Flag of Estonia

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The national flag of Estonia is a tricolour featuring three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white. The normal size is 105 × 165 cm. In Estonian it is colloquially called the "sinimustvalge" (literally "blue-black-white") , after the colours of the bands.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Independence 1.2 Soviet occupation 1.3 German occupation 1.4 Second Soviet occupation 2 Symbology 3 Colours of the flag 4 Alternative proposals 5 See also 6 External link

[edit] History

The Estonian flag first came to prominence in the 1880s as the flag of the Estonian Students Society at the University of Tartu and was consecrated in the hall of the pastorate of Otepää on 4 June 1884. The original flag is preserved in the Estonian National Museum.

[edit] Independence

The flag became associated with Estonian nationalism and was used as the national flag (riigilipp) when Estonia was declared an independent nation on 24 February 1918. The flag was formally adopted on 21 November 1918.

[edit] Soviet occupation

The invasion by the Soviet Union in June 1940 led to the flag's ban. It was taken down from the most symbolic location, the tower of Pikk Hermann in Tallinn, on 21 June 1940 when Estonia was still formally independent. On the next day, 22 June, it was hoisted along with the red flag. The tricolour disappeared completely from the tower on 27 July 1940 and was replaced by the flag of Estonian SSR.

[edit] German occupation

During the German occupation from 1941 until 1944, the flag was accepted as the ethnic flag of Estonians but not the national flag. After the German retreat from Tallinn in September 1944, the Estonian flag was hoisted once again.

[edit] Second Soviet occupation

When the Red Army arrived on 22 September, the red flag was just added at first. Soon afterwards, however, the blue-black-white flag disappeared.

The flag remained illegal until the days of perestroika in the late 1980s when on 24 February 1989 the blue-black-white flag was again flown from the Pikk Hermann tower in Tallinn. It was formally re-declared as the national flag on 7 August 1990, little over a year before Estonia regained full independence.

[edit] Symbology

The initial interpretation of the colours was:

• blue: mirrors the sky, the lakes and the sea of Estonia and symbolises the loyalty to the nationalist ideas;
• black: the colour of the homeland's soil, the national coat and symbolises the hardships of the Estonian people;
• white: the peoples' happiness and light.'

[edit] Colours of the flag

The shade of blue is defined in the Estonian flag law as follows: Blue tone is on the international PANTONE table of colours 285 C.

CMYK equivalents: C=91, M=43, Y=0, K=0

[edit] Alternative proposals

In 2001, politician Kaarel Tarand suggested that the flag be changed from a tricolour to a Scandinavian-style cross design with the same colours[1]. Supporters of this design claim that a tricolour gives Estonia the image of a post-Soviet or Eastern European country, while a cross design would symbolise the country's links with Nordic countries; Estonian politicians have in recent years made some effort to identify as a Nordic, as opposed to Baltic, country[2] [3] [4]. Many of these people also suggest changing the country's name in English and several other foreign languages from Estonia to Estland (which is the country's name in Swedish, German, and many other Germanic languages). Several Nordic cross designs were proposed already in 1922, when the state flag was officially adopted; one of them is shown here. As the tricolour is considered an important national symbol, the proposal did not achieve widespread popularity.

[edit] See also

• Flags of Estonian Counties

[edit] External link

• Estonia at Flags of the World

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