Flag of Spain. Flag and coat of arms of Spain: history of creation Flag of Spain in 1970

Many people know what the flag of Spain looks like, but probably not everyone knows why the country chose these colors for its banner. Quite often, the standards of states reflect their history. Spain was no exception. Its coat of arms and flag evolved over the centuries as the small kingdom of León grew into a powerful, centralized empire. The twentieth century was not without metamorphoses. The country's national banners changed under the Republic and during Franco's dictatorship. So the current flag of Spain was officially approved relatively recently - in 1981, on December 19. How this symbol of the country was created, and what it looks like today - read in this article.

Banner of Catalonia and Aragon

Legend claims that after the end of the reconquista (the reconquest of Christian lands from the Moors), the king of Aragon, Godfrey Berenguer, dipped his fingers into the wounds of the Moorish king and drew several stripes of his blood along the golden banner of the Vatican, thereby symbolizing that from now on only the Roman Empire would triumph on his lands. Catholic faith. On the monarch's coat of arms, the lines were vertical. Their width was equal to the golden stripes. However, on the flag of the kingdom, and now the province of Catalonia, we see four horizontal red lines interspersed with five yellow (gold) lines. There is no coat of arms on this banner. Since many of our compatriots go on holiday to the Costa Brava or a little south of Barcelona, they have a false idea of which flag in this country is endowed with great powers, and the flags of the lands are flown at government institutions.

Flag of the times of the centralized monarchy

When Alphonse married the heir to the throne, Princess Maria of Castile, in 1415, their lands merged into one. It was a huge conglomerate, including not only Catalonia and the lands around Toledo, but also Valencia, Naples, Mallorca, Asturias, Sicily, Sardinia. The national symbols of the core of the future empire included the coat of arms and the royal standard of Aragon - red and yellow equal stripes. And when the Bourbon dynasty ascended the throne, the flag of Spain changed. Their "ancestral" color was white, with royal gold lilies all over the field. However, the Bourbon family and related Habsburgs took root in many monarchies. They ruled both France and Italy. Therefore, confusion often arose, especially on the seas, when identifying the nationality of ships.

Back to the roots

In 1785, the Spanish monarch Carlos III of Bourbon, by royal decree, ordered ships to change their white standards with a coat of arms to yellow-red ones. Returning to the heraldic colors of Aragon, the king nevertheless decided to insert his coat of arms on the panel. To prevent the stripes from crossing it out, he reduced the number of red lines and made them thinner. The royal coat of arms looked more impressive against a yellow background. In this form, the flag of Spain existed until 1927, when it was officially approved as the national symbol of the country. During the Republic (1931), the royal coat of arms was removed, and the banner began to consist of equal stripes of yellow, purple and scarlet. During the Civil War it was replaced by purple. After the victory of Franco's dictatorship, the flag again became red and yellow. It was decorated with a black eagle with a shield, and the crown was depicted in the form of an open bowl of a flower. This symbolized that the throne of the monarchy was empty.

Modern flag of Spain

The photo shows that the current main standard of the country is a rectangular panel with three horizontal stripes. Two of them - red - are located along the upper and lower edges. These lines are equal to each other in parameters. The yellow stripe in the middle should be twice as wide as the red ones. At a distance of one third from the staff, the national coat of arms is visible. It is placed only on the yellow stripe and does not touch the red ones. The coat of arms is crowned with a crown - a sign that Spain is a monarchy. This national symbol has also gone through many modifications throughout its history. Now the country's coat of arms consists of the heraldic shields of the five main provinces. It features the castle of Castile, the yellow and red stripes of Aragon, the lion of Leon, the Navarrean gold chain with emerald and the golden pomegranate on a silver background of Andalusia. The modern coat of arms and flag of Spain were approved by King Juan Carlos in 1981.

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Coat of arms and flag of Spain: a reflection of the country's history

Spain is a colorful country that leaves no one indifferent. It's impossible not to fall in love with her.

The Spaniards amaze with their patriotism and love for the country, devotion to it, the king and everything connected with them. The coat of arms and flag evoke special reverence and respect among them.

What does the flag look like?

Surely every person who applies for a visa to Spain knows a lot of interesting things about this country, including its flag.

Externally, it is a rectangular canvas, which is divided into three horizontal unequal stripes:

red - upper and lower, equal in width;
yellow - middle stripe, the width is double the size of the red one.

At the same time, the coat of arms of Spain is depicted on a yellow stripe. The image is located closer to the staff, at a distance of 1/3 of the length of the entire panel.

It is allowed to use both a full and a simplified version of the flag without a coat of arms. As a rule, the first is used for official purposes.

Story

The modern flag of Spain with an updated coat of arms, the full version of which can be seen in the official photo, appeared relatively recently. It was accepted by King Juan Carlos in mid-December 1981.

For many years the country was ruled by the Bourbon dynasty. In those days the flag was snow-white. Since this dynasty also ruled France, confusion often arose in the navy.

To avoid this, in 1785, King Carlos III of Bourbon ordered the country's warships to raise a flag different from the ships of other states. It was from those times that the canvas became a red-yellow tricolor depicting the coat of arms of Castile and Leon. The general principle of that flag has survived to this day, but it became state flag only in 1927.

Between 1931 and 1939, when the country was declared a republic, its flag also changed. Then it was a tricolor of stripes of the same width of red, yellow and purple. However, the military coup of General Francisco Franco ended the republic. As a result, the red and yellow flag was officially restored.

Meaning

Red and yellow colors are not accidental. They are connected with the events of the Reconquista. It was then that the Iberian Christians conquered their own lands from the Moorish emirates. They are also historically associated with the heraldry of Aragon and Castile.

Several legends have come down to us that tell about the origin of the Spanish flag. As one of them says, Godfrey Berenguer, who was the king of Aragon, at the end of the battle gave a sign of the end of the war. To do this, he ran his hand, which had blood on it, over his own golden shield. As a result, there were four red stripes left on it.

That is why three stripes appeared on the flag of the kingdom, created a little later. The stripes located along the edges are red, and in the middle - gold.

The fact that the stripes are located horizontally is also no coincidence. This is a reminder that the ruling Habsburg dynasty was able to unite several small European countries into a single state.

What does the coat of arms of Spain mean?

Like the flag, it has an interesting history. Every detail has a special meaning. There are no random signs or images here.

It should be noted that each province and historical part was reflected in it:

a golden stone castle on a red background symbolizes Castile;
purple image of a lion - three Spanish provinces: Leon, Galicia and Asturias;
red and gold stripes - Catalonia, Aragon and Balearic Islands;
gold chains with emerald - province of Navarre;
the garnet on a silver background, depicted at the bottom of the coat of arms, is Andalusia;
the shield, on a turquoise background of which there are three golden lily buds, is the Angevin branch of the Bourbon dynasty, since all the ruling kings of the country belonged to it;
On the sides there are columns - the Pillars of Hercules. Previously this was the name of Gibraltar. For a long time it was considered the end of the world;
This is also evidenced by the slogan Plus Ultra, which is translated from Latin as “beyond the limit.” Before Columbus discovered America, the prefix Non was used and the inscription translated as “nowhere further”;
the majestic royal crown symbolizes royal power. Her image appeared during the reign of Philip II.

Thus, we can say that the modern flag and coat of arms of Spain are a real message encrypted in symbols. It reflects everything valuable that every resident of the country is proud of.

Coat of arms of Spain- bringing together its entire history. It represents all the kingdoms that united in modern Spain: Castile is represented by a castle; Leon, Asturias and Galicia - lion; Aragon, Catalonia and Balearic Islands - four red stripes on a gold background; Navarre - in the form of chains; Andalusia is depicted in the form of a pomegranate, since in Spain it grows mainly only on the lands of Granada - the last Muslim state captured by Christian kings during the Reconquista; in the heart of the coat of arms - on an oval-shaped shield, three golden lilies in an azure field with a scarlet border represent the Angevin branch of the Bourbon dynasty, to which the king and his family belong, and the crown crowning the coat of arms, - a sign that Spain - kingdom; the columns symbolize the Pillars of Hercules, as Gibraltar was previously called, which at one time was considered the end of the world. It is interesting to note that the well-known dollar sign - these are the same Pillars of Hercules, entwined with ribbon.

The motto is “PlvsVltra " - lat. beyond the limit(Before Columbus discovered America: NonPlvsVltra - lat. nowhere else, because the pillars of Hercules were considered the end of the world).

National flag of Spain consists of three horizontal stripes- the top and bottom are red, the middle is yellow, the width of which is twice as wide as the red one. On the yellow stripe there is an image of the coat of arms of Spain shifted to the shaft.

Legend associates the symbolic meaning of the colors of this flag with its origin. According to legend, one of the kings of Aragon wanted to have his own banner. Looking at the various banner designs, he settled on one with a smooth gold field. Then he ordered a cup of fresh animal blood to be presented and, dipping two fingers into it, the monarch ran them across the yellow cloth, on which two red stripes appeared.

The flag of Spain in its modern form has existed since 1785when the king

Carlos III Bourbon ordered Spanish warships to use signs to distinguish them from ships of other countries - the white naval standard of Spain, decorated with the coat of arms of the House of Bourbon, could easily be confused with the standards of ships of other countries. Since then, red and yellow colors have traditionally been associated with Spain, although they were adopted as state colors only in 1927 G.

The Spaniards, as true patriots of their country, are sensitive to the official state symbols, in particular to their flag, which the Spanish people poetically call “rojigualda”. In its modern form, the flag of the kingdom has existed for thirty-seven years, from the date of approval by King Juan Carlos I.

Description and parameters

The current flag of the Kingdom of Spain looks like a three-stripe panel. Its central horizontal stripe depicts a modern one offset to the shaft. The yellow stripe, the largest, is in the middle of the flag. Two red ones are lower and higher than the yellow one, each of them is half the size of the central one.

The geometric proportions of the Spanish symbol are as follows:

The ratio of the width of the panel to its length is 2:3.
The yellow stripe occupies 50% of the canvas.
Two red ones – 25% of the flag fabric.
The position of the country's coat of arms on the yellow stripe is at a distance of 1/3 from the left edge of the flag.

Available in two versions:

The simplified version is a three-strip canvas without a coat of arms. This type is used privately.
The full one is used for official purposes and differs from the above version by the presence of a coat of arms on the flag field.

Name

The flag has an unofficial name - “rojigualda”. This word is formed by merging two words that directly refer to the flag colors: rojo is Spanish for “red,” and gualda is a shade of mignonette that grows in Spanish territories.

In addition, the word “mignonette” in heraldry originally denoted a dark yellow color shade. The fact is that in the Middle Ages mignonette was used as a dyeing plant: fabrics were dyed yellow using mignonette juice.

This name can be literally translated as “red mignonette”, so it is fully justified by the color scheme, which has remained unchanged for several centuries.

Justification of colors and proportions

The appearance of the three-stripe yellow-red flag is associated with historical legends that explain its color scheme:

According to one of them, one of the rulers of Aragon (a region in Perenea, which became part of Spain at the beginning of the 18th century) chose a yellow cloth as the flag for his kingdom, which reminded him of the sand of the arena where bullfights take place. Dipping his hands into a goblet of ox's blood, the king drew two bright red stripes on the cloth.
According to another version, the Aragonese king Gottfried Berenguer, after defeating the Moors, ran his bloody fingers across the surface of his golden shield, leaving traces of stripes on it as a sign of the end of hostilities.

Be that as it may, one thing is certain: these two colors are the heraldic colors of medieval Aragon and Castile, kingdoms that united and laid the foundation for a single state - Spain.

The warm color of the panel, so suitable for a hot country, undoubtedly corresponds to heraldic norms, because according to them:

Red is a symbol of courage, fearlessness, bravery, strength;
Gold is a color that represents power, wealth, as well as justice and generosity.

The red color on the flag of Spain represents the blood of the Spaniards shed in the wars for the Fatherland, and is also associated with the blood shed in bullfights. Yellow is associated with both the sun and the sand of the arena, where the fight between the bullfighter and the bull takes place.

The width of the stripes and their horizontal position also has its justification:

The middle stripe was enlarged compared to the other two to accommodate the coat of arms. In addition, against the yellow background, the coat of arms stood out and was clearly visible;
Horizontal stripes are a sign of the unification of small countries into a single state under the rule of the Habsburg dynasty.

Appearance of the coat of arms on the flag

The current Spanish coat of arms is placed on the flag of the kingdom. The coat of arms is divided into four parts: a yellow castle on a red background and a red lion on a white background at the top represent Castile and Leon respectively. At the bottom there are red and yellow vertical stripes and linked gold chains - this is the symbol of Aragon and Navarre. At the base of the shield is a pomegranate, the symbol of Andalusia.

The lilies in the center are the Angevin branch of the Bourbons. The crown crowning the coat of arms is a sign of the monarchy. The Pillars of Hercules are the Strait of Gibraltar.

Historical flags of Spain

In the history of the formation of the Spanish national flag, several significant dates and periods can be distinguished.

1415 - equal horizontal stripes of red and yellow - this is what the standard of Aragon looked like.

Burgundy cross

The Spanish naval flag from 1506 to 1701 featured a red Burgundian cross (two diagonal branched stripes) on a snow-white field, which was originally the official symbol of Castile. Under Philip II, at the end of the 16th century, the white background of this flag was changed to yellow.

Flag of the Bourbons

XVII-XVIII centuries – the flag of Spain was the white cloth of the Bourbons with the coat of arms printed on it. The reason for its replacement was the similarity with the flags of other countries, the indistinguishability of the standard at sea, and the impossibility of identifying it as Spanish.

To the modern version

1785 - Charles (Carlos) III of Bourbon ordered the use of a flag corresponding to the modern version without a coat of arms as a commercial standard, and the same version with a coat of arms as a military one (on Spanish ships). The flag existed in this form until 1931.

First Spanish Republic

During the short period of the First Spanish Republic (1873-1874), the crown was removed from the flag's coat of arms as a symbol of royal power, and the color scheme did not change even during this period.

Second Spanish Republic

1931 -1936 - flag of the Second Spanish Republic: three-stripe flag with equal stripes of red, yellow, violet/purple (from top to bottom). The lower stripe is believed to represent Castile on the flag. On the yellow stripe was placed a shield, divided into four parts, with columns of Hercules and a crown in the form of a castle.

Under Francisco Franco

1938 - 1981 - the color scheme of the flag is the same, pre-revolutionary. Instead of a coat of arms during this period, it featured a black eagle with a shield - a symbol of the reign of F. Franco. The image of the eagle changed several times: in 1938, 1945, 1977.

And in 1981, the modern version was approved.

Thus, changes in the flag of Spain concerned mainly the coat of arms depicted here (in connection with the change in forms of government in the country), and its color palette remained constant for a long time, except for the years of the Second Revolution.

There is a date that the Spaniards consider to be the date of the appearance of their national symbol - May 28, 1785. On this day, a competition was held to design the military and commercial flag of Spain by Charles III.
Since 1908, a royal decree has allowed private houses of Spanish citizens and public buildings to be decorated with flags during national Spanish holidays. Before this, hanging Spanish banners was allowed only in strictly defined places specified in the law.
It was only in 1927 that the yellow-red flag was officially approved as the national symbol of the country.
Since 1936, by decree of Franco, the flag with the coat of arms has acted simultaneously as a state and civil maritime flag.

Since 1981, the symbol of Spain, beloved by the Spaniards and unlike any other in the world, has flown from Spanish homes on national holidays and from stadiums during sporting events. The symbol, which has such a long history of existence and is distinguished by its constant color scheme, is recognizable in all countries as the flag of the Kingdom of Spain.

The national flag and coat of arms of Spain in their current version were approved on December 19, 1981. Before this, state symbols underwent a number of changes, the history of whose creation we will tell you.

The presence of red and yellow in the flag and coat of arms of Spain is associated with the military actions of the Reconquista, when Christian kings reclaimed their lands from the Moors.

According to legend, King Godfrey Berenguer of Aragon, after a significant victory, ran his bloody hand over his golden shield as a sign of the end of the war, leaving four red stripes on it.

Thus, the flag of the then created Spanish kingdom consisted of three stripes: in the middle - gold, along the edges - red.

The horizontal position of the stripes on the flag of Spain testifies to the actions during the reign of the Habsburg dynasty, which united small European countries into a single state.

During the revolutions of 1873-1987. and the war in Spain 1936-1939. , the red stripes on the flag of Spain were replaced by purple ones. During the reign of the Bourbon dynasty, the flag of Spain was white. But since the Bourbon dynasty ruled France, Spain and Italy, confusion began to occur when identifying ships at sea. Therefore, Carlos III introduced the tricolor flag and coat of arms of Spain on ships.

After the overthrow of the monarchy and during the reign of dictator Franco, the flag and coat of arms of Spain began to feature a black single-headed eagle with a shield, and the royal crown was depicted as an open crown, since the throne was not occupied at that time.

The Spanish coat of arms reflects the history of the formation of the state

After the restoration of the monarchy in 1975, King Juan Carlos I of Spain approved a new Spanish coat of arms. Now the shield of the Spanish coat of arms is divided into 5 parts according to the number of states united in the Kingdom of Spain - Castile, Leon, Aragon, Navarre, Granada.

Castile - golden castle on a red background;
Leon - purple linen on a silver background;
Aragon - shield with red and yellow stripes;
Navarre - gold chains with emerald;
Granada - garnet on a silver background.

The central part of the Spanish coat of arms symbolizes the Bourbon dynasty in the form of three golden lilies. The columns represent the Strait of Gibraltar. The ribbons have a motto written in Latin: “Plus Ultra,” which translates as “Further and Further.” The crown on the Spanish coat of arms appeared during the reign of Philip II.

The Spanish national coat of arms brings together all stages of the development of the Spanish Kingdom. So, for example, during the reign of dictator Franco, the motto changed to the following: “Great freedom is most important.”

In addition to the national Spanish coat of arms, the country has a royal coat of arms, slightly different from the state one. Its symbolism includes the Order of the Golden Fleece and the St. Andrew's Cross.

Modern Spanish flag and coat of arms

The modern Spanish flag and coat of arms were approved by order of King Juan Carlos of Spain in 1981. The flag of Spain is made in the form of a rectangular canvas, divided into unequal three stripes horizontally.

The upper and lower stripes are painted red, the middle, wider stripe is yellow, which depicts the coat of arms of Spain, offset to the flagpole.

Currently, the Spanish flag and coat of arms are used in full and simplified versions. The simplified view has a wide yellow stripe in the middle and two smaller red stripes. The full version has an image of the coat of arms at a distance of 1/3 of the length of the flag from the staff.