Flag of Montenegro

What the flag of Montenegro looks like

The national flag of Montenegro is a red rectangle with a width-to-height ratio of 2:1, edged all the way around by a narrow gold band. The coat of arms takes up two thirds of the flag's height and sits in the middle. It is a golden, crowned double-headed eagle with raised wings. In its right claw the eagle holds a scepter, and in its left a globus cruciger (a blue orb with a cross).

On the eagle's chest is a small shield. It shows a golden lion passant (walking) on a green and blue field. The flag is based on an old royal banner. Two versions are in use: the horizontal one, mostly used outdoors, and a vertical one, mostly used indoors. The flag appears in small form on the Montenegro flag emoji page.

Montenegro flag meaning and symbolism

The double-headed eagle is a symbol of Byzantine origin. It is usually read as representing the unity of, or close connection between, church and state. The motif was used in medieval Zeta, and the long tradition of Montenegrin flags showing it was influenced by the flags of the Russian Empire. The lion passant on the shield is thought to point to episcopal authority, and it also recalls the lion of Venice, which ruled the region in the 16th to 18th centuries.

The red field and gold border follow an old royal banner, and Montenegrin flags have often been red. The law does not assign meanings to the colors. The coat of arms was designed by Radoslav Rotković in 2004.

History of the Montenegrin flag

Montenegro grew out of the medieval principality of Zeta and kept its independence through centuries of Ottoman rule, led from the 1500s by prince-bishops and from 1852 by secular princes of the Petrović-Njegoš family. The flags of this period were often red and showed the eagle or a cross. Montenegro became a kingdom in 1910, and around that time royal flags appeared that were a red, blue and white tricolor with a two-headed eagle bearing the initials of Nikola I.

After the First World War Montenegro was merged into Yugoslavia. In 1946 the People's Republic of Montenegro adopted a red, blue and white tricolor with a red star, which was identical to the flag of Serbia's republic. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Montenegro stayed with Serbia in a successor state, and in 1993 it adopted a horizontal tricolor of red, light blue and white with a ratio of 1:3, making it the longest national flag in the world.

The current flag was introduced by the Law on State Symbols, which was promulgated on 12 July 2004 and came into force the next day, 13 July, proclaimed Statehood Day. A precise specification followed on 16 September 2004. The design is based on an old royal banner. It was kept after the 2006 independence referendum and is required by Article 4 of the 2007 Constitution.

Flags that look like the Montenegro flag

Few national flags are red with a golden eagle in the center. Albania uses a red field with a black double-headed eagle, and Serbia puts a double-headed eagle in its coat of arms on a red, blue and white tricolor. Montenegro's gold border and golden eagle make its flag easy to tell from both. See more in the flags of Europe.