Flag of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Use	Civil and state flag, civil ensign
Proportion	3:5
Adopted	1881 (original version) 1991 (current version)
Design	A horizontal tricolour of white, green and red.

The flag of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: знаме на България, Zname na Bǎlgarija, [znamɛ nɐ bɐɫˈɡarijɐ]) is a tricolour consisting of three equal-sized horizontal bands of (from top to bottom) white, green, and red. The flag was first adopted after the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), when Bulgaria gained independence. The national flag at times was charged with the state emblem, especially during the People's Republic of Bulgaria. The current flag was re-established with the 1991 Constitution of Bulgaria and was confirmed in a 1998 law.

History

After the liberation of Bulgaria following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, the flag was described in the Tarnovo Constitution of 1879 as follows:

Art. 23. The Bulgarian people's flag is three-coloured and consists of white, green and red colours, placed horizontally.

From 1948 until 1990 the emblem of People's Republic of Bulgaria was placed on the left side of the white stripe. It contained a lion within a wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and above a ribbon bearing the years 681, the year of the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire by Asparukh, and 1944, the year when the Fatherland Front took power which lead to the establishment of the People's Republic of Bulgaria.

The new Constitution of Bulgaria, adopted in 1991, describes the Bulgarian flag as follows:

Art. 166. The flag of the Republic of Bulgaria shall be a tricolour: white, green, and red from top, placed horizontally.

A popular version of the flag, which has no official status, is also commonly known. It has the full coat of arms on the left of the flag, placed across the white and green fields only.

Flag law

According to the Law for the State Seal and National Flag of the Republic of Bulgaria, promulgated on April 24, 1998:

Art. 15. (1) The national flag of the Republic of Bulgaria is a national symbol which expresses the independence and sovereignty of the Bulgarian state.

(2) The national flag of the Republic of Bulgaria is tricolour: white, green and red fields, placed horizontally from the top downwards. On fixing the national flag in a vertical situation of the carrying body the colours shall be arranged from left to right - white green, red, regarded opposite the flag.

(3) The national flag is of a rectangular shape. The fields of the individual colours shall be equal in size and shall be situated along the horizontal of the rectangular.

Colours

According to the Standardisation and Metrology Committee, the following are the required colours for use in the national flag:

Colour scheme	White		Green		Red
Pantone textile scale		Whiteness greater than 80%		17-5936		18-1664
Web colours		#FFFFFF		#00966E		#D62612

Gallery

Standard of the President

Standard of the Prime Minister

Standard of the Tsar, -1946

Flag of Bulgaria (1944-1946)

Flag of Bulgaria (1946-1948) Flag of Bulgaria (1946-1948)

Flag of Bulgaria (1948-1967)

Flag of Bulgaria (1967-1971). The design of the emblem has changed slightly from the previous version.

Flag of Bulgaria (1971-1990). The indication of 681, the year of the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire by Asparukh was added to 1944.

Current Bulgarian War flag, similar to Bulgarian war flags from period 1880s - mid 1940s. The motto in Bulgarian means "God is with us".

Naval Ensign of Bulgaria

Naval Jack of Bulgaria

Naval Ensign of Bulgaria (1878-1944)

Naval Ensign of Bulgaria (1949-1955)

Naval Ensign of Bulgaria (1955-1990)

See also

• Coat of arms of Bulgaria
• Shumi Maritsa
• Mila Rodino
• National Guards Unit of Bulgaria

External links

• Bulgarian Heraldry and Vexillology Society (Bulgarian) (English)
• Bulgaria at Flags of the World
• Law for the State Seal and the National Flag of the Republic of Bulgaria
• About Bulgarian national symbols