Flag of the Czech Republic

"Flag of Czechoslovakia" redirects here. For the flag of Slovakia, see Flag of Slovakia.

Czech Republic

Use	National flag, civil and state ensign
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	1 January 1993 30 March 1920
Design	Two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side.
Designed by	Jaroslav Kursa

The national flag of the Czech Republic (Template:Lang-cs) is the same as the flag of the former Czechoslovakia. Upon the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, 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 (only the proportion was different), so a blue triangle was added at the hoist in 1920. The flag was banned by the Nazis in 1939, and a horizontal tricolor of white, red, and blue was enforced. The 1920 flag was restored in 1945.

History

The traditional colours of Czechia, originating from a 1192 coat of arms (depicting a rampant lion with a double silver tail on a red background), are white and red. Due to historical considerations, the flag of the Czech Republic bears identical resemblance to that of Czechoslovakia.

After the establishment of an independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, the country had been using the red and white flag of Bohemia, identical to the Polish flag. Following calls for a new flag to be adopted by the fledgling state, 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, and added a blue wedge extended halfway along the flag.

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 during World War II, Additionally, during a short period following the Velvet Revolution, 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. The Czech Republic violated this clause, passing legislation overruling the previous agreement and keeping the use of the flag.

Kingdom of Bohemia 1198-1918 Czechoslovakia 1918-1920 Czechoslovakia 1920-1939 Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia 1939-1945 Czechoslovakia 1945-1992 Federal Czech Republic 1990-1992 Czech Republic 1993-present

Czechoslovakia

• 
  Flag of Czechoslovakia (1920–1992)
• 
  Naval Ensign of Czechoslovakia. (1935–1955)
• 
  Naval Ensign of Czechoslovakia. (1955–1960)

Dimensions

geometry

vertical hoisting

The blazon of this flag is per pall fesswise Argent, Azure, and Gules. The flag is formed from an isosceles triangle 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 but the latter has dimensions 1:2, the three colors permuted, and additional golden-yellow symbols added on it.

• 
  Czech Republic tricolour

Presidential standard

Standard of the President

Proportion	1:1
Adopted	1993 (1918)
Design	Coat of arms with national motto "Pravda vítězí" (Truth prevails) and leaves of linden tree.
Designed by	Jiří Louda

Another Czech official symbol is the Standard of the President of the Czech Republic. It was first introduced in 1918 for the President of Czechoslovakia. The current version, which was designed by heraldist Jiří Louda, was adopted upon the creation of an independent Czech Republic in 1993.

Previous versions

• 
  Presidential standard of First Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1939), and Czechoslovak Republic (1945–1960)
• 
  Presidential standard of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (1939–1945)
• 
  Presidential standard of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1960–1990)
• 
  Presidential standard of Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (1990–1992)

See also

• The red boxer shorts over Prague Castle

Literature

• Zbyšek Svoboda, Pavel Fojtík: brochure Naše vlajka. Vznik a vývoj české vlajky (Our Flag. Origin and evolution of the Czech flag), Libea, 2005, ISBN 80-239-5862-3.
• Petr Exner, Pavel Fojtík, Zbyšek Svoboda: brochure Vlajky, prapory a jejich používání (Flags, banners and their use), Libea, 2004, ISBN 80-239-2873-2.

External links

• History of the Czech and Czechoslovak flag Template:Cs icon
• Czech Republic at Flags of the World
• Czech flag - facts, history, colors Template:Cs icon