Flag of Department of Bas-Rhin

The flag associated with Bas-Rhin is a red field with a wide white band on the diagonal and a row of small white flowers on each side. It is the coat of arms of Lower Alsace drawn onto the cloth, without a frame.

How it came about

Bas-Rhin is a French department in Alsace. Its arms were granted to the department in 1948.

The design carries no coat of arms: it draws the arms directly onto the field. That is an armorial banner, not a flag with a shield, which is why the description insists there is no frame.

How it has changed

The department merged with Haut-Rhin in 2021 to form the European Collectivity of Alsace. The flag, on the other hand, has not changed: it is still the same diagonal band with the small flowers.

What it means

• Red

  the background of the field, with no divisions or border.

• White band

  wide, crossing the field diagonally from corner to corner.

• Two fillets of flowers

  stylised, one on each side of the band.

Fun facts

1. The arms on the cloth, with no frame

   The flag has no coat of arms: the elements of the arms go directly onto the red ground. It is an intermediate case between the flag of arms and the heraldic flag, and the description says so expressly so that nobody looks for a shield that is not there.

2. The department no longer exists

   Bas-Rhin merged with Haut-Rhin in 2021 and gave way to the European Collectivity of Alsace. Its flag is that of an extinct department: a case that vexillological databases usually have to mark as historical.

3. Flowers on both sides of the band

   The white band carries a fillet of stylised flowers on each side. The flowers are not free figures: they are part of the border of the band, like an edging.

Location