Flag of Hungary
piros-feher-zold ("red-white-green")
Three equal horizontal stripes of red, white and green, from top to bottom.
At a glance
- Adopted
- May 23, 1957the red-white-green tricolour dates from the 1848 revolution; it has been a plain tricolour with no emblem since 1957
- Shape (height : width)
- 1:2
- Capital
- Budapest
- Continent
- Europe
- Colours
- red
- white
- green
What it means
- Red: officially strength; people also often say it stands for blood spilled for the homeland
- White: officially fidelity (faithfulness); a popular explanation is freedom
- Green: officially hope; a popular explanation is the country's green land
Where it came from
The colours come from Hungary's old coat of arms, which goes back to the Arpad kings of the 12th and 13th centuries. Red, white and green appear together on Hungarian seals from the 1400s.
The idea of a three-stripe flag came from France and the revolutions of 1848. A law in 1848 made the tricolour a national symbol. The stripes run sideways, which keeps the flag from being confused with Italy's.
History
After the 1848 revolution was crushed, the Austrian emperor banned the tricolour. It became legal again after 1867. In 1919 a short-lived communist government used a plain red flag.
From 1949 the communist government put its coat of arms, with a red star, in the middle. During the uprising of 1956, people cut that emblem out, leaving a hole in the flag. The flag with a hole became a famous symbol of the revolution. Since 1957 the official flag has had no emblem at all.
Fun facts
- In 1956 Hungarians cut holes in their flags to remove the communist emblem.
- Hungary's constitution names the stripes but does not say how long the flag should be; a later government rule set 1:2.
- Hungarian merchant ships at sea fly the same flag in a shorter 2:3 shape.
- The red, white and green were already used at the coronation of King Leopold II in 1790, before Italy first used its tricolour in 1797.
Easy to mix up with
Italy
Bulgaria
IranQuestions
What does the flag of Hungary look like?
Three equal horizontal stripes of red, white and green, from top to bottom.
What do the colours and symbols on the flag of Hungary mean?
Red: officially strength; people also often say it stands for blood spilled for the homeland; White: officially fidelity (faithfulness); a popular explanation is freedom; Green: officially hope; a popular explanation is the country's green land.
When was the flag of Hungary adopted?
The current flag of Hungary was adopted on May 23, 1957. (the red-white-green tricolour dates from the 1848 revolution; it has been a plain tricolour with no emblem since 1957)
What colours are on the flag of Hungary?
The flag of Hungary uses red, white and green.
Which flag is easy to mix up with the flag of Hungary?
It is easy to mix up with the flag of Italy. Italy uses similar colours but its stripes stand up and down, with green first
Famous landmarks in Hungary
🎯 Play the flag quiz 🌍 Play the globe
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org
- crwflags.com
- Flag picture: flagcdn.com (Wikimedia Commons)