About German State Flags
Though Americans might recognize the official national flag of Germany, there are 16 states which comprise the modern Germany, and each has its own unique flag. These flags are as important to Germans as state flags are to Americans, and understanding this pride helps to understand German culture better.
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History
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There are sixteen different states in Germany, each of which was once an autonomous country of its own, or part of a larger confederation before German unification under Otto von Bismarck in 1871. Before that time, each German state was ruled by a prince, duke or other royalty and was considered a sovereign nation. Bismarck used his power as Chancellor of Prussia to conquer the other German states through warfare or diplomacy. Either way, the Germany of the 20th century was forged at the end of the 19th century.
Significance
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The flag of Berlin depicts an attacking bear (which is where Berlin got its name) on a field of white with bands of red on the top and bottom of the flag. The Hamburg flag depicts a white castle on a red background. Hamburg is famous for its castle which was built by Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor.
The Bavarian flag is composed of blue and white diagonal diamonds in a diagonal pattern. Bremen's flag, however, is composed mostly of red and white horizontal stripes with two small columns of red and white checkers on the left side. -
Identification
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The Brandenburg flag depicts a stylized red German eagle on a small white shield, which is centered on a flag with one broad red stripe on the top and a broad white stripe on the bottom. This eagle represents the Mark of Brandenburg, which was an independent Duchy. After the Second World War, when Prussia was dissolved, the flag dropped other adornments and kept only the red eagle, placing it on a simple background.
The flag of Hessen is similar to the Brandenburg flag, except it lacks the eagle and the shield. The Baden-Wurttemberg flag is similarly simple, composed of a broad black bar on the top half of the flag and a broad yellow bar on the bottom half of the flag. Slightly more complex is the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern flag, which has a wide blue band on the top, a thinner white band below that, a thin gold band along the center of the flag, a thicker white band below the gold band and a thick red band along the bottom.
Geography
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Niedersachsen (lower Saxony) depicts a white, prancing horse (a Westphalian steed) on a red shield centered on the German national flag. The Niedersachsen were extremely proud of their horse lines, and this was used by the House of Welf as a coat of arms until the Nazi regime. The prancing horse made a re-appearance after World War II and was placed on the German national flag.
The Rheinland Pfalz flag also uses the German national flag for a background, and places a crowned shield with a coat of arms in the upper-left corner of the flag. On the coat of arms is a lion, a silver wheel and a red cross on a white background. Saarland's flag again uses the German national flag as a background for its coat of arms. This particular shield-shaped coat depicts (clockwise from upper left) a white lion on a blue starry background, a red cross on a white background, a yellow lion on a black background and three white eagles on a diagonal red stripe on a yellow background.
Considerations
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Sachsen-Anhalt's simple flag is like an inverse Baden-Wurttemberg, with yellow occupying the top half of the flag and black on the bottom half. This refers to the state's past as a Saxon province of Prussia, whose coat of arms was a background of black and yellow with a green crown diagonally across it and with a stylized black eagle on the upper-right corner of the shield. Sachsen-Anhalt's flag does not depict the Principality of Anhalt-Bernberg, which was heralded by a black bear walking on a red castle wall.
The Nordrhein Westfalen flag is similar in appearance to an Italian flag, with a horizontal faded green stripe on the top, white in the middle, and faded red on the bottom. A similar tri-color flag is Schleswig-Holstein's, which is very much like France's current flag with blue on the top, white in the middle and red on the bottom in horizontal stripes. Saxony and Thueringen round out the last two with simple, bi-color flags. Saxony's is white on the top half and green on the bottom, while Thueringen is white on the top and red on the bottom.
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