flag of the Czech Republic

{{hatnote|"Flag of Czechoslovakia" redirects here. For the flag of Slovakia, see Flag of Slovakia.}}

{{Infobox flag

| Name = Czech Republic

| Article =

| Nickname = Státní vlajka České republiky

| Image = Flag of the Czech Republic.svg

| Use = 110111

| Symbol = {{FIAV|110111}} {{FIAV|normal}} {{FIAV|Vertical normal}}

| Proportion = 2:3

| Adoption = {{start date and age|1920|03|30|df=y}}
(Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic)

| Design = Two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side.

| Designer = Jaroslav Kursa

| Image2 = War Flag of the Czech Republic.svg

| Noborder2 = yes

| Nickname2 =

| Morenicks2 =

| Use2 = Unit colour

| Symbol2 = {{FIAV|001000}} {{FIAV|normal}}

| Proportion2 = 1:1

| Adoption2 = {{start date and age|1993|df=y}}

| Design2 =

| Designer2 =

}}

The flag of the Czech Republic ({{langx|cs|státní vlajka České republiky}}) is the same as the flag of the former Czechoslovakia. Upon the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in December 1992, 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 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 lion with a double silver tail on a field of red).

After the establishment of an independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, the country had been using the red and white flag of Bohemia, almost identical to the Polish flag 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.{{cite web|url=http://web.uhk.cz/cvp/TZ03%20O_autorovi_vlajky.doc|title=Czech society of vexicologists on the origin of the Czechoslovak state flag|language=cs|access-date=2007-12-10|format=MS Word}} His design included the red and white horizontal stripes derived from the coat of arms of Bohemia and added a blue chevron 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 during the Second World War.Government of the Czech Republic [http://www.vlada.cz/en/clenove-vlady/historie-minulych-vlad/historie-statni-vlajky/the-czech-republics-national-flag-19198/ The Czech Republic's national flag]. Retrieved 4 March 2011. 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.[https://www.psp.cz/sqw/sbirka.sqw?cz=67&r=1990 Law defining state symbols of the Czech Republic] 67/1990 Sb, from 13 March 1990

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.[http://www.zakonypreludi.sk/zz/1992-542 Ústavný zákon č. 542/1992 Zb. o zániku Českej a Slovenskej Federatívnej Republiky], Čl. 3 ods. 2
(Constitutional act. No. 542/1992 Col. on the dissolution of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, art. 3 sect. 2){{Cite journal|last=Zeman|first=Jiří|date=2011|title=K některým otázkám používání české státní vlajky a vlajky Evropské unie|url=https://journals.muni.cz/cpvp/article/view/6377|journal=Časopis pro právní vědu a praxi|language=Czech|volume=19|issue=2|pages=163–169|issn=1805-2789|via=Journals.Muni.Cz}} However, the Czech Republic kept the use of the flag.[http://www.psp.cz/docs/laws/1993/3.html Law defining state symbols of the Czech Republic] 3/1993 Sb, from 17 December 1992[https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-the-Czech-Republic Whitney Smith, "Flag of the Czech Republic", Encyclopedia Britannica.]

{{gallery items|width=180

|x100px|Medieval Banner of the Duchy of Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty

|x100px|Medieval Royal Banner of arms of the Kingdom of Bohemia

|File:Flag of Bohemia.svg|Kingdom of Bohemia
until 1918

|File:Flag of Bohemia.svg|First Czechoslovak Republic
1918–1920

|File:Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg|First and Second
Czechoslovak Republic
1920–1939
Czechoslovakia
1945–1992|File:Flag of Bohmen und Mahren.svg|Protectorate of
Bohemia and Moravia
1939–1945

|15=File:Flag of Bohemia.svg|16=Czech Republic within Czechoslovakia (1990–1992)|17=File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg|18=Czech Republic
since 1993|19=}}

=Czechoslovakia=

{{gallery|mode=nolines|whitebg=y|height=100

|Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg|Flag of Czechoslovakia.
(1920–1992) 23px

|Naval Ensign of Czechoslovakia 1935-1939 1945-1955.svg|Naval Ensign of Czechoslovakia.
(1930–1955) 23px 20px

|Naval ensign of Czechoslovakia (1955–1960).svg|Naval Ensign of Czechoslovakia.
(1955–1960) 23px 20px

|Czechoslovak People's Army Flag.svg|War flag of Czechoslovakia.
(1960–1990) 23px 20px

}}

==Design contest (1918–1920)==

{{gallery|mode=nolines|whitebg=y|height=100

|Flag of Czechoslovak National Council.svg|Flag of the Czechoslovak National Council in Paris (1916–1918)

|Flag of the Czech Republic alt.svg|Original proposed flag by Jaroslav Kursa (1919)

|Czech and Slovak American flag.svg|Proposed flag by Czech and Slovak American Association in 1918

|Flag of Czechoslovakia (1920 proposal).svg|Czechoslovakia proposed flag in 1920

}}

Dimensions

{{multiple image

| direction = vertical

| width1 = 150

| image1 = Czech flag construction.svg

| caption1 = Geometry

| width2 = 150

| image2 = Flag of Czech Republic (vertical hoisting).svg

| caption2 = 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 colours permuted, and additional golden-yellow symbols added on it.

File:Tricolour_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg|Czech Republic tricolour

=Flag colours=

Colours scheme ! style="background:#FFFFFF; width:100px; color:black;" \| White ! style="background:#D7141A; width:100px; color:white;"\| Red ! style="background:#11457E; width:100px; color:white;"\| Royal Blue
class=wikitable width=60% style="text-align:center;"
CMYK	0-0-0-0	0-90-87-15	86-45-0-50
HEX \|#FFFFFF \|#D7141A \|#11457E
RGB \|255-255-255 \|215-20-26 \|17-69-126
Closest Pantone \| \|2035 C{{Cite web \|title=#D7141A color name is Lava \|url=https://www.color-name.com/hex \|access-date=2023-02-22 \|website=www.color-name.com \|language=en}} \|2154 C{{Cite web \|title=#11457E color name is Dark Cerulean \|url=https://www.color-name.com/hex \|access-date=2023-02-22 \|website=www.color-name.com \|language=en}}

Presidential standard

{{Infobox flag

| Name = Standard of the president

| Image = Flag of the President of the Czech Republic.svg

| Proportion = 1:1

| Use = Presidential standard

| Designer = 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,{{cite news |title=Zomrel heraldik Jiří Louda, autor českého štátneho znaku a prezidentskej zástavy |url=http://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/303287/zomrel-heraldik-jiri-louda-autor-ceskeho-statneho-znaku-a-prezidentskej-zastavy/ |work=Aktuality.sk |date=2015-09-02 |access-date=2015-09-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929143855/http://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/303287/zomrel-heraldik-jiri-louda-autor-ceskeho-statneho-znaku-a-prezidentskej-zastavy/ |archive-date=29 September 2015 |df=dmy-all }} 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, {{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}}.

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20050308084440/http://vexilolognet.hyperlink.cz/Symboly.htm History of the Czech and Czechoslovak flag] {{in lang|cs}}
{{FOTW|id=cz|title=Czech Republic}}
[http://all-czech.com/learnmore/flag-of-the-czech-republic/ Czech flag - facts, history, colors] {{in lang|cs}}
"[https://english.radio.cz/flag-expert-czechs-only-bring-out-their-flag-emotional-times-8104513 Flag expert: Czechs only bring out their flag in emotional times]" by Daniela Lazarová

Czech Republic

Category:National symbols of the Czech Republic