Austria

Republik ÖsterreichRepublic of Austria
Adopted	1230
Designed by	Duke Friedrich II
Proportions	2:3

The flag of Austria has three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red. The Austrian flag is possibly the oldest national flag design in the world. The Danish flag, said to be the oldest national flag "in continuous use", is at least a century younger, if you discount the legends of it being used in 1219, because the earliest recorded use of it was in the 1300s.

Duke Friedrich II was the first person to take the red-white-red flag as a logo in 1230, but according to legend it was invented by Duke Leopold V.

The flag was re-adopted after World War II, after a brief period of Nazi control.

On 12 April 2022 (according to their Wikimedia Commons file), the shade of red changed to dark red.

Symbolism

The Austrian flag waving.

This is the state flag flown on government buildings, with the Austrian coat of arms. This is also an official national flag.

The flag of Austria has no actual symbolism, but the legend surrounding its conception is sort of symbolism:

According to legend, the flag was invented by Duke Leopold V of Austria (1157–1194) as a consequence of his fighting during the Crusades. After a fierce battle, his white battle dress was completely drenched in blood. When he removed his belt, the cloth underneath was untouched by it, revealing the combination of red-white-red.

Many historians now reject this claim, and instead cite Duke Friedrich II as the first person to use the flag.

The flag's design is used on the torso of the black eagle in the Austrian coat of arms.

The flag is a combination of the flags of Vienna and Upper Austria.

Flag Colors

Color	Color Name	HEX RGB	Color of
	Lava	#c8102e	The red parts of the tricolor
	White	#ffffff	The white parts of the tricolor

See also

• Bundesländer (federal states) of Austria

References

Featured Article	Austria
This page was featured on the VexiWiki main page on March 16-22, 2009.