Estonia

3×5' nylon national flag of Estonia.

Estonia's flag began as the banner of a student society and became the flag of a nation. Estonians call it simply sinimustvalge, "blue-black-white," and its story is one of the great survival stories in vexillology.

Design

Three equal horizontal bands of blue, black and white.

History & Symbolism

The colors were first consecrated on 4 June 1884 in Otepää as the flag of the Estonian Students' Society. They became the national flag on independence in 1918. After the Soviet occupation of 1940 the flag was banned, and displaying it could mean prison. It was restored in 1990 as Estonia moved back to independence. Blue is read as the sky and loyalty, black as the soil and the nation's dark past, and white as hope and the winter snow.

Flag Specifications

• Adopted: 21 November 1918; restored 7 August 1990
• Official proportions: 7:11
• Colors: blue, black, white

Vexillographer's Note

The original 1884 student flag survived the war and the occupation in hiding. It is now kept at the Estonian National Museum in Tartu.

Humphrys Flag Company · Old City Philadelphia · Est. 1864