Flag of the Opole Voivodeship explained

Opole Voivodeship
Use:civil flag
Use:"6-digit FIAV usage code" is required. -->
Proportion:5:8
Adoption:21 December 2004
Design:two horizontal stripes, with yellow on the top, and blue at the bottom, of which, the top stripe is twice the size of the bottom one
Designer:Michał Marciniak-Kożuchowski
Alt2:State flag of the Opole Voivodeship
Use2:state flag
Use2:"6-digit FIAV usage code" is required. -->
Proportion2:5:8
Adoption2:21 December 2004
Design2:two horizontal stripes, with yellow on the top, and blue at the bottom, of which, the top stripe is twice the size of the bottom one, with a coat of arms of the voivodeship placed in the right corner, within the yellow stripe
Designer2:Michał Marciniak-Kożuchowski

The civil flag of the Opole Voivodeship, Poland is a rectangle divided into two horizontal stripes, with yellow on the top, and blue at the bottom. The top stripe is twice the size of the bottom one.

Design

The civil flag of the Opole Voivodeship is a rectangle, with an aspect ratio of height to width of 5:8, which is divided into two horizontal stripes, with yellow on the top, and blue at the bottom. The top stripe is twice the size of the bottom one.

The state flag of the voivodeship uses the design of the civil flag, with the coat of arms of the voivodeship placed in the right corner, within the yellow stripe. The coat of arms depicts a yellow (golden) eagle on the blue background within the Old French style escutcheon.

History

The Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, an autonomous region of Kingdom of Bohemia, within Austria-Hungary used a flag horizontally divided into two stripes, which were black on top, and yellow on the bottom. The colours came from the oat of arms of Lower Silesia, which features black eagle on a yellow background. It is unknown where the flag begun being used. The state itself existed from 1742 to 1918.[1]

The Province of Upper Silesia of the Free State of Prussia adopted its flag in 1920. It was rectangle divided horizontally into two stripes: yellow on top, and dark blue on the bottom. The aspect ratio of its height to its width was equal 2:3. Its colours had been based on the coat of arms of Upper Silesia. It was used until 1935, when Nazi Germany forbid its provinces from flying its flags, ordering them to replace them with the national flag.[2] Web site: Flagi Śląska. slownikslaski.pl. pl.

On 23 April 1920, the Union of Upper Silesians, an independence movement for Upper Silesia, proposed a design for a flag of the potential Upper Silesian independent state. The flag would be divided horizontally into three stripes, that were, from top to bottom: black, white, and yellow. The movement operated until 1924.[3]

The Opole Voivodeship was established in 1999.[4] Its flag was approved by Opole Regional Assembly on 28 September 2004,[5] and officially adopted on 21 December of the same year.[6] It was designed by Michał Marciniak-Kożuchowski.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Friedrich Heyer von Rosenfeld: Die See-Flaggen, National und Provincial-Fahnen sowie Cocarden aller Länder. Vienna: Verlag der kaiserlich-königlichen Hof- und Staatsdruckerei. 1883. (in German)
  2. Herbert Knötel, Holger Tümmler: Uniform-Fibel von 1933, Berlin 1933.
  3. Web site: Wolne Państwo Górnośląskie. Józef Kolarczyk. pl. enowiny.pl.
  4. Ustawa z dnia 24 lipca 1998 r. o wprowadzeniu zasadniczego trójstopniowego podziału terytorialnego państwa (Dz.U. z 1998 r. nr 96, poz. 603).
  5. Resolution no. XXIV/209/2004 of the Opole Regional Assembly from 28 September 2004.
  6. Resolution no. XXIX/254/2004 of the Opole Regional Assembly from 21 December 2004.
  7. Web site: FLAGI I INSYGNIA WOJEWÓDZTWA OPOLSKIEGO. pl. opolskie.pl.