Flag of Viana do Castelo

Four black and yellow quarters with a galleon and a castle in the arms: the flag of Viana do Castelo, in the north of Portugal, dates from 1931.

Learn to read it Test yourself

The flag, in figures

Every fact about the flag, each with what it means.

Proportions: 2:33 wide for every 2 high. 989 flags in the catalogue share it.
Properties: Normal flagFIAV symbol: the form of the flag.
Use: CivilFIAV symbol: who may fly the flag.
Adopted: 193117 September 1931 · 95 years ago
Colours: black
yellow
red
blue
silver
Reference shades: the official one may vary slightly.
Coat of arms: YesIt carries the coat of arms on the cloth.

Take a closer look

The four quarters
1
The municipal coat of arms
2
The mural crown

How it is described

The flag in the words of vexillology and heraldry.

Vexillological description

It is a rectangular field with a 2:3 ratio divided into four equal quarters (four rectangles), black and yellow alternating, with the city arms in the centre.

Quarters: two black and two yellow, alternating; the hoist is the pole the flag is hoisted from.
Arms: centred; they show a galleon on waves and, at the top, a golden castle.
Tassels: golden and black cord and tassels hanging beside the hoist.
Colours: black and yellow on the field; the arms add red, blue and silver.

What it carries

Each element and how many of the 1,390 flags in the catalogue carry it. In yellow, the rarest.

Its history in dates

Every date in its story, at a glance.

1848
Viana was already a city by then, since 1848
1931
The city arms were published on 17 September 1931 in the Diário do Governo
1998
Flags of the World already recorded it in 1998 with the same four quarters and the same arms

The full story

How it was born, how it has changed and what it means.

The flag of Viana do Castelo has four quarters, two black and two yellow, with the city arms in the centre. The arms show a galleon, a sailing ship from the age of discoveries, and a castle. Viana stands at the mouth of the river Lima, in the north of Portugal.

How it came about

The city arms were published on 17 September 1931 in the Diário do Governo, the official gazette now called the Diário da República. The flag carries those arms in the centre, with golden and black cord and tassels.

Viana was already a city by then, since 1848. The galleon recalls its seafaring past.

How it has changed

There are no earlier documented versions of the flag: the current one is the first official. Flags of the World already recorded it in 1998 with the same four quarters and the same arms.

What it means

Black and yellow
the colours of the ground, which it shares with the flag of Portalegre.
Galleon
a large sailing ship on a wavy sea. On its sail is a cross formed by five blue shields, like the quinas of the flag of Portugal.
Golden castle
it occupies the top of the arms. It is a play on words, because “castelo” means castle.
Mural crown of five towers
the sign of a city.
White scroll
“Cidade de Viana do Castelo”.

Fun facts

Canting arms
The castle on the arms is a play on the name of the city. Arms that say the name with a drawing are called canting arms.
A city with a town flag
According to Flags of the World, a city should get the eight-triangle ground, but Viana uses four quarters, the town one.
A prize for loyalty
On 20 January 1848 Queen Maria II raised it to a city to reward the loyalty of its inhabitants, who did not surrender to the Count of Antas.