The

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

() features a vertical tricolour of blue, yellow, and red with the coat of arms of Andorra in the center. The centre yellow bar is slightly wider than the other two so that the ratio of bar widths is 8:9:8 with an overall flag ratio of 7:10. The civilian variant of the flag without a coat of arms was created in 1866. Although throughout the 19th and 20th century there were variant designs based on this, carrying a variety of arms and occasionally switching from vertical to horizontal stripes, the design was standardized in 1993 after

joined the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Origins and symbolism

The design is related to the flags of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Foix Foix ( , ; ; ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. It is the capital of the department of Ariège as it is the seat of the prefecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwestern France ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the lands historically linked with the small country. The coat of arms of Andorra in the center of the flag contains historical symbolism to the Catholic bishop of Urgell, the Count of Foix, the

Principality of Catalonia The Principality of Catalonia (; ; ; ) was a Middle Ages, medieval and early modern state (polity), state in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. During most of its history it was in dynastic union with the Kingdom of Aragon, constituting together ...

, and the

Viscounty of Béarn The Viscounty, later Principality of Béarn ( or ), was a Middle Ages, medieval lordship in the far south of Kingdom of France, France, part of the Duchy of Gascony from the late ninth century. In 1347, the viscount declared Béarn an independent ...

. The inclusion of the coat of arms makes it one of 28 national flags to contain overtly

Christian symbolism Christian symbolism is the use of symbols, including archetypes, acts, artwork or events, by Christianity. It invests objects or actions with an inner meaning expressing Christian ideas. The symbolism of the early Church was characterized by be ...

and it is one of two national flags to portray

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

, together with the flag of Moldova, which is visually similar and features the head of a bull. A flag of three bars is similar to that of the French tricolor, while the pattern of a wider middle stripe can be noted on the Spanish flag. The motto in the coat of arms (written in Goudy Old Style) in the middle stripe means "Virtue United is Stronger". The blue and red of the Andorran flag are also found on the French flag, with red and yellow also being the colors of the Catalonian flag (as the old royal symbol of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

) and the arms of the old County of Foix (currently part of France).

Description

Colors

The official colors of the Andorran flag are set out in the "Graphic regulations for reproducing the shield and flag" from the Oficina de Marques del Principat d'Andorra and approved by the government of Andorra on May 5, 1999. The colors of the flag are:

Construction sheet

History

Pre-1806

During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, The Arabs of

Muslim Spain Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

, which occupied the territory in 714, did held white and black banners. after the establishment of The

County of Urgell The County of Urgell (, ; ) is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of County of Pallars, Pallars and Cerdanya. History The county of Urgell was carved by the Franks out of a former section of the Mark of Toulouse w ...

, claiming to be the last independent survivor of The

Marca Hispanica The Spanish March or Hispanic March was a march or military buffer zone established c. 795 by Charlemagne in the eastern Pyrenees and nearby areas, to protect the new territories of the Christian Carolingian Empire—the Duchy of Gascony, the D ...

, established by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

, Urgell held a checkered banner of black and gold by 988. Urgell made a condominium in the territory with The County of Foix in 1278 (being occupied by The Crown of Aragon in 1396 and 1512 and later The Principality of Catalonia in 1413), later to The

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...

in 1479 and finally with The

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

in 1620. the flags of those countries flew in Andorra during the times of the condominium. after the condominium was abolished during The French Revolution, Urgell became part of France (using the French Tricolor in Andorra), until 1806, when Andorra gained autonomy and its Co-Principate reestablished in 1809 (only gaining independence in 1814, after The

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

First flag

The historical flag of Andorra, which was used from 1806 to 1866, featured two equally sized red and yellow vertical (sometimes horizontal) bands. It is claimed that this flag was granted by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

in 1806 but use of the flag may go back to much earlier. Red and yellow are the traditional colors of the lands adjacent to the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

, such as

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; , ; ) was a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and French Cerdagne, part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of ' ...

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

and

Second flag

A variant of the modern flag without the

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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

is said to have been designed by

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, adding a blue stripe representing

(because colours of the old flag started to resemble too much only the new

flag of Spain The flag of Spain (), as it is defined in the Spanish Constitution of 1978, Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the height of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle co ...

). The adoption of the new flag coincided with the New Reform led by Guillem d'Areny-Plandolit, who may be the real creator of the flag. The package of reforms, which included a new flag, was first adopted by the Episcopal Co-Prince, Bishop Josep Caixal i Estradé on April 22, 1866 and three years later by Napoleon III. The flag from this period remains the official civil flag today, but due to its similarity to other national flags it is rarely used.

Third flag

The circumstances surrounding the introduction of the horizontal version of the flag are unknown. It is also unknown whether this was the only version at that time. In his 1898 book ''"Through the High Pyrenees"'' by Harold Spender he wrote: :''We were not fortunate enough to see the Andorran Council General in session, any more than we witnessed the fetes and dances which were seen by M. Vuillier on the occasion of the Feast of St. Etienne. During the session the Andorran flag—with three horizontal lines of blue, yellow, and red, and a crown in the centre— hangs out of the window. A description of the meeting of the Council has been given by M. Vidal...'' Horizontal flags were used until the end of the 1930s, in the meantime, the Spanish flag was changed to a similar one. The flag with crown is sometimes associated with the activities of Boris I, but there is no evidence for this.

Later flags

Around 1939, the vertical arrangement was returned and a coat of arms was added. The yellow lane was probably widened later. Until the introduction of an official, standardized design in the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

of April 28, 1993, the flag variants differed from each other. An additional impulse to unify the flag were the plans to join the

, which took place on 28 July 1993.

Other flags of Andorra

Parish flags

Other

References

External links

*
Normes Grafiques
(PDF) {{DEFAULTSORT:Andorra, Flag of

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

National flags Flags introduced in 1866 Flags introduced in 1993

Flags with blue, red and yellow