The flag of

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...

is an unofficial

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

commissioned by the Committee for Belgian–Dutch–Luxembourgish Cooperation in 1951. It is an amalgam of the flags of the member states:

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. The red stripe is from the

flag of Luxembourg The national flag of Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerger Fändel; german: Flagge Luxemburgs; french: Drapeau du Luxembourg) consists of three horizontal stripes, red, white and light blue, and can be in 1:2 or 3:5 ratio. It was first used between 184 ...

, the blue stripe is from the

flag of the Netherlands The national flag of the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlandse vlag) is a horizontal tricolour (flag), tricolour of red, white, and blue. The current design originates as a variant of the late 16th century orange-white-blue ''Prince's Flag, Prinse ...

, and the black stripe and yellow lion rampant are taken from the

coat of arms of Belgium nl, Eendracht maakt machtgerman: Einigkeit macht stark , orders = Order of Leopold , other_elements = The whole is placed on a mantle Gules with ermine lining, fringes and tassels Or and ensigned with the Royal Crown of Belgium. Above ...

. The lion also historically represents

the Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

area as a whole, since each constituent nation possesses a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

featuring a lion rampant facing left (''

Leo Belgicus The Leo Belgicus (Latin for ''wikt:Belgic, Belgic Lion'') was used in both heraldry and map design to symbolize the former Low Countries (current day Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and a small part of northern France) with the shape of a lion. W ...

''), which during the 17th century already symbolised the Low Lands as a whole or in part.

References

External links

* {{Flags of International Organization

Benelux Flags of international organizations Flags displaying animals