Yellow, green and red: the tricolour Lithuania chose in 1918, which the Soviet Union banned and which flew again in 1988.
Every fact about the flag, each with what it means.
Normal flagFIAV symbol: the form of the flag.
Civil, state and military, 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 3:5 ratio and three equal horizontal stripes.
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.
In 1917 a green and red flag was proposed
A commission made up of him, Jonas Basanavičius and Antanas Žmuidzinavičius presented the final…
How it was born, how it has changed and what it means.
The flag of Lithuania has three equal horizontal stripes: yellow, green and red. It is a young flag for a country with so much history: Lithuania was a grand duchy in the Middle Ages, but this tricolour was born a little over a century ago.
In the late nineteenth century Lithuania was part of the Russian Empire, and the Lithuanians argued over what flag should represent them. Some preferred the old red standard with the Vytis, a white knight on horseback. Others wanted the colours of the folk costume.
In 1917 a green and red flag was proposed, but to many it seemed too dark and sad. The painter Tadas Daugirdas suggested adding the yellow, like a rising sun. A commission made up of him, Jonas Basanavičius and Antanas Žmuidzinavičius presented the final design, and the Council of Lithuania approved it on 25 April 1918.
The tricolour was replaced for almost half a century and, on returning, ended up changing its shape.
1918
The Council of Lithuania approves the yellow, green and red tricolour.
1940
The Soviet Union occupies the country and replaces the tricolour with a red flag with the hammer and sickle.
1988
The tricolour returns to the streets with the Sąjūdis movement. On 7 October it flies on the tower of Gediminas castle in Vilnius, and in November it is recognised as the official flag.
2004
The shape changes: it goes from 1:2, very elongated, to 3:5.
The most accepted explanation is this:
Yellow
the sun, the light and the cereal fields.
Green
the forests, the countryside and hope.
Red
the blood and the courage of those who defended the country.
The yellow was not in the first proposal: it was added so that the flag would not come out so gloomy.
Since 2004 Lithuania also has a historical flag, red with the knight Vytis, which is hoisted on marked days.
The tricolour recovered in 1988 copied the 1:2 ratio of the Soviet flag. It was not corrected until 2004.
Test what you have read about the flag of Lithuania.
Text based on the article “Bandera de Lituania” from the Spanish Wikipedia, published under the licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources consulted:
Flag image: Original: Jonas Basanavičius, Tadas Daugirdas and Antanas Žmuidzinavičius Vector: SKopp, Wikimedia Commons · Public domain.
Other flag
Asia
Other flag
Europa
Other flag
Other flag
Europa
Other flag
Europa
Other flag
América del Norte
Belarus
Latvia
Poland
Russia