50 Fun Facts About Flags of Europe

Which country put a gold crown on its blue and red flag after meeting Haiti's identical one at the 1936 Olympics?

Liechtenstein added its prince's crown in 1937, the year after the two teams turned up under the same banner. Haiti's only athlete at those Games did not even compete.

Which country's red flag with a white cross holds the Guinness record as the oldest national flag still in use?

Denmark has flown its flag, the Dannebrog, without a break since at least 1625. Legend says it fell from the sky in 1219 and turned a losing battle into a victory.

Which country's red-over-white flag is nearly identical to Indonesia's, which differs mainly in being longer?

Monaco takes its red and white from the heraldic colours of the ruling Grimaldi family, used since at least 1339. Its flag is cut 4:5, while Indonesia's is 2:3.

Which country's blue, yellow and red tricolour is so like Chad's that Chad took the matter to the United Nations?

Romania went back to a plain tricolour after its 1989 revolution, when protesters waved flags with the communist coat of arms cut out of the middle. Chad raised the likeness in 2004.

How many gold stars circle the blue Flag of Europe, a number that has never changed as the European Union grew?

Twelve was chosen as a symbol of perfection and entirety, not as a count of member states. The design dates from 1955, three decades before the European Communities took it up.

Which nation's flag shows a red dragon on green and white yet has no place in the Union Jack's design?

Wales was counted as part of the Kingdom of England when the first Union Flag was drawn up in 1606, so it got no emblem. The green and white behind the dragon are the Tudor family colours.

Which country's square red flag with a white cross was reversed in colour to create the Red Cross emblem?

Switzerland was the birthplace of the Red Cross movement, whose emblem was formed by reversing the country's federal colours. Its flag is square rather than the usual rectangle.

Which country's red, white and blue flag, the oldest tricolour still flying, began with an orange stripe on top?

The Netherlands first flew orange, white and blue as the Prince's Flag of its rebel leader, William of Orange. Red gradually took over between 1630 and 1660 as the republic drew away from his house.

Which country's white flag shows its own outline in copper above two olive branches, avoiding both blue and red?

Cyprus wrote a neutral design into its 1960 constitution, which ruled out blue, red, a cross or a crescent so that neither of the island's two communities was favoured.

Which country's tricolour puts white between green and orange to stand for peace between Catholics and Protestants?

Ireland's tricolour was championed in 1848 by Thomas Francis Meagher, who said its white centre signified a lasting truce between Orange and Green.

Which country's tricolour was born when white was added to the blue and red cockade of its capital's militia in 1789?

France took its flag from that cockade, worn by the Paris militia that helped storm the Bastille. White had been the colour of the royal flag, and red at first sat nearest the pole.

Which country's black, red and gold tricolour is linked to the uniforms of student volunteers who fought Napoleon?

Germany's colours are often traced to the Lützow Free Corps, whose mainly black uniforms had red facings and gold buttons. The colours flew over the revolutions of 1848 and returned with the Weimar and Federal republics.

Which country's green, white and red tricolour was first adopted in 1797 by the short-lived Cispadane Republic?

Italy keeps 7 January as Tricolour Day, the date the Cispadane Republic adopted the flag at Reggio Emilia. The three colours had first appeared on a cockade in Genoa in 1789.

Which country's red and yellow flag carries the Pillars of Hercules and the motto 'Plus Ultra' on its coat of arms?

Spain's red and yellow were chosen by King Charles III in 1785 from a dozen rival designs for a naval flag that would be easy to identify at sea.

Which country's green and red flag, adopted after a 1910 revolution, shows an armillary sphere behind a shield?

Portugal chose the armillary sphere because its sailors relied on the instrument in the Age of Discoveries. Green and red had been the colours of the republican movement since 1891.

Which country's flag has nine blue and white stripes, popularly said to match the syllables of 'Freedom or Death'?

Greece gives the stripes no official meaning, but the popular reading counts five blue for the syllables of 'Eleftheria' and four white for 'i Thanatos'.

Which country's red flag with a white-edged blue cross was designed in 1821 by Fredrik Meltzer, a member of parliament?

Norway's designer argued for red, white and blue as 'three colours that now denote freedom'. The king refused to sign the flag law but allowed the design for civilian use.

Which country's flag of white over red takes its colours from the white eagle and red shield of its coat of arms?

Poland made white and red its official national colours in 1831, though the pair had been tied to the country and its royal banners since the Middle Ages.

Which country's red-white-red flag is said to recall a duke's blood-soaked tunic, left white where his belt had been?

Austria's legend credits Duke Leopold V, whose white surcoat was drenched in blood at the Siege of Acre. The red-white-red pattern is first documented on a seal of 1230.

Which country's vertical tricolour of black, yellow and red takes its colours from the arms of the Duchy of Brabant?

Belgium's first revolutionary flag in 1830 had horizontal stripes and was hastily made at a fabric shop near Brussels city hall. The bands were turned upright the following year.

Which country's blue and yellow bicolour was banned under Soviet rule and officially restored in January 1992?

Ukraine's flag was first seen in Lviv during the 1848 Spring of Nations. In 1992 a dark blue was chosen over sky blue because lighter flags faded quickly in the sun.

Which European flag of white and red carries a bravery medal that Britain's king awarded to a whole population in 1942?

Malta was awarded the George Cross by King George VI in 1942, and the medal sits in the flag's top corner. Tradition says the white and red were a gift from the Norman Count Roger I in 1091.

Which European flag, adopted in 1929, is half yellow and half white with crossed keys beneath a three-tiered crown?

Vatican City owes its colours to 1808, when Pope Pius VII swapped red for white so his guards could be told apart from troops absorbed into Napoleon's army.

Which country's white flag with a blue cross is said to show its thousands of lakes and its winter snow?

Finland calls it the siniristilippu, or 'Blue Cross Flag'. Tradition traces the design to the poet Zachris Topelius, who proposed it in about 1860.

Which country's blue flag gained a red cross inside its white one in 1915 to set it apart from similar designs?

Iceland's flag law describes a sky-blue field with a snow-white cross and a fiery-red cross inside it. The colours are commonly read as volcanic fire, ice and the surrounding sea.

Which country's red flag with a white crescent and star is hailed as 'the red banner' in its national anthem?

Turkey kept the last Ottoman flag when the republic was declared in 1923. The white star and crescent on red had flown over the empire since 1844.

Which saint, said to have been crucified on an X-shaped cross, gives Scotland's flag its white diagonal cross on blue?

St Andrew's cross is said to have become Scotland's emblem on the eve of the Battle of Athelstaneford in 832. Pictures of the apostle on a diagonal cross appear on Scottish seals from 1180.

Which country's red flag bears a black double-headed eagle taken from the arms of its hero Skanderbeg?

Albania made it the national flag at independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. Skanderbeg had taken the eagle from the Eastern Roman imperial banner for his 15th-century revolt.

Which country's flag has a red and white checkerboard shield topped by a crown of five smaller shields?

Croatia put the checkerboard back in 1990, replacing the red star of the communist era. The five small shields stand for its historic regions, among them Dubrovnik, Dalmatia and Istria.

Which island's red flag shows three armoured legs with golden spurs, their feet all pointing clockwise?

The Isle of Man made the three legs its official flag in 1932, but they come from a coat of arms dating back to the 13th century. Islanders call them 'ny tree cassyn'.

Which yellow shape on Bosnia and Herzegovina's blue flag is meant to echo the rough outline of the country?

A triangle was chosen because its three points also stand for the country's three constituent peoples. The white stars beside it are cut off at the edges to suggest an endless line.

Which country's blue flag shows its own map in gold under six white stars, a design chosen by competition in 2008?

Kosovo adopted the flag on the day it declared independence. The contest drew almost a thousand entries, and the six stars stand for the country's main ethnic groups.

Which country redesigned its red and yellow sun flag in 1995 after a neighbour objected to the ancient symbol on it?

North Macedonia first flew the Vergina Sun, an emblem found at the burial ground of the ancient kings of Macedon, until a trade embargo by its neighbour forced a change. The new sun has eight broadening rays.

Which country's blue, black and white tricolour began as the colours of a student society at the University of Tartu?

Estonia's colours were adopted in 1881 by the Estonian Students' Society. After the Soviet occupation of 1940 the flag was banned, and even using blue, black and white together was punishable.

Which tsar introduced Russia's white, blue and red tricolour and made it the flag of Russian merchant ships in 1705?

Peter the Great first raised the flag in 1693 aboard the yacht Saint Peter while sailing the White Sea. Russia brought the tricolour back as its national flag after the failed coup of August 1991.

Which country's red, blue and white tricolour is said to be Russia's flag turned upside down at a prince's suggestion?

Serbia's Prince Miloš Obrenović first proposed copying Russia's tricolour outright in 1835. When the Russian consul took offence, he reportedly replied, 'Could we simply turn it upside down?'

Which country's white, blue and red flag has a shield showing Mount Triglav, its highest peak, under three gold stars?

Slovenia took the three stars from the arms of the Counts of Celje, a great medieval dynasty. The two wavy lines beneath the mountain stand for the Adriatic Sea and local rivers.

Which body adopted the blue flag with a circle of gold stars in 1955, three decades before the European Union did?

The Council of Europe adopted the design, usually credited to its staff member Arsène Heitz, as a symbol for the whole continent. It became the emblem of the European Communities in 1986.

Which former country added a blue wedge to its white-over-red flag in 1920 to stop it matching a neighbour's?

Czechoslovakia's flag outlived the country itself. When the federation dissolved at the end of 1992, the Czech Republic kept the old flag while Slovakia adopted a new one of its own.

Which king ordered the first Union Flag in 1606, three years after uniting the crowns of England and Scotland?

James I, already James VI of Scotland, had the two kingdoms' crosses combined by royal proclamation. At his funeral it was called the 'Banner of the Union of the two Crosses'.

Which country's yellow, green and red tricolour was re-adopted in 1988, well before Soviet rule there had ended?

Lithuania first adopted the tricolour in April 1918. Under Soviet rule it gave way to a red flag, which from 1953 carried white and green bands along the bottom.

Which country's red and green flag has a strip of red-and-white traditional ornament running down the hoist side?

Belarus took the ornament from a decorative pattern designed in 1917 by Matrona Markevich. The flag, approved in a 1995 referendum, is the Soviet-era design minus its hammer, sickle and star.

Which Latin word is written on a scroll beneath the three towers on San Marino's white and light blue flag?

Libertas, the Latin for freedom, sits below a shield of three towers. They stand for the citadels of Guaita, Cesta and Montale on the three summits of Monte Titano.

Which symbol stands on the middle of three blue peaks in the shield on Slovakia's white, blue and red flag?

A double cross rises from the middle peak, and the three hills stand for the Tatra, Fatra and Matra ranges. The shield was added to the plain tricolour in 1992.

Which gold object hangs by a chain from the red castle on Gibraltar's white and red flag?

A key hangs from the castle gate because the fortress was seen as the key to Spain, and later as the key to the Mediterranean. The design comes from arms granted by Queen Isabella I of Castile in 1502.

Which animal's head fills the shield carried by the eagle at the centre of Moldova's blue, yellow and red flag?

Aurochs, the extinct wild ox, was the emblem of the old Principality of Moldavia. The eagle around the shield holds a cross in its beak and an olive branch in place of a sword.

Which region's flag of four red stripes on gold was, in legend, drawn in a wounded count's blood by a king's fingers?

Catalonia's legend has a Frankish king mark the golden shield of Wilfred the Hairy, Count of Barcelona, in thanks for his service. The tale was first written down centuries after the count's death in 897.

Which country's white flag has a large red cross with a small one in each corner, restored after its Rose Revolution?

Georgia's Five-Cross Flag began as a banner of the medieval kingdom. The opposition revived it as a symbol of resistance, and parliament adopted it in January 2004.

Which Mediterranean island's flag shows three bent legs radiating from the winged head of Medusa?

Sicily's three legs are said to stand for the island's three capes, which also gave it the ancient name Trinacria, 'three headlands'.

What name is given to the blue, white and red adopted at an 1848 congress in Prague and used on Slovakia's flag?

Pan-Slavic colours were defined by the Prague Slavic Congress, which took its lead from Russia's tricolour. Bulgaria and Montenegro are among the Slavic nations that fly other schemes.