 | |
| Landesflagge | |
| Use | Civil flag and ensign   |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 3:5 (or 1:2) |
| Adopted | 1953 (in use from 1948) |
| Design | A horizontal tricolour of green, white, and red. |
| Landesdienstflagge | |
 | |
| Use | State flag  |
| Proportion | 3:5 (or 1:2) |
| Adopted | 1953 (in use from 1948) |
| Design | The civil flag with the addition of the coat of arms. |
The flag of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia is a horizontal tricolor consisting of green, white and red.
After the establishment of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1946, the tricolor was first introduced in 1948, but was not formally adopted until 1953. [1] The plain variant of the tricolor is considered the civil flag and state ensign, while government authorities use the state flag (Landesdienstflagge) which is defaced with the state's coat of arms. [1]
The flag is a combination of the two former provinces of Prussia that comprise most of the state: the Rhine Province and Westphalia. The state ensign can easily be mistaken for the flag of Hungary, as well as the former civil flag of Iran (Persia) (1910–1980) and the flag of the Parti patriote. The same flag was used by the Rhenish Republic (1923–1924) as a symbol of independence and freedom.
| Flags from preceding Prussian provinces: | |
 |  |
| Rhine Province (1822–1946) | Westphalia (1815–1946) |
Westphalia is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of 20,210 square kilometres (7,800 sq mi) and 7.9 million inhabitants.
North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a state (Land) in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the most populous state in Germany. Apart from the city-states, it is also the most densely populated state in Germany. Covering an area of 34,084 square kilometres (13,160 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest German state by size.
The Rhineland is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Detmold is one of the five Regierungsbezirke of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, located in the north-east of the state. It is congruent with region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe.
Lippe is a Kreis (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe.
A civil ensign is an ensign used by civilian vessels to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from the state ensign and the naval ensign. It is also known as the merchant ensign or merchant flag. Some countries have special civil ensigns for yachts, and even for specific yacht clubs, known as yacht ensigns.
A naval ensign is an ensign used by naval ships of various countries to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from a country's civil ensign or state ensign.
Lippe was a state in Germany, ruled by the House of Lippe. It was located between the Weser river and the southeast part of the Teutoburg Forest. It originated as a state during the Holy Roman Empire, and was promoted to the status of principality in 1789. During this period the ruling house split into a number of branches, with the main line residing at Detmold. During the Reformation, Lippe had converted to Lutheranism in 1538 and then to Calvinism in 1604.
The Free State of Lippe was created following the abdication of Prince Leopold IV of the Principality of Lippe on 15 November 1918, following the German Revolution. It was a state in Germany during the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. After the end of the Second World War, the Control Commission for Germany – British Element (CCG/BE) abolished the state of Lippe in January 1947 and incorporated it into the new German state of North Rhine-Westphalia that had been created three months earlier.
This is a list of coats of arms of Germany.
The coat of arms of the German federal-state of Lower Saxony shows a white Saxon Steed on a red background.
The coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia is the official coat of arms of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Minden-Ravensberg was a Prussian administrative unit consisting of the Principality of Minden and the County of Ravensberg from 1719–1807. The capital was Minden. In 1807 the region became part of the Kingdom of Westphalia, a client state of Napoleonic France. The territory was restored to Prussia after the Napoleonic Wars and became part of the Minden Region within the new Prussian Province of Westphalia in 1815.
The Western German football championship was the highest association football competition in Western Germany, in the Prussian Province of Westphalia, the Rhine Province, the northern parts of the province of Hesse-Nassau as well as the Principality of Lippe, later to become the Free State of Lippe. The competition was disbanded in 1933 with the rise of the Nazis to power.
The flag of Baden-Württemberg, a state in Germany, has three variants. The civil flag has one design, while the state flag, has two designs. All three flags are a black over gold bi-color, while the state flag has one of two variants of the state arms centered on the flag. The flag, while identical, has no symbolism of or relation with the flag of the Austrian Empire.
North Rhine-Westphalia was established by the British military administration's "Operation Marriage" on 23 August 1946 by merging the Rhine Province with the Province of Westphalia. On 21 January 1947, the former Free State of Lippe was merged with North Rhine-Westphalia.
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