The Netherlands is a Western European state occupying both mainland and island territory. Its modern symbol was created at the end of the eighteenth century.
This is what the modern flag of the Netherlands looks like:
Refers to the Pan-Slavic flags.
History of the flag
From the late fifteenth to the late sixteenth century the Netherlands used the Burgundian cross, which has a oblique branching shape. Its use was justified by the fact that the Netherlands belonged to Burgundy at that time.
From 1592 to 1795 used a tricolor with orange, white and blue colors, it was a historical symbol of the ruling dynasty.
It is believed that the reason for replacing orange and blue with red and blue is that at sea the colors, especially the lighter ones, burn out very quickly, soon becoming completely invisible and indistinguishable. That is why the lighter colors were replaced by darker ones.
Later the kingdom formed the Batavian Republic, its flag is the prototype of the present one, differing only in the fact that at the stem, in the upper left corner, there was a coat of arms. It was used from 1795 to 1806.
The Republic of the Netherlands was controlled by France, comprising eight united provinces.
After the dissolution, the modern flag used by the Dutch kingdom emerged.
Description
It is a tricolor with equal horizontal stripes. The aspect ratio is 2:3.
The flag of the Netherlands is similar to the flag of Luxembourg. The flags are so similar that in 1992 the Luxembourg government decided to change the color of the blue band to a lighter color to make the difference between them more obvious.
Colors of the Dutch flag
Red, white, blue.
Meaning of colors and flag symbol
- Red – spilled blood of warriors.
- White – freedom and independence.
- Blue – sea and belonging to the maritime powers.
Other Flags
The Huys (the Dutch ship’s flag) has the same colors. Each color forms a triangle, the vertices of which converge at one point in the center.
The flag of the Royal Navy is a blue cloth with four orange stripes on the left and, closer to the free part, a white anchor over which hangs a crown.
The royal standard is an orange square with the Nassau Cross, with the coat of arms of the state in the center and the coat of arms of Orange in each square, separated by a cross.
Despite the similarity to other flags, the Kingdom is not going to change it in any way, and the locals are very proud of their symbol.
General information about the Netherlands
| Official language | Dutch, West Frisian (regional) |
| Capital | Amsterdam |
| Territory | 41 543 km² |
| Population | 17 333 790 people |
| Currency | Euro (EUR, code 978) |
| Phone Code | +31 |
