The Franconian flag (german: Frankenfahne or ''Frankenflagge'') is a symbol of

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

, a region in North

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 ...

and parts of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

and

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Description

The flag consists of two horizontal bands of equal thickness, the upper one is red, the lower one is white or

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 bran ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

.''Kleine fränkische Wappen- und Flaggenkunde''
: www.tagderfranken2013.de, retrieved 22 December 2013 (pdf) The

Franconian Rake The Franconian Rake (german: Fränkischer Rechen) is the name given to the coat of arms of the region of Franconia in Germany. It is described heraldically as ''per fess dancetty of three points gules and argent''. The points represent a stylised ...

is usually placed in the centre. Also common is the word ''Franken'' ("Franconia") in white letters on a black field above the rake. Although not official, the Franconian Rake is also commonly used as the flag itself, replacing the horizontal bands with the rake. The Franconian flag is neither a state symbol nor an emblem of sovereignty because Franconia is only a geographical or cultural region, not an administrative unit. it is used mainly on festival days or similar purposes by private individuals and clubs. On Franconia Day it may also be hoisted by the authorities. In the Franconian

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

the coat of arm of the respective province ( Upper, Middle or

Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. History After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally ...

) may take the place of the Franconian Rake. The flag is also sometimes seen incorrectly with the colours reversed.

History

The flag takes its colours from the so-called Franconian Rake. This coat of arms first surfaced in the early 14th century on the gravestone of the Würzburg prince bishop, Wolfram Wolfskeel von Grumbach, as well as a seal for the village of

Gerolzhofen Gerolzhofen () is a town in the district of Schweinfurt, Bavaria, Germany. The town is the former center of the district of Gerolzhofen and has about 7,000 inhabitants. The mayor of Gerolzhofen is Thorsten Wozniak (CSU). GerolzhofenStadtpfarrkirc ...

. It was a symbol of Franconian ducal sovereignty, which the Wurzburg prince bishops nominally had. The field banners of the contingents of soldiers of the

Franconian Circle The Franconian Circle (german: Fränkischer Reichskreis) was an Imperial Circle established in 1500 in the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the eastern part of the former Franconian stem duchy—roughly corresponding with the pre ...

within the Imperial Army of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

also bore these colours. The flag was, however, not a symbol of the whole of Franconia because it was never a separate state. When, in 1835, a new Bavarian coat of arms was introduced, the officials responsible for the task ensured that the Franconian territories were recognised. They chose the Franconian Rake as the emblem of the whole of Franconia, which has since been integrated into the

armorial achievement In heraldry, an achievement, armorial achievement or heraldic achievement (historical: hatchment) is a full display or depiction of all the heraldic components to which the bearer of a coat of arms is entitled. An achievement comprises not onl ...

Flag dispute

File:Pleinfeld Rathaus.jpg, The Franconian flag at half mast in front of

Pleinfeld Pleinfeld is a Franconian municipality and market town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in the German state of Bavaria. It is situated in the Metropolitan Area of Nuremberg and in the Franconian Lake District. Pleinfeld is a nationally ...

town hall in the county of

Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the west of Bavaria, Germany with a population of 95,000. Neighbouring districts are (from the north clockwise) Ansbach, Roth, Eichstätt and Donau-Ries. It is located in the south of Middle Franconia, 50 kilometr ...

Middle Franconia Middle Franconia (german: Mittelfranken, ) is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the west of Bavaria and borders the state of Baden-Württemberg. The administrative seat is Ansbach; however ...

File:Rathaus Feucht 01.jpg, The Franconian flag in front of the town hall of

Feucht Feucht is a market town and municipality southeast of Nuremberg in the district of Nürnberger Land in Bavaria, Germany. The name Feucht () is derived from the Old High German noun "viuhtje" - "fichta", which is the spruce tree (vernacularly Féic ...

Nürnberger Land Nürnberger Land is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Forchheim, Bayreuth, Amberg-Sulzbach, Neumarkt, Roth and Erlangen-Höchstadt, and by the city of Nuremberg. Hi ...

File:Coburg-Rathaus1.jpg, The Franconian flag in front of the town hall of

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

Upper Franconia Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) is a ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle F ...

With the introduction of Franconia Day there has been pressure to fly the Franconian flag on public buildings. But because it is not a state flag, this request was refused by the Bavarian state parliament, the ''

Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non ...

''. However, the constitutional committee of the ''Landtag'' decided in 2012 that the flag could be hoisted for advertising purposes on public buildings alongside the

flag of Germany The national flag of Germany is a tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands displaying the national colours of Germany: black, red, and gold (german: Schwarz-Rot-Gold). The flag was first sighted in 1848 in the German Confederat ...

, the Bavarian state flag and the

flag of Europe The Flag of Europe or European Flag consists of twelve golden stars forming a circle on a blue field. It was designed and adopted in 1955 by the Council of Europe (CoE) as a symbol for the whole of Europe. Since 1985, the flag has also been ...

, because the state was neither able nor permitted to make a ruling. There were more arguments over the flags on

Nuremberg Castle Nuremberg Castle (german: Nürnberger Burg) is a group of medieval fortified buildings on a sandstone ridge dominating the historical center of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. The castle, together with the city walls, is considered to be one ...

. In 2008 a Bavarian flag was hoisted on the castle for the first time. This was taken as an affront by many of the locals. SPD members of parliament demanded that the Free State also displayed the Franconian flag on the castle. This demand was rejected, however, by the Bavarian Interior Minister, Joachim Herrmann. In summer 2009 Lord Mayor Ulrich Maly escalated the flag dispute but allowing the Nuremberg municipal flag to be raised alongside the German and Bavarian flags. Because it is also red and white, the version without the city coat of arms resembles the Franconian flag. Including the requisite additional eight-metre-high flagpole the cost came to €25,000. In summer 2012 the flags were changed again: on the ''

palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval ''Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...

'', the main building of the castle, the German flag was replaced by a Bavarian flag. On the flagpole where this Bavarian flag had hitherto been hoisted (the ''Heidenturm'' tower) a Franconian flag was now displayed. The

now fluttered on a pole erected for it in the open. The Franconian flag is also used as a symbol by the Franconia football team.

References

External links

{{commons category, Flags of Franconia Franconia Flags of Germany Red and white flags