Flag of the Memel Country
Flag of the Memel Country | |
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Vexillological symbol : | ? |
Aspect ratio: | 2: 3 |
Officially accepted: | February 25, 1920 |
The flag of the Memelland was the symbol for the area north of the Memel , which was separated from East Prussia after the First World War .
description
The flag is horizontally divided into two parts, gold on top and red below. The coat of arms of the city of Memel is in the shape of a disk in the Gösch . This shows a tower with a city gate, two wooden defense towers, the city wall and a boat in gold on a red background. The coat of arms can be traced back to the second half of the 13th century.
history
After the Memelland was placed under French administration, it officially adopted the flag on February 25, 1920. Lithuania annexed the area in 1923 , but gave it a special autonomous status until 1926. During these three years, the local German shipowners were allowed to use the flag of the Memelland instead of the Lithuanian trade flag. This was intended to prevent ships from migrating from Memel to Germany. As the autonomy became increasingly restricted, the flag of Lithuania was first flagged on the official ships and finally also on the merchant ships.
The flag of today's Klaipėda is also based on the historical coat of arms, but bears the coat of arms on a vertically divided flag.