Austrian Flag

Austria Flag PNG

The flag of Austria is believed to be either the oldest or one of the oldest national flags in the world still in use. While the first recorded use dates back to 1230, some sources claim the design was introduced in 1191.

The flag has a pretty basic design. Technically speaking, it is a triband featuring three equal horizontal bands: red, white, and red.

History of the Flag

The territory of modern-day Austria was settled in pre-Roman times, around 400 BC, by various Celtic tribes. It was then annexed by the Romans in the late 1st century BC. In the 4th century, Christianization started, then Germanic tribes began to arrive to this land during the Migration Period. It was only at the end of the first millennium that Austria began to be formed as a unified state.

1191 – 1918 (red-white-red triband)

Legend has it that the idea of this flag came to Duke Leopold V of Austria (1157 – 31 December 1194) during the Siege of Acre (1189–1191). After an exceptionally fierce battle, he looked at his white surcoat and saw that it was red because of the blood. But as Duke removed his sword-belt, he discovered unstained white cloth. This event supposedly took place in 1191, but was documented in 1260.

That’s how the story explains the way the stripes of red-white-red became the symbol of the country. Although this legend might be apocryphal and isn’t supported by many historians, the truth is that the very combination of three stripes – red, white, and again red, – has been Austria’s emblem for over 800 years.

As for other hypotheses concerning the origin of this combination, some sources remind us that a very similar emblem, a silver stripe over a red field, was used on the Styrian margraves of the Otakar noble family. The family, in their turn, may have borrowed the design from the descendants of the Carinthian duke Adalbero, who ruled from 1011 to 1035.

Whether or not the inventor of the flag was Duke Leopold V, the person who introduced it as an official one was not him, but Duke Frederick II of the Holy Empire (1210–1246), the last Babenberg. When Frederick made the triband his official symbol in 1230, his aim was to emphasize his independence from the Roman Emperor.

The first document that features these colors comes from 1232. We should also point out that there was a much earlier document depicting the Babenberg margrave Leopold III of Austria with a triband shield in 1105. Unfortunately, there were no colors used in the document, so it’s impossible to figure out whether it was the combination in question.

When Duke Frederick II died in 1246 at the Battle of the Leitha River, the Babenberg dynasty became extinct. The flag, though, was adopted by King Ottokar II of Bohemia, who in fact replaced Frederick. Following the Battle on Marchfeld in 1278, the triband featuring red and white stripes was adopted by the House of Habsburg, who won the battle. In the course of time, it got the status of the Hereditary Lands within the Habsburg monarchy.

Starting from the era of Emperor Joseph II (reign: 18 August 1765 – 20 February 1790), the Austrian Navy introduced a naval ensign, where the red-white-red combination was paired with a shield of similar colors.

1804 – 1918 (flag of the Austrian Empire)

While the red and white triband was used as the Austrian (Inner Austrian) flag by the ruling Habsburg dynasty, it wasn’t exactly the national flag in the modern sense. The status that is closer to the national flag belonged to another design, the combination of black and gold. It was used by the Imperial House of Habsburg when they held the title of Holy Roman Emperor, as well as the Austrian Empire and the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary. It was later sometimes used for the entire empire until 1918. The color combination is believed to be inspired by the banner of the Holy Roman Empire.

1918 – 1938

As the result of World War I, which ended for Austria in November 1918, Austria-Hungary was dissolved. The first parliament of the new Austria was the Provisional National Assembly, which met in Vienna from October 1918 to February 1919. The newly formed German Austria returned to the historic flag, the red-white-red triband.

1919 – 1934

The First Republic of Austria was formed after the signing of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1919, which marked the end of World War I. As a result, Austria became a small country with the population of about 6.5 million people, while approximately 4 million Austrian Germans were now citizens of other countries.

The flag used during 1919–1934 was based on the historic tricolor. Additionally, there was a coat of arms in the middle. It looked pretty much like the current coat of arms, but the eagle didn’t have the broken chain on its legs. The chain appeared only in 1945.

1934 – 1938

In early 1934, the Austrian Civil War took place, in which the authoritarian right-wing government fought against the paramilitary arm of the Social Democratic Workers’ Party of Austria, the Republican Protection League. The socialists lost this fight, and a new version of the constitution was introduced in May 1934. The Austrofascist constitution stated that the Fatherland Front was the only legitimate party.

The Bundesstaat Österreich (the Federal State of Austria) slightly modified the flag. It now featured an imperial-style double-headed eagle instead of a single-headed one.

1938 – 1945

Between 1938 and 1945, the country was annexed to Germany and controlled by Nazis. During this period, the flag of German Reich/Greater German Reich was widely used. Its centerpiece was a black swastika inside a red circle. It was placed over the red background. This flag originated in 1920 as the banner of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party.

1945 – present

At the end of March 1945, American troops and Soviet Union’s Red Army entered Austria. Soviet Union occupied Viena a fortnight later, while American and British forces occupied the western and southern regions. It took Austria a decade to end allied occupation and restore independence. However, the historic red-white-red tricolor was readopted as the national flag immediately after the end of World War II, and it has been in use ever since.

Meaning of Symbols and Colors

While the country’s Constitution doesn’t explicitly state which hue should be used exactly, Flag Regulations of the Federal Army state that the red should be Pantone 186 C.

Because the flag has such a long history, it’s hardly possible to give a straightforward explanation to its colors. No established symbolic attributions exist in official sources.

However, there is an unofficial explanation of the white stripe as the symbol of the shining waters of the Danube River. The fact that, initially, the stripe was silver rather than white, supports this interpretation. The original meaning of the red, according to the legend about Duke Leopold V, was that it was the color of blood.

Use of the flag

In addition to the simple triband, the country also uses a version featuring the coat of arms in the middle. The design with the coat of arms is used as the State flag of Austria, while the eagle-free version is the Civil flag of Austria.

The ratio (the relative proportions of height against width) for the flag of Austria is 2:3.

Coat of Arms

The black bird on the coat of arms is an imperial eagle, also known as a federal eagle. The emblem was originally introduced by the Habsburgs and has been used on the country’s flags for hundreds of years. The eagle had one or two heads, in different periods. The original bird had two heads, but since 1918, when the Empire was dissolved, only one head can be seen on the coat of arms.

Over the bird’s chest, there’s a shield featuring the familiar triband. We can also see a hammer and sickle, which represent peasants and industrial workers. These objects symbolize the country’s industrial and agricultural potential.

While the crown is a universal emblem of those in power, Whitney Smith, a well-known vexillologist and founder of several vexillology organizations, stated that here it stands for the “middle class.” Interestingly, the crown has a peculiar pattern making it look like a structure with three turrets.

You may also notice the broken chain on the federal eagle’s legs. It appeared in 1945 to celebrate the return to freedom after the Nazis lost control of the country.