Flag of Department of Haute-Marne

The flag associated with Haute-Marne is a blue field with a vertical white stripe in the centre and, on each side, a golden border. The design adapts the arms of Champagne and was approved around 1950.

How it came about

Haute-Marne is a French department in the Grand Est region, with its capital in Chaumont. Its flag adapts the arms of Champagne: from them it keeps the central column and the borders that flank it, instead of reproducing a complete coat of arms.

The border is a decorated strip, and here it carries a labyrinth design.

How it has changed

No earlier versions are documented.

What it means

• Blue

  the colour of the field.

• White stripe

  vertical, from top to bottom, exactly in the centre.

• Borders

  two, golden, on each side of the stripe.

• Column

  of silver, with the golden borders, is the main piece of the design.

Fun facts

1. The arms of Champagne turned into cloth

   The flag does not carry the coat of arms of Champagne but its pieces: the central column and the two borders. It is a heraldic translation onto cloth, in which each element keeps its colour and position but loses the frame of the shield.

2. A labyrinth in the border

   The golden border does not carry an abstract design: it is a labyrinth. It is a rare motif in heraldry, and it appears here as a decorative stripe rather than a figure. Some have wanted to see in it a symbol of the vineyards of Champagne, the famous wine region, but it is a modern reading rather than an official description.

3. A flag with three colours and three elements

   Blue as background, white in the stripe and two golds in the borders. The white does a structural job: it separates the column from the side ornaments. Without it, the three golds would merge into a single block.

Location