Two stripes of a very special dark red and a narrow white one, inspired by a banner described by a thirteenth-century chronicle.
Every fact about the flag, each with what it means.
Normal flagFIAV symbol: the form of the flag.
Civil and state, on land and at seaFIAV symbol: who may fly the flag.YesIt carries the coat of arms on the cloth.The flag in the words of vexillology and heraldry.
It is a rectangular field with a 1:2 ratio with a white stripe narrower than the red ones.
Each element and how many of the 1,390 flags in the catalogue carry it. In yellow, the rarest.
Every date in its story, at a glance.
A chronicle written in verse and in German, the Rim Chronicle of Livonia, tells that around 1279…
The design in use today was drawn by the artist Ansis Cīrulis in 1917
The Constituent Assembly approved it as the national flag on 15 June 1921
1940: the Soviet Union occupies Latvia
11 November 1988: thousands of people watch it being raised on the tower of the Holy Spirit…
February 1990: it becomes the official flag once more
How it was born, how it has changed and what it means.
The flag of Latvia has two wide stripes of a very dark red and, between them, a narrower white stripe. That red is so particular that it has its own name, “Latvian red”: a crimson that leans towards brown. Its history begins in a medieval chronicle.
A chronicle written in verse and in German, the Rim Chronicle of Livonia, tells that around 1279 some Latvian warriors from the area of Cēsis went into battle with a red flag crossed by a white stripe. Centuries later, the Latvians defending their national identity recovered that detail.
There is also a legend: a mortally wounded chieftain was wrapped in a white sheet. The part he was lying on stayed clean and the edges were stained with his blood. It is a tradition, not a documented fact.
The design in use today was drawn by the artist Ansis Cīrulis in 1917. The Constituent Assembly approved it as the national flag on 15 June 1921.
The design has not changed since 1921; what has changed is whether it could be used.
1940
the Soviet Union occupies Latvia. Displaying the flag becomes a crime against the state.
11 November 1988
thousands of people watch it being raised on the tower of the Holy Spirit in Riga castle.
February 1990
it becomes the official flag once more, more than a year before independence was recognised.
The best-known meaning comes from the legend:
Dark red
the blood of the wounded chieftain.
White
the sheet that wrapped him.
2:1:2 ratio
each red stripe is twice as wide as the white one.
For years it was printed badly, in a bright red similar to that of the Soviet flags. Even some official seals came out with the wrong shade.
The 1988 flag at Riga castle was hoisted by the actor Ēvalds Valters and the writer Alberts Bels. It was Lāčplēsis Day, which commemorates the soldiers who fought for independence.
Five days a year the flag flies at half mast or with a black ribbon, in memory of the victims of Soviet repression and of the Holocaust.
Test what you have read about the flag of Latvia.
Text based on the article “Bandera de Letonia” from the Spanish Wikipedia, published under the licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources consulted:
Flag image: Original: Ansis Cīrulis Vector: SKopp, Wikimedia Commons · Public domain.
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