The flag of North-Rhine Westphalia is the flag of the German state of North-Rhine Westphalia.
After the establishment of North-Rhine Westphalia in 1946, this flag had been in use since 1948 although it was not formally established until 1953. The plain tricolour is the state's civil flag. Government authorities use the state flag (Landesdienstflagge), where the flag is defaced by the state coat of arms.
The flag is a combination of the two former provinces of Prussia that comprise most of the state: the Rhine Province and Westphalia, which unfortunately can easily be confused with the much older Flag of Hungary and with the plain version (not currently used) of the flag of Iran.
| Flags from preceding Prussian provinces: | |
| Rhine Province (1822–1946) |
Westphalia (1815–1946) |
Famous quotes containing the words flag and/or north:
“—Here, the flag snaps in the glare and silence
Of the unbroken ice. I stand here,
The dogs bark, my beard is black, and I stare
At the North Pole. . .
And now what? Why, go back.
Turn as I please, my step is to the south.”
—Randall Jarrell (1914–1965)
“Come see the north wind’s masonry.
Out of an unseen quarry evermore
Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer
Curves his white bastions with projected roof”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)