The Spanish flag and other state symbols of the country

In the sixteenth century, Spain was one of the richest and greatest states on the planet. Not surprisingly, the Spanish flag (pictures are located below) could be seen almost anywhere in the world. The national symbol of the country in its modern form was first introduced in 1785. Since that time, in Spain, it has become a tradition to raise a standard with a coat of arms over all buildings and institutions of state importance.

general description

By itself, the Spanish flag is a rectangular cloth, which consists of three horizontal stripes. The upper and lower are red, and the middle is golden yellow. The width of the extreme bands is one quarter of the total. As for the central strip, then it accounts for the remaining half of the entire width.

The national coat of arms of the country is necessarily applied to the Spanish flag (the photo above is a confirmation). It is located on the middle lane a little to the left of the center. It should be noted that on the arms, you can see an image that symbolizes different areas of the state, as well as the kingdoms that were part of it. In the course of history, he changed from time to time, but the combination of colors that is used on the cloth now, as a rule, remained unchanged.

The legend of the appearance

Among the inhabitants of the country there is a legend that the Spanish flag was once introduced by the king, whose name was Aragon. The ruler wanted to have his own banner and revised a number of options. In the end, he stopped at one of the projects proposed to him. It was a panel with the image of a heraldic field, painted in golden color. Having dipped two fingers in a goblet with the blood of animals, Aragon drew two red stripes along the edges. This, in the opinion of most modern researchers, is the symbolism of the Spanish national banner.

Official History

As already mentioned above, Spain used to be one of the most powerful states. On such a concept as the Spanish flag and the coat of arms, at that time there could be no question, because each of the many kingdoms that were part of it had its own symbolism. Initially, the modern, red-yellow, color scheme was chosen by King Carlos III Bourbon, who used such a banner on the ships of his fleet. The fact is that the then-current white flag (with the Bourbon coat of arms applied) was very easily confused with the standards of military ships of other countries.

In 1843, Queen Isabella the Second Banner was given the status of official. In the time of the Second Spanish Republic, beginning in 1931, a strip of purple color appeared in the design of the national symbol. Thus, the Spanish flag consisted of three lines, the same in magnitude. However, this did not last long. In 1936, after the end of the civil war in the country, the state flag became the flag of the usual flowers, only with the image of an eagle. Finally with the republic (and, consequently, with the old banner) was finished in 1939, after the military rebellion of General Franco. 1978 marked the adoption of the Spanish Constitution. Since that moment, the red-yellow flag with the emblem has officially become the state symbol of the country.

Symbolism of the coat of arms

It was already mentioned above that a coat of arms is placed on the yellow strip, slightly to the left of the center, on the Spanish flag. It represents an alliance of symbols of states that were part of the Kingdom during the Middle Ages. In particular, Leon is usually associated with a lion, Navarre with chains, Aragon with four red stripes on a golden background. The pomegranate symbolizes Andalusia. This is due to the fact that he was the emblem of the Granada Emirate, the last Spanish possession in Europe, which was professed by Islam (during the Reconquista, the Christian kings won it). On the shield of the oval form, you can see three lilies in the azure, made in golden color and having a worm edging. They are the symbol of the Anjou branch of the Bourbons (it refers to the Spanish king). The emblem is crowned with a crown, which symbolizes the fact that Spain is the crown kingdom. Columns on it are the personification of Gibraltar (during the Middle Ages it was called the Hercules pillars), considered earlier as the edge of the world.

National Anthem

The national Spanish anthem is no less impressive, both in content and in age. It is considered to be one of the oldest in the whole world. The author's name has not survived to this day. Together with this, the first memory of it dates back to the end of the eighteenth century, when King Charles the Third was in power. The solemn song was approved by him as a national symbol and was called the "Royal March". Since then, it has been performed at all Spanish ceremonies. Modern arrangement of the hymn was performed at the request of Juan Carlos II by the world-famous musician Francisco Grau.