Belgium has three official languages ​​and three national communities, but only one civil flag . It is a roughly square panel (13 by 15 inches) composed of black, yellow, and red stripes.

The flag was chosen back in 1830, during the War of Independence and the Revolution, and was officially adopted in 1831. Initially, its stripes were horizontal and in the reverse order of the current one, but they were soon replaced with vertical ones, which is how the stripes on the flag of the French Revolution are arranged. It is said that the seamstress deliberately sewed the flag so that the black, yellow, and red colors would not be replaced by the French colors. Each of these stripes represents the coat of arms of one of the four main Belgian regions: red is the coat of arms of Hainaut, black is the coat of arms of Brabant, and yellow is the coat of arms of Flanders. According to other sources, the colors chosen for the flag are the traditional colors of the Duchy of Brabant, dating back to the 12th century.

Interestingly, the Belgians first used a flag with these colours, only in a more elongated shape, back in 1789, during an uprising against Austria that did not lead to a victorious outcome.

Another fact that even many Belgians don't know: the official flag should have stripes arranged in reverse order: red, yellow, and black. This is enshrined in Article 193 of the Belgian Constitution. More precisely, the article's initial number was 125, and it stated that the people of Belgium "accept the colors red, gold, and black." Belgians often use flags that are much more elongated than the official one, with a ratio of approximately 2:3.

The Belgian civil flag is also the flag of the country's armed forces. However, the naval flag traditionally has a different appearance. It is a rectangular white cloth with a St. Andrew's cross in the center. The cross consists of the traditional red, yellow, and black stripes. Where the stripes intersect at the top, a crown—the symbol of the kingdom—is depicted, along with two crossed cannons. Below the cross is a drawing of an anchor.

The country's governmental flag differs from the civil one . In addition to the stripes, it features a crown and a golden lion rearing on its hind legs (the same symbol is used as the basis for the coat of arms of Belgium). The history of the national flag is somewhat more recent. From 1936, this flag was used by the Belgian Navy (until it was abolished in 1940, when the country was occupied by Nazi Germany), and in 1950, it was adopted as the national flag.

It is also worth noting that all provinces, districts and communes of Belgium, which did not previously exist within a single state, have their own flags.

Sofia Durynina