There are officially two flags of Bavaria: the striped type and the

lozenge Lozenge or losange may refer to: * Lozenge (shape), a type of rhombus *Throat lozenge, a tablet intended to be dissolved slowly in the mouth to suppress throat ailments *Lozenge (heraldry), a diamond-shaped object that can be placed on the field of ...

type, both of which are white and blue. Both flags are historically associated with the royal Bavarian Wittelsbach family, which ruled

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

from 1180 to 1918.

Overview

Both horizontal and vertical flags with stripes or white and blue lozenges without arms can be considered official flags of the state, in Bavaria called the . They may be used by civilians and by government, including using on state motor vehicles. The striped and lozenge styles have equal status, and offices or users are free to choose between them. The variants defaced with the arms are unofficial, and the use of the symbols by civilians is strictly speaking illegal, but is tolerated. A lozenge-style flag with the arms is common. The exact shade of blue has never been codified, but most flags used by the public are approximately RGB 0-204-255; officials use something closer to RGB 0-128-255. The lozenges are not set in number, except there must be at least 21, and the top left (incomplete) lozenge must be white. (Translated.) The exact origin of the lozenges is disputed. They are believed to be representative of the lakes and rivers of Bavaria or perhaps the sky, as in the Bavarian anthem, which says "" – "the colors of His sky/heaven, white and blue". In

vexillology Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. The word is a synthe ...

, flags are described and displayed from the front (obverse). In Bavaria, however, the description of the flag is based on

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

rules. That is, the description is made from the point of view of a

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

-bearer who is behind the coat of arms, and in this case, behind the flag. Thus, the right upper corner, reserved for a truncated white lozenge, is on the top left (adjacent to the flagpole) for the viewer.

Historical flags

References

{{GermanFlags

Culture of Bavaria

Overview

Historical flags

See also

References