Flag of Estonia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- See also: List of flags of Estonia
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| Use | Civil and state flag and civil ensign.  |
| Proportion | 7:11 |
| Adopted | November 21, 1918 |
| Design | Tri-color, with three equal horizontal bands; the upper band is blue, the middle black and the lower white. |
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| Use | Naval ensign.  |
| Proportion | 7:13 |
| Adopted | 1991 |
| Design | Tri-color, swallow-tailed, defaced with the shield of the state arms off-set towards hoist. |
Naval jack.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.
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[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 the Estonian Declaration of Independence was issued on February 24, 1918. The flag was formally adopted on November 21, 1918. On December 12, 1918 was the first time the flag was raised as the national symbol atop of the Pikk Hermann Tower in Tallinn.[1]
[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 June 21, 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 July 27, 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
There are a number of interpretations attributed to the colours of the flag. A historical interpretation of the colours has blue representing ancient freedom, black symbolizing lost independence and white, the promise of a brighter future. Another interpretation made popular by the poetry of Martin Lipp is as follows:
- blue: vaulted blue sky above the native land;
- black: attachment to the soil of the homeland as well as the fate of Estonians - for centuries black with worries;
- white: hard work and other more abstract human values;'
[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[2]. 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.
Estonians consider themselves a Nordic people rather than Balts,[3][4] based on their linguistic, cultural and historical ties with Sweden, Denmark and particularly Finland. In December 1999 Estonian foreign minister — and current president since 2006 — Toomas Hendrik Ilves delivered a speech entitled "Estonia as a Nordic Country" to the Swedish Institute for International Affairs.[5]
Some have also suggested changing the country's official name in English and several other foreign languages from Estonia to Estland (which is the country's name in Danish, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian and many other Germanic languages).[6] Several Nordic cross designs were proposed already in 1919, 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] References
- ^ http://www.estemb.org/estonia/history/aid-780 Estonia's Blue-Black-White Tricolour Flag at estemb.org]
- ^ http://www.epl.ee/artikkel_92271.html
- ^ Estonian foreign ministry report, 2004
- ^ Estonian foreign ministry report, 2002
- ^ http://www.vm.ee/eng/nato/1210.html
- ^ http://www.epl.ee/?artikkel=91324
