flag of Bavaria

{{Infobox flag

| Name = Bavaria

| Article =

| Nickname2 = {{lang|de|Streifenflagge}}{{cite web|title=Flag Legislation (Bavaria, Germany), Executive Order on Flags of 1954|url=http://flagspot.net/flags/de-by_lx.html#1954|work=Flags of the World|accessdate=19 September 2011}} (striped flag)

| Image2 = Flag of Bavaria (striped).svg

| Use2 = 110100

| Symbol2 = {{FIAV|110100}}{{FIAV|normal}}{{FIAV|Mirror}}

| Proportion2 = Not specified, often follows 3:5 ratio of German flag

| Adoption2 = 1806

| Design2 = A bicolor of white over blue.

| Nickname = {{lang|de|Rautenflagge}} (lozenge flag)

| Image = Flag of Bavaria (lozengy).svg

| Use = 110100

| Symbol = {{FIAV|110100}}{{FIAV|normal}}{{FIAV|Equal}}

| Proportion = not specified, often follows 3:5 ratio of German flag

| Adoption = Historical (13th/14th century)

| Design = An array of 21 or more lozenges of blue and white, with or without arms.

}}

There are two official flags of Bavaria: the striped type and the lozenge type, both of which are blue and white. Both flags are historically associated with the royal Bavarian Wittelsbach family, which ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918.{{Citation |author=Whitney Smith |title=Flags Through the Ages and Across the World|year=1975}}

Overview

Both horizontal and vertical flags with stripes or white and blue lozenges without arms can be considered official flags of the state, in Bavaria called the {{lang|de|Staatsflagge}}. They may be used by civilians and by government, including use on state motor vehicles. The striped and lozenge styles have equal status, and offices or users are free to choose between them.

The variants defaced with the arms are unofficial, and the use of the symbols by civilians is strictly speaking illegal, but is tolerated. A lozenge-style flag with the arms is common.

The lozenges are not set in number, except there must be at least 21, and the top right (incomplete) lozenge must be white.{{Citation |author=Marcus Schmöger |url=http://flagspot.net/flags/de-by_lx.html#1971 |title=Verwaltungsanordnung über die bayerischen Staatsflaggen|date= 2001-01-28 |accessdate=2008-11-24 |language=de}} (Translated.)

The exact origin of the lozenges is disputed. They are believed to be representative of the lakes and rivers of Bavaria or perhaps the sky, as in the Bavarian anthem, which says "{{lang|de|die Farben Seines Himmels, Weiß und Blau}}" – "the colors of His sky/heaven, white and blue".

In vexillology, flags are described and displayed from the front (obverse). In Bavaria, however, the description of the flag is based on heraldic rules. That is, the description is made from the point of view of a shield-bearer who is behind the coat of arms, and in this case, behind the flag. Thus, the right upper corner, reserved for a truncated white lozenge, is on the top left (adjacent to the flagpole) for the viewer.

= Colors =

The Constitution of the Free State of Bavaria defines the "colors of the state" as simply "white and blue", with no further specifications.{{cite web|last=Schmöger |first=Marcus (translator)|title=Constitution of Bavaria 1946 |date=28 January 2001 |url=https://www.fotw.info/Flags/de-by_lx.html |accessdate=2007-10-12 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001030735/https://www.fotw.info/Flags/de-by_lx.html |archivedate=2007-10-01 }} On 2 June 1999, the federal cabinet introduced a corporate design for the German government which defined "blue" as RGB 0,119,182 or PANTONE® 307, but it is unclear if these guidelines apply to the states, and in any case, in practice the specific shades can vary wildly, especially in unofficial uses.{{cite web |url=http://styleguide.bundesregierung.de/index_de.html?Content=basiselemente/farben/primaerfarben_de.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926233554/http://styleguide.bundesregierung.de/index_de.html?Content=basiselemente%2Ffarben%2Fprimaerfarben_de.html |archive-date=26 September 2007 |title=Primärfarben |work=Corporate Design Documentation |author=Federal Government of Germany |language=de |date=17 December 2007 |access-date=26 February 2008 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=Styleguide der Bundesregierung |url=https://styleguide.bundesregierung.de/sg-de/hidden/suche/farben-318376 |website=Bundesregierung |access-date=26 June 2020 |archive-date=15 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615221640/https://styleguide.bundesregierung.de/sg-de/hidden/suche/farben-318376 |url-status=live}}

class="wikitable"
Colour scheme ! colspan="2" style="width:100px;"\|Blue
align=center \| rowspan="2" \| CMYK \| rowspan="4" style="background:#0077B6; width:20px;" \| \| 100.0.100.20
85.0.100.0{{efn\|n=ZT\|For newspapers.}}
align=center \| Pantone (approximation) \| 307
align=center \| Decimal RGB \| 0,119,182

class="wikitable"

Colour scheme

! colspan="2" style="width:100px;"|Blue

align=center

| rowspan="2" | CMYK

| rowspan="4" style="background:#0077B6; width:20px;" |

| 100.0.100.20

85.0.100.0{{efn|n=ZT|For newspapers.}}

align=center

| Pantone (approximation)

| 307

align=center

| Decimal RGB

| 0,119,182

Historical flags

class="wikitable"

|+Historical flags of Bavaria

!Flag

!Years of use

!Government

!Notes

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|1353–1392

|Bavaria-Landshut

|Bavaria-Landshut was a duchy in the Holy Roman Empire from 1353 to 1503.

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|1392–1505

|Bavaria-Munich

|Bavaria-Munich was a duchy that was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1392 to 1505.

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|1505–1623

|Duchy of Bavaria

|The Duchy of Bavaria was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes under Frankish overlordship.

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|1623–1806

|Electorate of Bavaria

|The Electorate of Bavaria was an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806 when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria.

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|1806–1918

|Kingdom of Bavaria

|The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918.

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|1918–1919

|People's State of Bavaria

|The People's State of Bavaria was a short-lived socialist state in Bavaria from 1918 to 1919.

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|1919

|Bavarian Soviet Republic

|The Bavarian or Munich Soviet Republic was a short-lived unrecognised socialist state in Bavaria during the German Revolution of 1918–19.

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|1919–1933

|Free State of Bavaria

|Bavarian state in the Weimar Republic.

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|1933–1945

|Gau Munich-Upper Bavaria

|The Gau Munich–Upper Bavaria was an administrative division of Nazi Germany in Upper Bavaria from 1933 to 1945.

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|1945–1949

|American occupation zone

|The American zone in Southern Germany consisted of Bavaria (without the Rhine Palatinate Region and the Lindau District, both part of the French zone) and Hesse (without Rhenish Hesse and Montabaur Region, both part of the French zone) with a new capital in Wiesbaden, and of northern parts of Württemberg and Baden.