Flag of Schleswig-Holstein

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FIAV 100000.svg Flag of Schleswig-Holstein
FIAV 010000.svg State service flag of Schleswig-Holstein

The flag of Schleswig-Holstein is a longitudinally striped blue-white-red tricolor . It has been used as a national symbol since at least the 19th century , but only became official with the law on the national emblems of Schleswig-Holstein of January 18, 1957.

origin

The coat of arms of Schleswig-Holstein on the flag is intended to express the bond between the two parts of Schleswig and Holstein . The coat of arms of the Duchy of Schleswig was two blue lions on a yellow background , while the Duchy of Holstein had the silver Holstein nettle leaf on a red background in the coat of arms.

In the new flag, the Schleswig blue is combined with the Holstein colors white and red. The second Schleswig color, yellow, was not included because the Schleswig-Holstein movement of the 19th century aimed for a tricolor based on the French model with only three colors. From the early days of the flag there are also four-color variants (blue-gold-red-white).

The earliest traditions of the color combination blue-white-red come from so-called Couleur pictures of the Kiel student corps Slesvico-Holsatia (today Holsatia ) from 1829. At that time, however, the colors only had national and regional significance and were not yet considered opposition colors to the Danish Dannebrog . In the 1830s, when the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein belonged to the overall Danish monarchy, the flag emerged as a symbol of the German independence movement. The exact circumstances of its creation are not known. The Schleswig singer festival on July 24, 1844, at which the state anthem, the Schleswig-Holstein song , was presented, is sometimes cited as the source. The wives of the singers present created the flag, which then spread across the country. In the climate of the liberal-national awakening of the revolution of 1848 , the tricolor quickly became popular.

On July 31, 1845, the flag was banned by the Danish government because of its obviously anti-Danish character. During the Schleswig-Holstein uprising , the Schleswig-Holstein Army carried the blue, white and red flag in addition to black, red and gold; there were no official troop flags. Schleswig-Holstein merchant ships also carried the blue-white-red flag, while the ships of the small Schleswig-Holstein Navy as part of the German imperial fleet carried the black, red and gold war flag with the double-headed eagle in the upper leech . Especially after the end of the Schleswig-Holstein uprising (1848-1851), the colors were again banned when the Danish authorities returned. With the invasion of Prussian and Austrian troops in the winter of 1863, the Schleswig-Holstein flags were brought out again. During the prohibition period between 1845 and 1848, the Gottorf sea flag from 1696 was occasionally shown as a substitute symbol at national festivals. This is a red pointed flag with a silver nettle leaf and the Schleswig coat of arms as well as a ducal crown in the middle, intended for the ships of the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf in 1696. As a rectangular flag - and often without a crown - this flag was also a provisional replacement trade flag of Schleswig-Holstein from 1848-1851, since the blue-white-red tricolor and the German black-red-gold colors were not recognized by the seafaring nations .

The Kingdom of Prussia , which Schleswig-Holstein gained in 1867, did not officially adopt the blue-white-red flag, which was still popular after 1851, although it was never completely forgotten as a regional symbol during the time as a Prussian province. In the time of National Socialism , the colors were rarely used, because the National Socialist dictatorship wanted to prevent the establishment of regional identity in favor of a “Greater German” sentiment. The blue-white-red colors were therefore not adopted as the flag of the state of Schleswig-Holstein until 1949 - initially unofficially. The law on the national emblems of Schleswig-Holstein of January 18, 1957 confirmed the official status of the flag.

use

The simple tricolor is used by the municipalities, but also by the population. Except for North Friesland, where the Frisian colors are popular, the Schleswig-Holstein flag is everywhere in the country, for example. T. widespread. In Lübeck and Dithmarschen there are also their own flag traditions. Many in the Danish minority still reject the flag for historical reasons; until recently it was still referred to in conservative minority circles as oprørsfane - "riot flag" - based on the 1848 survey. The state authorities, however, hoist the official flag. It bears the state coat of arms in the center. In general, the official flag is hoisted next to the flag of Germany and the European Union . Vehicles of the (state) water protection police also fly the service flag as Gösch on the bow as do the ships of the GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel.

Others

After reunification , the neighboring state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania chose a very similar (blue-white-yellow-white-red) flag.

The flag of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia used the same colors with a different aspect ratio (see also Pan-Slavic colors ). The flags of the Netherlands and Luxembourg are also very similar, only the order of the colors is reversed.

The connection between the Schleswig-Holstein flag and the famous French tricolor is only very vague. The use of the same colors is coincidental, as the French tricolor is based on the Paris city colors blue-red and the white of the Bourbon royal family, while the Schleswig-Holstein flag is based on three of the four colors or metals of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The French tricolor was created at the end of the 18th century, around three decades before the Schleswig-Holstein flag. The only thing they have in common is the fact that both flags are "tricolors" - that is, three-colored flags.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hans Christophersen: Letter to the Editor. In: Flensborg Avis , February 18, 2014