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Czech Republic

Ceska Republika

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by Željko Heimer, 30 Mar 2003

Symbolism and history of the flag
Vertical hanging flag
1990-1992 flag

See also:

Symbolism and history of the flag

From: http://users.aol.com/mpgregor/private/flags.htm this information by Hugh Agnew.

Background of the state flag and coat of arms:
The official coat of arms of the Czech Republic is based on the arms of the lands of the Czech crown in the middle ages. The emblem of Bohemia proper (once it had replaced the Premyslid "flaming eagle" still used in depiction of St. Vaclav) is a white lion with two tails, rampant on a red field. The two eagles represent Moravia and Silesia. The red-and-white chequerboard eagle on a blue field is Moravia, which was referred to by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa as an independent Margraviate in the twelfth century, though it was soon tied firmly to the lands of the Czech crown by the tradition of making the Czech king or his heir margrave. The black eagle on the gold field represents Silesia. Only fragments of the historical territory of Silesia remain in the Czech Republic today, around Opava and Tesin, but all of it came under the Czech crown during the reign of John of Luxemburg and his son Charles IV.
Many European national flags derive from former royal coats of arms, and the Czech one is no exception. Since a complicated coat of arms could not be seen from a distance during a conflict, the coat was reduced to a standard displayed on a