The flag of the Czech Republic () is the same as the flag of the former

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. Upon the

dissolution of Czechoslovakia The dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which took effect on December 31, 1992, was the Self-determination, self-determined Partition (politics), partition of the federal republic of Fifth Czechoslovak Republic, Czechoslovakia into the independent ...

in December 1992, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

kept the Czechoslovak flag while

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

adopted its own flag. The first flag of Czechoslovakia was based on the

flag of Bohemia 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 List of Bohemian monarchs, monarchs of Bohemia. The hera ...

and was white over red. This was almost identical to the

flag of Poland The national flag of Poland ( ) consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the upper one white and the lower one red. The two colours are defined in the Constitution of Poland, Polish constitution as the national colours. A variant of t ...

(only the proportion was different), so a blue triangle was added at the hoist in 1920. The flag was banned by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

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.

History

The traditional colours of the Czech lands originated from an 1192 coat of arms (depicting a

rampant In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a Charge (heraldry), charge, a Supporter (heraldry), supporter, or as a Crest (heraldry), crest. The attitude of a heraldic figure alwa ...

lion with a double silver tail on a

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

of red). After the establishment of an independent

in 1918, the country had been using the red and white

, almost identical to the

Polish flag The national flag of Poland ( ) consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the upper one white and the lower one red. The two colours are defined in the Polish constitution as the national colours. A variant of the flag with the nation ...

officially adopted in 1919. Following calls for a new flag to be adopted, a committee picked a design by Jaroslav Kursa, an archivist in the Czechoslovak Ministry of the Interior. His design included the red and white horizontal stripes derived from the

coat of arms of Bohemia 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 lio ...

and added a blue

chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...

extended halfway. The flag was officially approved by the National Assembly of Czechoslovakia on 30 March 1920 and since then, it has been in continuous use, with the exception of the

German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Additionally, during a short period following the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

, between 1990 and 1992, the Czech part of the Czechoslovak federated state adopted the previous red and white flag. During the 1992 negotiations on the split of Czechoslovakia, a clause forbidding the use of the state symbols of Czechoslovakia by either successor state was inserted into the legislation concerning the dissolution of the federation. However, the Czech Republic kept the use of the flag.Law defining state symbols of the Czech Republic
3/1993 Sb, from 17 December 1992Whitney Smith, "Flag of the Czech Republic", ''Encyclopedia Britannica''.
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Czechoslovakia

Design contest (1918–1920)

Dimensions

The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

of this flag is ''per

pall Pall may refer to: * Pall (funeral), a cloth used to cover a coffin * Pall (heraldry), a Y-shaped heraldic charge * Pall (liturgy), a piece of stiffened linen used to cover the chalice at the Eucharist * Pall Corporation, a global business * Pall. ...

fess In heraldry, a fess or fesse (from Middle English ', Old French ', and -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... ', and charge on a coat of arms">Latin ' ...

wise

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

Azure Azure may refer to: Color * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 * ...

, and

Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

''. The flag is formed from an

isosceles triangle In geometry, an isosceles triangle () is a triangle that has two Edge (geometry), sides of equal length and two angles of equal measure. Sometimes it is specified as having ''exactly'' two sides of equal length, and sometimes as having ''at le ...

that extends halfway along the rectangle (a common mistake is to draw it shorter) and two bands: one white and one red. The most similar foreign flag is the

flag of the Philippines The national flag of the Philippines () is a horizontal List of flags by design#Bicolour, bicolor flag with equal bands of royal blue and Crimson, crimson red, with a white, equilateral chevron at the Glossary of vexillology#Flag elements, hois ...

but the latter has dimensions 1:2, the three colours permuted, and additional golden-yellow symbols added on it. File:Tricolour_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg, Czech Republic tricolour

Flag colours

Czech law does not prescribe specific shades for the colours used in the national flag. The 1993 legislation refers only to the colours white, red, and blue, without providing detailed specifications regarding their exact tones. However, the law includes an annex featuring an illustration of the flag that employs saturated and rich versions of each colour.

Presidential flag

Another Czech official symbol is the

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

of the

president of the Czech Republic The president of the Czech Republic, constitutionally defined as the President of the Republic (), is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The presidency has largely bee ...

. It was first introduced in 1918 for the

president of Czechoslovakia The president of Czechoslovakia (, ) was the head of state of Czechoslovakia, from the Origins of Czechoslovakia, creation of the First Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 until the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia, dissolution of the Czech and Slovak F ...

. The current version, which was designed by heraldist Jiří Louda, was adopted upon the creation of an independent Czech Republic in 1993.

Literature

* Zbyšek Svoboda, Pavel Fojtík: brochure ''Naše vlajka. Vznik a vývoj české vlajky'' (''Our Flag. Origin and evolution of the Czech flag''), Libea, 2005, . * Petr Exner, Pavel Fojtík, Zbyšek Svoboda: brochure ''Vlajky, prapory a jejich používání'' (''Flags, banners and their use''), Libea, 2004, .

References

External links

History of the Czech and Czechoslovak flag
*
Czech flag - facts, history, colors

Flag expert: Czechs only bring out their flag in emotional times
by Daniela Lazarová {{Flag of Europe

National symbols of the Czech Republic

Flags with blue, red and white 1920 establishments in Czechoslovakia National symbols of Czechoslovakia