Flag of Slovakia

What the flag of Slovakia looks like

The flag of Slovakia has three horizontal stripes of equal height: white at the top, blue in the middle and red at the bottom. The proportions are 2:3. The coat of arms is placed on the left side, a little closer to the hoist than to the center. The shield is red with a white double cross, with two bars, standing on three blue hills.

The shield overlaps the white, blue and red stripes. The arms are what separate this flag from several others with similar colors. The Russian flag has the same stripes without an emblem. The flag of Slovenia has the same order and an emblem in the upper hoist, but it is a different design. The emoji version is at the Slovakia flag emoji page.

Slovakia flag meaning and symbolism

White, blue and red are the Pan-Slavic colors. They became a common symbol of Slavic unity in the 19th century, and they were taken from the Russian flag, which was seen by many Slavic peoples under Austrian and Ottoman rule as a model of independence. They do not have a precise official meaning on the Slovak flag.

The coat of arms has more specific symbolism. The double cross is a symbol of Christianity, and it is often linked to Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Byzantine missionaries who brought Christianity and the first Slavic script to the region in the 9th century. The cross also appeared in the arms of medieval Hungary, of which Slovakia was then a part. The three hills are usually named as the Tatra, Fatra and Matra, though the Matra is in Hungary today. Together, they stand for the land and the connection with the Slavic past.

History of the Slovak flag

The white, blue and red colors were used by Slovak leaders in the revolution of 1848. In 1918 Slovakia became part of Czechoslovakia, and the national flag of that state was white and red with a blue triangle. During the Second World War, the Slovak State (1939-45) also used the tricolor. After the war Slovakia returned to Czechoslovakia.

A new version of the tricolor was adopted on 1 March 1990 as the flag of the Slovak Republic within Czechoslovakia, at first without the coat of arms. The coat of arms was added when the Slovak Constitution came into force on 3 September 1992, and the flag became the national flag when Slovakia became independent on 1 January 1993 after the "Velvet Divorce" from the Czech Republic. The flag has not changed since.

Slovakia flag vs Slovenia flag

The flags of Slovakia and Slovenia are often confused, partly because the names are similar. Both are white, blue and red. The differences are in the emblem and its position. Slovakia's shield is large, red, and covers a good part of the three stripes. Slovenia's is smaller, in the upper left, and shows a white three-peaked mountain, Triglav, with wavy blue lines and three gold stars on a blue shield. Slovakia is in Central Europe next to Austria, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine and the Czech Republic.