Flag of Aragon

The flag of Aragon is the senyera: a field with a 2:3 ratio and four horizontal red bars on a yellow ground, with the coat of arms shifted towards the flagpole.

How it came about

Aragon is an autonomous community of Spain, heir to a medieval kingdom. Its flag was adopted on 16 April 1984.

The design is the emblem of the kings of Aragon: the red bars on gold. The coat of arms, on the other hand, is not in the centre: it is shifted towards the flagpole.

How it has changed

It has never changed. It was adopted in 1984 and there are no documented later modifications.

What it means

• Stripes

  nine horizontal bands of the same width, five yellow and four red. The red ones are the bars.

• Coat of arms

  shifted towards the flagpole. Its axis is half the width of the flag from the hoist, the edge of the mast.

• No borders

  only yellow and red across the whole field.

Fun facts

1. Nine bands: five of gold and four of gules

   The field is not described as “four bars on a yellow ground” but as nine bands of equal width: five yellow and four red. It is the exact way of saying the same thing, and the one needed for the field to be reconstructed without error.

2. The coat of arms is not in the centre

   The senyera is unique among the Spanish flags: its coat of arms is shifted towards the flagpole, not centred. Its axis is half the width of the flag from the hoist. The reason is historical: the shift reproduces how the coat of arms was placed on the medieval standard.

3. From a kingdom to an autonomous community

   The red bars and the gold are the colours of the Crown of Aragon. What was a dynastic emblem —of the kings— became the flag of an autonomous community in 1984. It is a change of nature: from the house to the territory.

Location