Ikurriña

The flag of the Basque Country ( Ikurrina [ ikuriɲa ] or Ikurriña to German: Flag ) was officially adopted in 1979 by the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. The Ikurrina is also part of the flag of Saint- Pierre and Miquelon and there symbolizes the Basque immigrants.

Description and significance

The red background is from the coat of arms and the old flag of the Basque province of Bizkaia ( Vizcaya) and stands for the Basque Country. The green of the St. Andrew's Cross stands for the independence and comes from the oak of Guernica, which is also a symbol of freedom of the Basques. Andrew's crosses have a long tradition in Basque flags. Supposedly, this stirs forth from a battle of Arrigorriaga on the day of Saint Andrew in the year 867, in which collided the princes of Biscay and Durango and the King of Léon. The white cross symbolizes God. Even white cross and Gernika oak can be found on the arms of Biscay.

Has a flag measuring the external dimensions of 500 x 280 cm, the crosses have a width of 43 cm.

History

For the most part the area of ​​today's autonomous Basque country was part of the Kingdom of Navarre and used the flag. Between 1000 and 1035 extended Sancho III. the Great his empire to wide parts of northeastern Spain. His flag Arrano Beltza (Basque for black eagle ), is still preferred by Basque nationalists as the Ikurrina gesamtbaskisches icon.

The Ikurrina was originally designed by the brothers Luis and Sabino Arana Goiri 1894 as the flag of Bizkaia and the first time put the public in Bilbao on July 14. Some sources indicate that the flag was only designed by Luis, while his brother Sabino created flags for the other Basque provinces. But when the Ikurrina to the flag was all Basques and the other designs were not implemented, Sabino said to have even temporarily leave the Basque Nationalist Party. The Ikkurina spread in the 20th century in Gipuzkoa, Álava and Navarre and the French Basque country.

During the Second Spanish Republic, the government of the autonomous Basque country, the Ikurrina first declared by the decree of October 19, 1936 as the official flag. The Decree of 24 October 1936, the width of the strips of the standard flag of previously 20 was extended to 43 cm in order to make especially the green cross more visible. During the Spanish dictatorship, the flag was banned as a secessionist icon. Only in 1979 it was reintroduced under the autonomous status of the Basque Country officially re.

? Ikurrina until October 24, 1936

Sabino Arana Goiri draft:

? Álava ( Araba )

? Bizkaia

? Gipuzkoa

? Labourd ( Lapurdi )

? Navarre ( Nafarroa )

? Soule ( Soule )

• Basque Country
• Navarre
• French Basque Country