Flag of Andorra

The Flag of Andorra is a tricolor consisting of three vertical stripes of blue, yellow and red. The middle stripe bearing the coat of arms of Andorra.

Description

The width of the three stripes of the Andorran flag stands in a ratio of 8:9:8, ie, the middle ( yellow ) stripe is slightly wider than the outer two. The colors blue and red of the Andorran flag are two colors of the French flag, red and yellow are the Spanish colors. The emblem is in the upper left quarter of the miter and crosier of the bishop of Urgel, the three red poles are on the top right of the Counts of Foix, the four piles at the bottom left of Catalonia and the cows in the fourth quarter are for the Counts of Béarn. The Latin motto means " Unity is strength ".

Only the state flag bears the coat of arms, the Civil flag also comes with no coat of arms. Rather unusual for national flags, the aspect ratio of 7:10.

2:3 or 7:10? Civil flag

History

Until 1806, the flag of Catalonia was used as the Bishop of Urgel was the Catalan rulers subject in Andorra.

The first known flag of Andorra was introduced in 1806 and was derived from the flag of the Counts of Foix. It was a vertically divided yellow- red flag.

Presumably, since 1866, a horizontal tricolor of red - yellow-blue was used with a crown in the yellow strip. By no later than 1939, the vertical version was used, possibly even earlier parallel to the horizontal flag. The emblem on the flag changed very little since then. The flag was officially confirmed but it was only on 20 June 1996 by the Assembly of the Consell General de les Valls ( General Council of the Valleys ).

According to a legend, was led into the arms of the state flag only one, as continuously came citizens of Chad to the Permanent Mission of Andorra in Paris. However Andorra leads the coat of arms since 1939 in his national flag, as it did not exist Chad .. The background of the legend was that the Andorran administrator in Paris let fly at the building the civic flag, as was customary in Andorra. Only after the rain visiting the citizens of Chad, he called from home to the service flag.

The flag of Chad only has a different format than the Andorran Civil flag. It's the same with the flag of Romania, which uses a slightly different shade of blue stripes. The flag of Moldova has also the national emblem in yellow stripes and is the only cultural flag a relationship with one of the other three, namely to that of Romania.

The various communities ( valleys ) into the tricolor their own coat of arms, there are also reports of a flag of the capital Andorra la Vella, is derived from the coat of arms.

? Flag of Andorra, 1806-1866

? Flag of Andorra, 1866 (? ) To about 1934

Flag of Andorra la Vella