Flag of the Republic of Latvia
Description
- Two deep carmine-red bands above and below a narrower white band (proportions 2:1:2)
- One of the oldest flags in the world — the earliest written reference dates to the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle around 1280
- Readopted on 27 February 1990 as Latvia moved toward restoring independence from the Soviet Union
Trivia
- The stripe ratio is exactly 2:1:2 — red, white, red — differing from Austria's evenly sized bands
- Legend says a mortally wounded Latgallian chief was wrapped in a white sheet; the edges stained by his blood became the flag pattern
- The Latvian shade of red is sometimes called 'grenadine' and is darker than the reds on most national flags
Flag of Latvia
Latvia's flag is a horizontal tricolour of deep carmine-red above and below a narrow white band, proportioned 2:1:2. The distinctive dark red — sometimes called "Latvian red" or grenadine — is noticeably darker than the reds of most other national flags and is considered part of the flag's unique identity.
The design is one of the oldest in the world: the earliest written reference appears in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle around 1280. According to legend, a mortally wounded Latgallian chief was wrapped in a white sheet that became bloodstained at the edges, leaving a clean white stripe in the middle — the pattern his tribe then carried into battle. The tricolour was readopted on 27 February 1990 as Latvia moved toward restoring independence from the Soviet Union.
json:data
{
"g": "nf,europe",
"ns": "latvia",
"id": "latvia",
"index": "c/latvia",
"title": "Flag of the Republic of Latvia",
"ratio": "1:2",
"use": {
"as": "national flag",
"since": "1990-02-27"
},
"colors": [
{
"color": "carmine red",
"hex": "#9E3039",
"cmyk": "0/85/65/45",
"note": "A distinctive dark carmine sometimes called 'Latvian red'; legend says it depicts the blood of a wounded chief that stained a white sheet."
},
{
"color": "white",
"hex": "#FFFFFF",
"cmyk": "0/0/0/0",
"note": "The central band represents honour, truth, and purity."
}
],
"desc": "- Two deep carmine-red bands above and below a narrower white band (proportions 2:1:2)\n - One of the oldest flags in the world — the earliest written reference dates to the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle around 1280\n - Readopted on 27 February 1990 as Latvia moved toward restoring independence from the Soviet Union",
"article": "latvia/flag.md",
"of": {
"country": "latvia"
},
"countryData": {
"name": "Latvia",
"officialName": "Republic of Latvia",
"continent": "europe",
"un": "member"
},
"trivia": "- The stripe ratio is exactly 2:1:2 — red, white, red — differing from Austria's evenly sized bands\n - Legend says a mortally wounded Latgallian chief was wrapped in a white sheet; the edges stained by his blood became the flag pattern\n - The Latvian shade of red is sometimes called 'grenadine' and is darker than the reds on most national flags\n",
"flag": "latvia/flag.svg",
"_name": "Latvia",
"_namespace": "latvia",
"_namePart": ""
}