Flag of Ostry
Use | State flag and civil ensign |
---|---|
Proportion | 3:5 |
Adopted | 20 January 1995 |
Design | White field with a red border and the coat of arms of Ostry in the centre. |
Name | Trzëfarwa (Tricolour) |
Proportion | 2:3 |
Design | A horizontal tricolour of blue, white, and green with three white stars on the upper hoist. |
The flag of Ostry is a white field with a red border and the coat of arms of Ostry in the centre.
The flag was adopted in 1995 following the Gardrag Agreement and the creation of Ostry as a national territory of Navack. However, despite its official use by the government, a opposing tricolour of blue, white, and green with three stars in the hoist is more often seen on the island, and considered the de facto flag of Ostric culture and heritage.
History
The first attested flag representing Ostry dates back to 1919, during the Navish Revolution. During the formation of the nascent Ostric Republic in December of 1919, various flags using blue and white, taken from the coat of arms, were used interchangeably. The most popular in the first months was a tricolour of blue, white, and green with the phrase chléb ë wòlnosc ("bread and freedom") emblazoned on the white stripe in gold. By the collapse of the republic and re-absorption into Navack in 1921, a new design, excluding the motto and including three white stars on the hoist, was more commonly seen. Since then, this design was considered the de facto flag of Ostry and quickly adopted by separatists and nationalists.
Per the signing of the Gardrag Agreement in 1995, granting the island devolved powers and its own national territory, debate ranged over whether the tricolour should be officially adopted or a new design commissioned. Due to the tricolour's connection to the radical Ostric People's Party from the 1920s onwards, a "neutral" flag was created, consisting of a white field with a red border and the coat of arms of Ostry in the centre, a supposedly "non-partisan" design. The tricolour remains popular on the island however, and the official flag has garnered no lasting connection to most of the population.
Proportions and colours
The official proportions of the flag is 3:5, with the coat of arms positioned in the centre. Despite the official proportions however, flags in the proportions of 2:3 and 1:2 are also widely used, especially in regards to the tricolour flag, which is only produced unofficially and not by any government agencies.