Flag of Poland

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State flag of the Republic of Poland

State flag with coat of arms of the Republic of Poland. Use of this flag is legally restricted.

Horizontal and vertical display of the colors of the Republic of Poland

An unofficial construction sheet of the flag with coat of arms, based on the specifications in Polish law

The national colors of Poland are white and red, and their exact shades are described in Polish law (see below). If displayed horizontally, the white is on top, if vertically – on the left. The colors, which are of heraldic origin and have a history dating back to 1831, are one of three constitutional symbols of the Republic of Poland, along with the coat of arms, the White Eagle, and the national anthem, Mazurek Dąbrowskiego. The Polish flag is a rectangular piece of cloth in the national colors, with or without the Polish coat of arms on the white stripe. Polish Flag Day is celebrated on May 2.

[edit] Legal specifications

The colors and flags of the Republic of Poland are described in two legal documents: the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997,^[1] and the Coat of Arms, Colors and Anthem of the Republic of Poland, and State Seals Act (Ustawa o godle, barwach i hymnie Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej oraz o pieczęciach państwowych) of 1980 with subsequent amendments^[2] (henceforth referred to as "the Coat of Arms Act").

The legislation concerning the national symbols is far from perfect. The Coat of Arms Act has been amended a number of times and refers extensively to executive ordinances, some of which have never been issued. Moreover, the Act contains many errors, ommissions and inconsitencies which make the law confusing, open to various interpretations and often not followed in practice.^[3]

Chapter I, Article 28, paragraph 2 of the Constitution says that:

Colors of the Republic of Poland are white and red.^[1]

The Constitution contains no mention of a national flag. Further specifications can be found in the Coat of Arms Act. According to Article 4 of the act:

Colors of the Republic of Poland are white and red in two horizontal, parallel stripes of equal width, of which the top one is white and the bottom one is red.^[2]

The same article further specifies that if the colors are displayed vertically, the white stripe is placed on the left from the onlooker's viewpoint. Attachment no. 2 to the Act shows the national colors in both horizontal and vertical alignment, as well as coordinates of both colors in the CIE 1976 color space.

The Coat of Arms Act specifies two variations of the state flag: the state flag of the Republic of Poland (flaga państwowa Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) and the state flag with coat of arms of the Republic of Poland (flaga państwowa z godłem Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej). Both flags are defined in Article 6 of the act as follows:

1. The state flag of the Republic of Poland is a rectangular piece of cloth in the colors of the Republic of Poland hoisted on a flagpole.
2. The state flag of the Republic of Poland is also the flag specified in paragraph 1, with the coat of arms of the Republic of Poland placed in the middle of the white stripe.^[2]

The fly to host ratio for both flags is 8:5. For the latter flag, the ratio between the inescutcheon of the cost of arms and the hoist is 2:5. Images of both variations of the flag can be found in attachment no. 3 to the Coat of Arms Act.

Applying the rules of English heraldry and vexillology, the above descriptions may be rendered into the following blazons:

1. Per fess Argent and Gules.
2. Per fess Argent and Gules, in chief an inescutcheon of the Arms of Poland.

[edit] Usage

[edit] Respect for the flag

Polish law says that treating the national symbols, including the flag, "with reverence and respect" is the "right and obligation" of every Polish citizen and all state organs, institutions and organizations.^[2] Public discrespect, destruction or violent removal of the flag is considered a crime punishable by "a fine, limitation of freedom [penal servitude] or up to one year of deprivation of freedom [imprisonment]".^[5] Official statistics show that crimes against national symbols are rare: 43 such crimes in 2003 and 96 in 2004 were less than 0.001% of all registered crimes in Poland.^[3]

[edit] Who may and who is required to fly the flag

Polish flag is part of the Solidarity logo as a symbol of patriotism and resistance against the Communist rule.

According to the Coat of Arms Act, "everyone has the right to use the colors of the Republic of Poland, particularly in order to underline the significance of celebrations, holidays and other events" as long as it is done in a respectful manner.^[2] This liberty in the use of national colors is a relative novelty. Until 2004, Polish citizens were only allowed to fly the Polish flag on national holidays. Unauthorized use of national symbols was illegal and flying the flag with coat of arms was, from 1955 until 1985, punishable by a fine or arrest for up to one year.^[3] This restriction and kind of state monopoly on the use of national symbols during the Communist regime made flying the Polish flag a symbol of resistance against the government.^[6] It became customary – and still is – for workers to hoist Polish flags on plant buildings when going on strike.

Polish flag flying atop the Sejm

Organs that are required by law to fly the state flag (without coat of arms) on or in front of their official buildings are:

• the Sejm (lower house of parliament);
• the Senate (upper house of parliament);
• President of the Republic;
• the Council of Ministers (government) and the President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister);
• local legislatures – only during their sessions;
• other state and local government organs – only on national holidays.

Additionally, the state flag (without coat of arms) is used as an ensign for inland navigation.^[2]

While the ban on using the flag without coat of arms has been lifted, the use of the state flag with coat of arms is still legally restricted. This flag should be only flown on:

• Polish embassies, consulates and other representative offices and missions abroad;
• civilian airports and heliports;
• civilian airplanes – only during international flights;
• buildings of seaport authorities;
• as a merchant (civil) ensign.^[2]

In practice, however, this restriction is often ignored and the two flags – with and without coat of arms – are treated as interchangeable.^[3]

[edit] Flag flying days

State and local government organs are legally required, and other institutions and organizations as well as all citizens are encouraged to fly the Polish flag on the following days:

• May 1 – State Holiday (May Day);
• May 2 – Polish Flag Day;
• May 3 – Constitution Day;
• November 11 – Independence Day.

Polish Flag Day (formally: Flag of the Republic of Poland Day, Dzień Flagi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) was first observed on May 2, 2004. It was established in order to educate the Polish people about the history and significance of national symbols. The choice of date was mostly due to practical reasons: since May 2 is already a day between two mandatory flag flying days, it allows for the flag to be flown continuously for three consecutive days. Polish diaspora outside Poland and the Polish Senate also observe Polonia Day on May 2, which was another reason why the Polish Flag Day has been established on that date. Unlike May Day and Constitution Day, it is not a public holiday, although making a bridge, i.e. taking a day off on that day is common practice (see Holidays in Poland).

Polish (white and red), papal (yellow and white) and Marian or municipal (white and blue) flags in Kraków's Grand Square during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Poland on May 27, 2006.

Other days when the Polish flag is often flown on official buildings include:

• May 5 and 9 – Europe Days (together with the European flag);
• August 15 – Polish Armed Forces Day (mostly on military premises and at tombs of the Unknown Soldier)
• September 29 – Polish Underground State Day.

The flag is also popularly flown during imporant sporting events, such as the FIFA World Cup, if Polish athletes are participating; and during an official visit of a particularly important person, especially a pope, in Poland. During a pope's visit, the national flag is usually flown together with yellow and white Church flags, and white and blue Marian flags. It is not common to fly the national flag on personal occasions, such as birthdays or weddings.

According to polls, about ⅓ of Poles say they own a Polish flag, and about ¼ fly it on national holidays. Such public display of patriotism is much more common in western Poland, especially in Greater Poland, than in other parts of the country.^[3]

[edit] National mourning

The President of the Republic may announce a period of national mourning. During that time Polish flags are flown at half-staff.^[2] If a flag is flown from a wooden pole rather than a staff or mast, a black ribbon is attached to the pole as a sign of mourning.

[edit] History

Great Banner of the Territory of Kraków which also served as a banner of the whole Kingdom of Poland (modern reconstruction).

For centuries, the Polish flag consisted of a red background emblazoned with a White Eagle. During the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth the flag featured both symbols of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, though in fact there was little need for a state flag in a modern sense. Most of the military units flown the flags of their lands or founders (usually featuring coat of arms) and only the royal regiments used the royal standards. Some of the detachments however adopted the red and white stripes as their symbol. The shapes however often differed.

The situation changed in 19th century, during the partitions of Poland, when Polish patriots required an easily-recognizable flag that could be used both for identification of troops on the battlefield and as a symbol of the state. On February 7, 1831 during the November Uprising, the Sejm decided that national colours of Poland are those of Coat of Arms of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, that is white above red. However, after the fall of the uprising the official flag of Congress Kingdom was changed back to that of the tsars of Russia.

After Poland regained her independence in 1918, there was a considerable controversy over the adoption of a state flag. The coat of arms was obvious as it has been in use for roughly 900 years, however there were several possible versions of the flag. Finally, on August 1, 1919, the Sejm adopted the white and red flag at its current shape. Since the same shape and colours were used by port authorities around the world for harbour pilots and tugboats, the same act of the parliament adopted a variation of the flag with the coat of arms of Poland placed in the middle of the white stripe. The latter version was used as the Civil ensign for the merchant marine and by the diplomatic service abroad.

Since then the flag of Poland remained almost the same, with the exception of colour changes introduced twice (see below). At the same time, the version with the coat of arms changed several times, in accordance with the changes applied to the coat of arms itself. In 1927 a new design of the White Eagle was introduced. Between 1928 and 1938 the flag with the coat of arms served solely as the flag of the Polish merchant marine, after which it was again introduced as a flag of Polish diplomatic service.^[7] After the war the new communist regime removed the crown from the Eagle’s head and replaced (perhaps accidentally) the rosettes on its wings with stars, a change that was applied also to the flag. The changes were confirmed by the decree of December 7, 1955. It also extended the use of the flag with coat of arms to civil aviation (airports and civilian planes while abroad). The act of 1980 added port authorities to the list. The crown was reintroduced in 1990, and the current version is basically the same as that of 1927, with minor cosmetic changes.

[edit] Shade of red

The act of 1919 did not specify the exact shade of the red colour featured on the Polish flag. In a 1921 pamphlet issued by the Polish Ministry of Military Affairs^[8] all the state flags and symbols used the crimson red. The possible reason might have been that following 17th century the crimson was one of the most expensive dyes and was used by the magnate families and rich szlachta for their garments. The tradition was later adopted by various military formations (for instance, the soldiers of the Bar Confederation) who wore distinctive crimson coats, serving a similar role to the British red coats. On December 13, 1928 the President of Poland officially settled the controversy by ruling that the correct shade is rather vermilion. The shade was in use until 1980, when a need arose to better describe the correct colour using scientific description rather than traditional names. On January 31, 1980 a new act of the Polish parliament described the colour using the CIELUV standard.

[edit] See also

• List of Polish flags
• flag of Bohemia (the same colors, the same order)
• flags of Monaco, Indonesia, Solothurn (the same colors, different order)
• flags of Austria, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, England, Georgia, Gibraltar, Greenland, Hong Kong, Japan, Jersey, Malta, The Isle of Man, Nepal, Northern Ireland, Peru, Singapore, Switzerland, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey (the same colors, different shapes)

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} (Polish) Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej [(English) Constitution of the Republic of Poland], Dz.U. 78.483.1997
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} (Polish) Ustawa o godle, barwach i hymnie Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej oraz o pieczęciach państwowych [Coat of Arms, Colors and Anthem of the Republic of Poland, and State Seals Act], Dz.U. 05.235.2000
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} (Polish) Najwyższa Izba Kontroli, Informacja o wynikach kontroli używania symboli państwowych przez organy administracji publicznej [Supreme Chamber of Control, Information about the results of the control of the usage of state symbols by the organs of public administration], Warsaw, April 2005
4. ^ Colors rendered into RGB (sRGB) for web display, as calculated on 29 November 2006 at pl:Dyskusja:Flaga Polski by Polish Wikipedia user DeJotPe (see: [1]). The colors in RGB are: white #E9E8E7 and red #D4213D. Note that the assumed white point is 6500K, and that the shades you see here depend on your browser and screen settings, and surrounding context. An intensely luminous light background will make the official white color appear slightly gray. Most websites which show Polish national colors merely approximate the legal colors by using basic HTML colors: white #FFFFFF and red #FF0000.
5. ^ (Polish) Kodeks karny [Penal code], Dz.U. 88.553.1997
6. ^ Małgorzata Niezabitowska, Discovering America, National Geographic, January 1988, p. 48
7. ^ Used only abroad.
8. ^ (Polish) (French) Stanisław Łoza, Zygmunt Czaykowski (1921). Godło i barwy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej – Armoiries et couleurs de la République Polonaise. Warsaw: Ministry of Military Affairs, 10.

[edit] External links

• Poland at Flags of the World