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, known in Polish as flaga Polski) consists of two equal, horizontal stripes: white (top side) and red. Used as one of national symbols at least since 18th century, it forms the official colours of Poland since 1919. There is also a version of the flag featuring the Coat of Arms of Poland in the centre of the white half of the flag, though its use is limited. The design of both versions of the flag is regulated by the Constitution of Poland of 1997Chapter 1, Article 28. and a separate On the Coat of Arms, Flag and National Anthem of Poland Act of the Polish Sejm of 1980 (with amendments)[http://isip.sejm.gov.pl/servlet/Search?todo=open&id=WDU19800070018. Polish Flag Day has been celebrated on May 2 since 2004. It is not, however, a public holiday.
History
For many centuries, the Polish flag consisted of a red background emblazoned with a White Eagle. During the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth the flag featured both symbols of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, though in fact there was little need for a state flag in a modern sense. Most of the military units flown the flags of their lands or founders (usually featuring coat of arms) and only the royal regiments used the royal standards. Some of the detachments however adopted the red and white stripes as their symbol. The shapes however often differed.
The situation changed in 19th century, during the partitions of Poland, when Polish patriots required an easily-recognizable flag that could be used both for identification of troops on the battlefield and as a symbol of the state. On February 7, 1831 during the November Uprising, the Sejm decided that national colours of Poland are those of Coat of Arms of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, that is white above red. However, after the fall of the uprising the official flag of Congress Kingdom was changed back to that of the tsars of Russia.
After Poland regained her independence in 1918, there was a considerable controversy over the adoption of a state flag. The coat of arms was obvious as it has been in use for roughly 900 years, however there were several possible versions of the flag. Finally, on August 1, 1919, the Sejm adopted the white and red flag at its current shape. Since the same shape and colours were used by port authorities around the world for harbour pilots and tugboats, the same act of the parliament adopted a variation of the flag with the coat of arms of Poland placed in the middle of the white stripe. The latter version was used as the Civil ensign for the merchant marine and by the diplomatic service abroad.
Since then the flag of Poland remained almost the same, with the exception of colour changes introduced twice (see below). At the same time, the version with the coat of arms changed several times, in accordance with the changes applied to the coat of arms itself. In 1927 a new design of the White Eagle was introduced. Between 1928 and 1938 the flag with the coat of arms served solely as the flag of the Polish merchant marine, after which it was again introduced as a flag of Polish diplomatic serviceUsed only abroad.. After the war the new communist regime removed the crown from the Eagle’s head and replaced (perhaps accidentally) the rosettes on its wings with stars, a change that was applied also to the flag. The changes were confirmed by the decree of December 7, 1955. It also extended the use of the flag with coat of arms to civil aviation (airports and civilian planes while abroad). The act of 1980 added port authorities to the list. The crown was reintroduced in 1990, and the current version is basically the same as that of 1927, with minor cosmetic changes.
The Color Red
| Shades |
| crimson | vermilion | red |
|---|---|---|
| #DC143C | #FF4D00 | #FF0000 |
| 1921-30 | 1928-80 | since 1980 |
The act of 1919 did not specify the exact shade of the red colour featured on the Polish flag. In 1921 a pamphlet issued by the Polish Ministry of Military Affairs all the state flags and symbols used the crimson red. The possible reason might have been that following 17th century the crimson was one of the most expensive dyes and was used by the magnate families and rich szlachta for their garment. The tradition was later adopted by various military formations (for instance the soldiers of the Bar Confederation) who wore distinctive crimson coats, serving similar role to the British red coats. On December 13, 1928 the President of Poland officially settled the controversy by ruling that the correct shade is rather Vermilion. The shade was in use until 1980, when a need arose to better describe the correct colour using scientific description rather than traditional names. On January 31, 1980 a new act of the Polish parliament described the colour using the CIELUV standard.
| colour | x | y | Y | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| white | 0,315 | 0,320 | 2,0 | 4,0 |
| red | 0,570 | 0,305 | 16,0 | 8,0 |
Notes
See also
- List of Polish flags
- flag of Bohemia (the same colors, the same order)
- flags of Monaco, Indonesia, Solothurn (the same colors, different order)
- flags of Austria, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, England, Georgia, Gibraltar, Greenland, Hong Kong, Japan, Jersey, Malta, The Isle of Man, Nepal, Northern Ireland, Peru, Singapore, Switzerland, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey (the same colors, different shapes)
External links
National flags | Flags of Poland
Польша ялавě | Flagge Polens | Poola lipp | Bandera de Polonia | Drapeau de la Pologne | 폴란드의 국기 | Bendera Polandia | Bandiera polacca | דגל פולין | Lenkijos vėliava | Lengyelország zászlaja | Vlag van Polen | ポーランドの国旗 | Flaga Polski | Bandeira da Polónia | Drapelul Poloniei | Flag of Poland | Vlajka Poľska | Застава Пољске | Puolan lippu | Polens flagga
"Flag of Poland"