Flag of Hungary

What the flag of Hungary looks like

The Hungarian flag has three horizontal stripes of equal height: red at the top, white in the middle and green at the bottom. The proportions are 1:2. The national flag has no emblem. A second version, the state flag, carries the coat of arms of Hungary in the center, a shield with red and white stripes on one side and a white double cross on three green hills on the other, topped by the Holy Crown of St Stephen. In everyday life, the plain tricolor is the one you will see most often.

The plain tricolor uses the same three colors as the flag of Italy, but Hungary's stripes are horizontal with red on top, while Italy's are vertical with green at the hoist. For the small icon, see the Hungary flag emoji.

Hungary flag meaning and colors

The colors of the Hungarian flag come from the heraldry of the kingdom. Red and white are the colors of the Árpád dynasty, the first royal house, whose banners were red and white stripes. Green was added from the three green hills in the coat of arms. Over time, people gave the colors symbolic meanings:

• Red is often said to stand for strength, and for the blood shed for the homeland.
• White stands for faithfulness and for the purity of the nation's cause, and in heraldic readings for the rivers of the country.
• Green stands for hope, and in heraldic readings for the hills and the green land.

These are traditional readings, and the law does not give an official meaning to each color.

History of the Hungarian flag

Red and white were used by Hungarian rulers from the Middle Ages, and green appeared on the coat of arms by the 15th century. Combined red-white-green banners were seen in the 17th and 18th centuries, but the tricolor became a national symbol during the Revolution of 1848 against Habsburg rule. A law passed that year made the red-white-green flag the national colors, and it was flown during the war of independence led by Lajos Kossuth.

After the Compromise of 1867, the Habsburg lands became Austria-Hungary, a dual monarchy with two equal halves. The Kingdom of Hungary kept its own flag, the red-white-green tricolor with the arms, while Austria used black and yellow. So Austria-Hungary had two national flags in use, and its merchant ships flew a flag that combined both. The tricolor stayed after the dual monarchy ended in 1918.

Under the communist rule after 1949, the flag was changed to include a new emblem with a hammer and an ear of wheat. In the 1956 revolution, protesters cut the emblem out of the flags, leaving a hole in the center that became a symbol of the uprising. After the revolution was crushed, the plain tricolor was restored in 1957 without any emblem. Since 1990, the crowned coat of arms has been used again on the state flag, and the 2011 Fundamental Law set out the current rules.

Hungary flag vs Italy and similar flags

People often ask how to tell the Hungarian and Italian flags apart. Both use red, white and green, but Hungary has horizontal stripes with red on top and Italy has vertical stripes with green at the hoist. The proportions are different too, as Hungary's is 1:2 and Italy's is 2:3. The flag of Bulgaria is also close, with white, green and red stripes from the top. See also flags of the world.