Flag ratio: 7:11

Flag of the President.

Naval ensign.

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. Image File history File links Flag_of_Estonia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Estonia. ... Image File history File links FIAV_110100. ... Image File history File links Estonian_presidential_flag. ... Image File history File links Estonian_presidential_flag. ... The President of Estonia is the head of state of the Republic of Estonia. ... Image File history File links Naval_Ensign_of_Estonia. ... Image File history File links Naval_Ensign_of_Estonia. ... Image File history File links FIAV_000001. ... Image File history File links Naval_Jack_of_Estonia. ... Image File history File links Naval_Jack_of_Estonia. ... French tricolour flag A tricolour is a flag or banner having three colours, usually in approximately equal size (horizontally or vertically) and lacking additional symbols. ... The term blue may refer any of a number of similar colours. ... Unlucky black cat. ... White rose. ... The metre, or meter (U.S.), is a measure of length. ...

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. The University of Tartu (Estonian: ; German: ) is a classical university in the city of Tartu Estonia. ... County Valga County Mayor Aivar Nigol Area 217. ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (156th in leap years), with 210 days remaining. ... 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

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. Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolising French nationalism during the July Revolution. ... A national flag is a flag that symbolises a country and that can usually be flown by citizens of that country. ... February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

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. Pikk Hermann (Tall Hermann) is a tower of the castle of Toompea in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. ... County Harju County Mayor Jüri Ratas Area 159. ... June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. ... Historically, and most generally, the red flag is an international symbol for the blood of angry workers. ... July 27 is the 208th day (209th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 157 days remaining. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Flag ratio: 1:2 This flag was adopted by the Estonian SSR on February 6, 1953. ...

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.

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 Workers and Peasants Red Army (Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия, Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya; RKKA or usually simply the Red Army) were the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918 and that in 1922 became the army of the Soviet Union. ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ...

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. Poster showing Mikhail Gorbachev, with the slogan perestroika Perestroika ( , Russian: IPA: ) is the Russian term (which passed into English) for the economic reforms introduced in June 1987 by the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. ... February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 7 is the 219th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (220th in leap years), with 146 days remaining. ... 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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 and the national coat;
• white: the peoples' happiness and light.'

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 This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Alternative Proposals

Alternative Nordic cross design for the Estonian flag

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 foreign languages from Estonia to Estland. 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. Image File history File links Estonian_alternative_flag_proposal. ... Image File history File links Estonian_alternative_flag_proposal. ... Nordic flags Nordic Cross Flag, Nordic Cross, Scandinavian Cross is a pattern of flags usually associated with the flags of the Scandinavian countries of which it originated. ... Political map of the Nordic countries and associated territories. ... The three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania The terms Baltic countries, Baltic Sea countries, Baltic states, and Balticum refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea. ...

See also

• Flags of Estonian Counties

The flags of the 15 Counties of Estonia are all white and green, with the Coat of Arms of the respective County on the white part. ...

External link

• Estonia at Flags of the World

Screenshot of the Flags of the World website Official flag Flags of the World (or FOTW) is the Internets largest website devoted to vexillology, containing comprehensive information about all kinds of flags. ...