia with a blue banner on which the Moravian white and red eagle is placed with a yellow crown and yellow armor without a shield. [1]

Modern age

Historical Moravian flag in the work of Jacob Kobel: Wapen des heyligen Romischen Reichs Teutscher nation (1545) Wapen 1545 Morhern (Mahren) Polychromie.jpg
Historical Moravian flag in the work of Jacob Köbel: Wapen des heyligen Römischen Reichs Teutscher nation (1545)

The heraldic flag of Moravia (the flag of Moravia in the form of the flag with coat of arms) is described and drawn for example in the work of Jacob Koebel: Wapen des heyligen römischen Reichs teutscher Nation from 1545. [8]

Historically, there were several versions of the widely used and documented Moravian flags, which were mainly used during the 19th century in parallel to bicolours and tricolours derived from tinctures of provincial coat of arms. [9] [10] According to some authors, therefore, the Moravian flag consists of three horizontal strips of red, white, and blue. [11] This color combination was the flag of the Moravian patriots in the 19th century. A delegation of the Moravians to the Slavonic Congress in Prague in 1848 allegedly marched under a tricolour with the top horizontal stripe white, the middle red and the bottom blue. [12] White, red and blue colors are referred to as Moravia in the Nový prostonárodní popis Čech, Moravy a Slezska from 1854 and in some textbooks from the 19th century. [13] According to Ivan Štarha, the Moravian colours in 1915 were white, red and blue, and between the years 1915 and 1918 yellow, red and blue. [14] [15] The Czechoslovak Republic restored the white or silver color to the Moravian coat of arms, but the color is not defined in the provincial status flags / banners Act No. 252/1920. Country flag do not know the later legal regulations (Act no. 269/1936, Law no. 222/1939, no. 163/1960, and now valid Acts no. 3/1993 Coll., No. 352/2001 Coll.).[ clarify ] [16] [17] [18]

Today, a yellow-red bicolour is sometimes used as the flag of Moravia, especially by some Moravian parties, associations and other organizations. [19] The yellow-red bicolour has been used along with other bicolours and tricolours since the second half of 19th century, according to certain authors (L. E. Havlík, M. Hlinomaz). [12] [20]

Hereinafter referred to as Morava: k státoprávnímu postavení země v průběhu věků. [9] [21] As stated by M. Hlinomaz:

Zdá se, že žlutočervený prapor, logicky odvozený od sněmem v roce 1848 přijaté formy šachování moravské orlice, nesl oficiální posvěcení úřady a pro svou podobnost s říšskou vlajkou, i sympatie moravského obyvatelstva německé národnosti. [9]

The historian Ivan Štarha argues that Moravia was never awarded the flag. [13] To today's yellow-red bicolour is sometimes added the provincial coat of arms with a red-gold checquered eagle. [22] The red-gold checquered eagle variant was introduced in 2007, and was recommended by some members and supporters of the Moravian National Community to avoid a possible misidentification with other flags, for example the flag of the capital city Prague, which also consists of yellow and red horizontal stripes. This option is criticized by some Bohemian (Czech) nationalist experts. [23] [24] [25] [26]

Both of these versions, however, have been criticized by certain experts approached by the media (specifically historian M. Řepa, vexillologist K. Müller, and heraldist Jiří Louda). [23] [24] [25] [26]

The appearance of the flag has been a subject of discussion for more than 100 years. [27] One variant consists of two bars, a yellow bar in the upper half, and a red bar in the lower half.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moravia</span> Historical region in the Czech Republic

Moravia is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moravians</span> Ethnic group

Moravians are a West Slavic ethnographic group from the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, who speak the Moravian dialects of Czech or Common Czech or a mixed form of both. Along with the Silesians of the Czech Republic, a part of the population to identify ethnically as Moravian has registered in Czech censuses since 1991. The figure has fluctuated and in the 2011 census, 6.01% of the Czech population declared Moravian as their ethnicity. Smaller pockets of people declaring Moravian ethnicity are also native to neighboring Slovakia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of the Czech Republic</span> National flag

The flag of the Czech Republic is the same as the flag of the former Czechoslovakia. Upon the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in December 1992, the Czech Republic kept the Czechoslovak flag while Slovakia adopted its own flag. The first flag of Czechoslovakia was based on the flag of Bohemia and was white over red. This was almost identical to the flag of Poland, so a blue triangle was added at the hoist in 1920. The flag was banned by the Nazis in 1939 as they established a government nominally in control of Bohemia and Moravia, and a horizontal tricolour of white, red, and blue was used for the duration of the war. The 1920–1939 flag was restored in 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opera houses in the Czech Republic</span>

There are ten opera houses in the Czech Republic. The most important are the two opera houses in Prague - National Theatre (Prague) and Prague State Opera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Bohemia</span> Historic flag

The flag of Bohemia is a historic flag, which now forms part of the design in the modern flag of the Czech Republic. The flag, a horizontal bicolour, was based on the colours of the former monarchs of Bohemia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hustopeče</span> Town in South Moravian, Czech Republic

Hustopeče is a town in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,400 inhabitants. It is known for fruit and wine growing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of the Czech Republic</span> National coat of arms of the Czech Republic

The coat of arms of the Czech Republic is divided into two principal variants. Greater coat of arms displays the three historical regions—the Czech lands—which make up the nation. Lesser coat of arms displays lone silver double-tailed lion in red shield. The current coats of arms, which was adopted in 1992, was designed by Czech heraldist Jiří Louda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Czech wine</span> Wine making in Czech Republic

Wine in the Czech Republic is produced mainly in southern Moravia, although a few vineyards are located in Bohemia. However, Moravia accounts for around 96% of the country's vineyards, which is why Czech wine is more often referred to as Moravian wine. Production centers on local grape varieties, but there has been an increase in the production of established international strains such as Cabernet Sauvignon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moravané</span> Political party in the Czech Republic

Moravané is a small non-parliamentary political party in Moravia in the Czech Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moravian folk music</span> Music from the Moravian region of Czechia

Moravian traditional music or Moravian folk music represents a part of the European musical culture connected with the Moravian region of the Czech Republic. Styles of Moravian traditional music vary by location and subject, but much of it is characterized by a specific melodic and harmonic texture related to the Eastern European musical world. According to Czech musicologist Jiří Plocek, Moravia is the area where the European East musically meets the West.

Intimate Sketches is a collection of piano miniatures by Czech composer Leoš Janáček (1854–1928) published in 1994, sixty-six years after his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margraviate of Moravia</span> Part of the Bohemian Crown from 1182 to 1918

The Margraviate of Moravia was one of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire and then Austria-Hungary, existing from 1182 to 1918. It was officially administered by a margrave in cooperation with a provincial diet. It was variously a de facto independent state, and also subject to the Duchy, later the Kingdom of Bohemia. It comprised the historical region called Moravia, which lies within the present-day Czech Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moravian Library</span>

Moravian Library is the second largest library in the Czech Republic. Located in Brno, Czech Republic, it is a universal research library and the regional library of the South Moravian Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National symbols of the Czech Republic</span>

The national symbols of the Czech Republic are flags, heraldry, cultural expressions and other symbols that represent the Czech Republic, Czech people and their history, culture and nationhood. There are six official symbols which are declared in the Constitution of the Czech Republic. However many other historical, cultural and geographical symbols of the Czech republic and Czech people do exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of Moravia</span> Heraldic symbol representing Moravia

The coat of arms of Moravia has been used for centuries to represent Moravia, a traditional province in the present-day Czech Republic. The coat of arms is also present in a field of the coat of arms of the Czech Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National colours of the Czech Republic</span>

The national colours of the Czech Republic are one of the national symbols of the Czech Republic, which officially represent the Czech Republic. The colours forming tricolour are in the following order: white, red and blue. The national colours come from the coat of arms of the Czech Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moravian cuisine</span>

Moravian cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with Moravia, a region of the Czech Republic and historically belongs to the Moravia, former historical country in Central Europe. Today, it is often perceived as an integral part of Czech cuisine, to which it has over the last century been artificially accommodated and mixed. Nevertheless, there is a large list of dishes, drinks and customs that are original only for Moravia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moravian Land Movement</span> Political party in Czech Republic

The Moravian Land Movement is a political party in the Czech Republic that campaigns for the establishment of an autonomous region in Moravia and Czech Silesia. It was founded in 2018 as a breakaway from Moravané and claims to be the successor to the Movement for Autonomous Democracy–Party for Moravia and Silesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dědice (Vyškov)</span> Town part in Czech Republic

Dědice is an administrative part of the town of Vyškov in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. According to archeological findings, Dědice is one of the oldest settlements in Moravia. In the town there is a parish church of the Holy Trinity, in the tower of which there is a protected area, in which Greater mouse-eared bat stays during the summer. There have been military barracks in Dědice since 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moravian Margrave Wars</span> Series of conflicts in Moravia during the 14th and 15th centuries

The Moravian Margrave Wars were a turbulent period of fighting, skirmishes, robbery and lawlessness that took place especially in Moravia at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Růžek, Vladimír (2013). "Cesty k definici (nejen) moravského znaku a praporu". Veřejná správa, No. 10 (in Czech). pp. 20–22:22. ISSN   1213-6581.
  2. Pícha, František (2013). "Znaky a prapory v kronice Ottokara Štýrského". Vexilologie. Zpravodaj České vexilologické společnosti, o.s. č. 169 (PDF). Brno: Česká vexilologická společnost. pp. 3320–3324.
  3. {{cite web
    | title=Ottokars Österreichische Reimchronik (MGH Deutsche Chroniken V,1)
    | url=http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/bsb00000779/images/index.html?id=00000779&groesser=&fip=193.174.98.30&no=&seite=226
    | access-date=2017-06-25}}
  4. {{cite web
    | title=Ottokar von Steiermark: 'Steirische Reimchronik'
    | url=http://www.handschriftencensus.de/werke/602
    | publisher=www.handschriftencensus.de
    | access-date=2017-06-25}}
  5. Krejčík, Tomáš; Pícha, František (2009). "Český a moravský znak ve znakové galerii v Gozzoburgu v Kremsu". Genealogické a heraldické informace 2008 : Moravská genealogická a heraldická společnost, o. s. 2009 (in Czech). Vol. 13. Brno. pp. 49–57. ISSN   0862-8963.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. Vojtíšek, Václav (1921). Naše státní znaky (staré a nynější) (in Czech). Praha: Vesmír. p. 21.
  7. Růžek, Vladimír (2013). "Cesty k definici (nejen) moravského znaku a praporu" (PDF). Veřejná správa (in Czech). No. 10. pp. 20–22: 21. ISSN   1213-6581. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  8. Koebel, Jacob (1545). "Wapen des heyligen römischen Reichs teutscher Nation" (in German). Frankfurt am Main. p. 14. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  9. 1 2 3 Hlinomaz, Milan (1995). "Ke státní a zemské symbolice českého státu v období 1526–1918" (PDF). Paginae historiae. Sborník Národního archivu (in Czech) (3): 152–194. ISSN   1211-9768. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
  10. Ke státní a zemské symbolice českého státu v období 1526–1918, p. 167th
  11. Brožek, Aleš (2003). Lexikon vlajek a znaků zemí světa. Praha: Kartografie. p. 50. ISBN   8070117761.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Havlík, Lubomír Emil (1990). "Symboly moravské identity" (PDF). Moravskoslezská orlice (in Czech) (14): 12.
  13. 1 2 Štarha, Ivan (2002). "Pocta Janu Janákovi. Předsedovi Matice Moravské, profesoru Masarykovy univerzity věnují k sedmdesátinám jeho přátelé a žáci". In Bronislav Chocholáč; Jiří Malíř (eds.). Moravské barvy a moravská zemská vlajka (in Czech). Brno: Matice Moravská. pp. 165–170: 168. ISBN   80-86488-07-1.
  14. Štarha, Ivan (2013). "Historie, moravské barvy a moravská vlajka" (PDF). Veřejná správa (in Czech): 165–170. ISSN   1213-6581.[ permanent dead link ]
  15. Moravské barvy a moravská zemská vlajka, p. 170.
  16. "Zemský registr erbů České republiky: Legislativa" [The National Coat of Arms Register of the Czech Republic] (in Czech). ZREČR.
  17. "Zákon č. 3/1993 Sb. Zákon České národní rady o státních symbolech České republiky" (in Czech). Zákony pro lidi.
  18. "Zákon č. 352/2001 Sb. Zákon o užívání státních symbolů České republiky a o změně některých zákonů" (in Czech). Zákony pro lidi.
  19. Moravské barvy a moravská zemská vlajka, p. 165.
  20. Havlík, Lubomír Emil (1990). Morava: k státoprávnímu postavení země v průběhu věků. Brno: Moravské občanské hnutí. p. 31.
  21. Ke státní a zemské symbolice českého státu v období 1526–1918, p. 168
  22. Moravské barvy a moravská zemská vlajka, p. 165-170.
  23. 1 2 Motýl, Ivan (June 2011). "Morava s ilegální vlajkou". Týden (in Czech): 14. ISSN   1210-9940.
  24. 1 2 Motýl, Ivan (July 2011). "Jak jsem urazil Moravany". Týden (in Czech): 12–13.
  25. 1 2 Štěpán, Petr (July 2012). "Moravskou vlajku vyvěsí téměř 400 obcí. Kvůli sporům není jasné, zda je to ta pravá". IHNed.cz. ISSN   1213-7693.
  26. 1 2 "Škromach: Že se vyvěšování moravských vlajek čecháčkům nelíbí? Jejich věc". Parlamentní listy (in Czech). July 2012. ISSN   1214-3154.
  27. Štěpán, Petr (5 July 2012). "Moravskou vlajku vyvěsí téměř 400 obcí. Kvůli sporům není jasné, zda je to ta pravá". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). iHned.cz.
  28. Svoboda, Zbyšek; Fojtík, Pavel; Exner, Petr; Martykán, Jaroslav (2013). "Odborné vexilologické stanovisko k moravské vlajce". Vexilologie. Zpravodaj České vexilologické společnosti, o.s. č. 169 (PDF). Brno: Česká vexilologická společnost. pp. 3319, 3320.
  29. Pícha, František (2013). "Znaky a prapory v kronice Ottokara Štýrského". Vexilologie. Zpravodaj České vexilologické společnosti, o.s. č. 169. Brno: Česká vexilologická společnost. pp. 3320–3324.
  30. Havelka, Jan (1880). "Erb a zemské barvy markkrabství moravského". Komenský (in Czech) (29): 454–455. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  31. "O barvách praporů (8. 9. 1888)". Orlice, časopis politický (in Czech) (19). Telč: Příloha Orlice k číslu 19. 1888.