Luxembourg

3×5' nylon national flag of Luxembourg.

Luxembourg's flag looks like the Netherlands' at a glance, but the two have separate origins. Luxembourg's colors come from the arms of its medieval counts: a red lion on stripes of white and blue.

Design

Three equal horizontal bands of red, white and light blue.

History & Symbolism

The colors date to the thirteenth century and were used as national colors from the 1840s, but the flag was only defined by law on 23 June 1972. In 2006 a proposal to replace it with the Red Lion flag, the Roude Léiw, drew wide debate; parliament kept the tricolor, and the lion flag was later approved for use on inland waters.

Flag Specifications

• Adopted: 23 June 1972 (in law)
• Official proportions: 3:5 or 1:2
• Colors: red, white, light blue

Vexillographer's Note

To tell it from the Dutch flag, look at the blue: Luxembourg's is a light sky blue, the Netherlands' a dark cobalt.

Humphrys Flag Company · Old City Philadelphia · Est. 1864