The flag of the City of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

represents the city's

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 ...

centred on a

crimson Crimson is a rich, deep red color, inclining to purple. It originally meant the color of the kermes dye produced from a scale insect, ''Kermes vermilio'', but the name is now sometimes also used as a generic term for slightly bluish-red colo ...

field. The flag is made either in the proportions 3:5 or 2:3, and in shades of crimson corresponding to

Pantone Pantone LLC (stylized as PANTONE) is a limited liability company headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, notably graphic ...

207 or 208. The significance of the bear leaning against a madroño, or strawberry tree, is unknown; however, the tree is native to Madrid. One known theory is that bear and tree represent a farming rights dispute between the clergy and citizens. The seven stars supposedly represent the seven stars in the Starry Plough constellation closest to the

Ursa Major Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear," referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa ...

(Great Bear) Constellation. The stars symbolise the north, and since that is the direction on which all others are based, the stars represent Madrid as the seat of government for Spain.Madrid the Capital of Spain
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References

External links

* Flags of cities in Spain

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 ...

Flags displaying animals Flags introduced in 1967 {{Europe-flag-stub