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A flag consisting of two stripes, white and red, terminated in two triangular tongues on a free leech. In the center of the white strip, in the part between the louvre and the apex of the indentation between the tongues, is the emblem of the Republic of Poland.
White and red were officially adopted as national colours in 1831, although these were associated with Poland since theMiddle Ages and were emphasized onroyal banners. They are ofheraldic origin and derive from thetinctures (colours) of the coats of arms of the two constituent nations of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (i.e., the White Eagle of Poland, and thePursuer of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania, a white knight riding a white horse), both on a red shield.
Until 1831, Polish soldiers worecockades of various colour combinations. The national flag was officially adopted in 1919. Since 2004,Polish Flag Day has been celebrated on 2 May.
The flag is flown continuously on the buildings of the highest national authorities, such as theparliament and thepresidential palace. Other institutions and many Polish people fly the national flag on national holidays and other special occasions of national significance. Current Polish law does not restrict the use of the national flag without the coat of arms, as long as the flag is not disrespected.
Horizontal bicolours of white and red being a relatively widespread design, several flags are similar but unrelated to the Polish one. Two national flags (Indonesia andMonaco) have the red stripe above the white one. InPoland, many flags based on the national design also feature the national colours.
It is one of five flags that use the 5:8 ratio. The other four flags include those ofArgentina,Guatemala,Palau, andSweden.
The colours and flags of the Republic of Poland are described in two legal documents: theConstitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997[1] and the Coat of Arms, Colours and Anthem of the Republic of Poland and State Seals Act (Ustawa o godle, barwach i hymnie Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej oraz o pieczęciach państwowych) of 1980 with subsequent amendments[2] (henceforth referred to as "the Coat of Arms Act").
Legislation concerning the national symbols is far from perfect. The Coat of Arms Act has been amended several times and refers extensively to executive ordinances, some of which have never been issued. Moreover, the Act contains errors, omissions and inconsistencies which make the law confusing, open to various interpretations and often not followed in practice.[3]
According to Chapter I, Article 28, paragraph 2 of the Constitution, the national colours of Poland are white and red.[1] The Coat of Arms Act, Article 4, further specifies that the colours are white and red in two horizontal, parallel stripes of equal width, of which the top one is white and the bottom one is red.[2] If the colours are displayed vertically, the white stripe is placed on the left from the onlooker's viewpoint. Attachment no. 2 to the Act shows the national colours in both horizontal and vertical alignment, as well as the official shades of both colours expressed as coordinates in theCIE xyY (CIE 1931)colour space with the toleratedcolour differences (ΔE) specified in the CIE 1976 (L*,u*,v*) colour space (CIELUV).[2]
An unofficial construction sheet of the flag with coat of arms, based on specifications in Polish law
The Constitution contains no mention of a national flag. Instead, the flag is defined by the Coat of Arms Act which specifies two variants of the national flag: thenational flag of the Republic of Poland (flaga państwowa Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) and thenational flag with coat of arms of the Republic of Poland (flaga państwowa z godłem Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej). Both flags are defined in Article 6 of the act as follows:
The state flag of the Republic of Poland is a rectangular piece of cloth in the colours of the Republic of Poland hoisted on a flagpole.
The state flag of the Republic of Poland is also the flag specified in paragraph 1, with the coat of arms of the Republic of Poland placed in the middle of the white stripe.[2]
Thehoist to fly ratio for both flags is 5:8. For the latter flag, the proportion between theinescutcheon of the coat of arms and the hoist is 2:5. Images of both variations of the flag can be found in attachment no. 3 to the Coat of Arms Act.[4]
Per Polish law, treating the national symbols, including the flag, "with reverence and respect" is the "right and obligation" of every Polish citizen and all state organs, institutions and organisations.[2] Public disrespect, destruction or intentional removal of the flag is considered a crime punishable by afine,penal servitude or up to one year ofimprisonment.[5] Official statistics show that crimes against national symbols are rare: 43 such crimes in 2003 and 96 in 2004 were less than 0.001% of all crimes registered in Poland in those years.[3] Other, unspecified violation of regulations on the Polish flag is aninfraction, punishable by a fine or up to one month imprisonment.[6]
According to the Coat of Arms Act, everyone can use the Polish flag, especially during national and cultural events, as long as it is done in a respectful manner.[2] This liberty in the use of national colours is a relative novelty. Until 2004, Polish citizens were only allowed to fly the Polish flag on national holidays. The use of both variants was restricted, but only flying the flag with coat of arms was, from 1955 to 1985, punishable by a fine or arrest for up to one year.[3] After 1985, unauthorised use of any national symbol was an infraction. A possible explanation to such harsh measures was that the officially promoted holiday of1 May was separated by only one day from the pre-war (and current) national holiday of Poland, the anniversary of signing of theConstitution of 3 May 1791. While hoisting a flag on 1 May was acceptable, no later than the following day it had to be taken down.[7]
Flag without the coat of arms
That restriction and kind of state monopoly on the use of national symbols during theCommunist regime made flying the Polish flag a symbol of resistance against the government. It became customary, as it still is, for workers to hoist Polish flags on plant buildings when going onstrike. That is why the Polish flag, as a symbol of patriotism and resistance against the Communist rule, is part of theSolidarity trade unionlogo.[8]
While the ban on using the flag without coat of arms has been lifted, the use of the national flag with coat of arms is still legally restricted and should be flown only:
on or in front of Polishembassies,consulates and other representative offices and missions abroad, as well as by Polish ambassadors and consuls on their residences and vehicles;
In practice, however, the restriction is often ignored and the two flags, with and without the coat of arms, are treated as interchangeable.[3] The variant with the coat of arms, even though its incorrect usage, is often used by thePolonia, or Polish diaspora outside Poland, especially in the United States.[9]
State and local government organs are legally required, and other institutions and organisations as well as all citizens are encouraged to fly the Polish flag on the following days:
The flag is often popularly flown during important sporting events, such as theFIFA World Cup, if Polish athletes are participating;[10] and during an official visit of a particularly important person, especially apope, in Poland. During a pope's visit, the national flag is usually flown together with yellow and whiteChurch flags, and white and blueMarian flags.[11] It is uncommon to fly the national flag on personal occasions, such as birthdays or weddings.[3]
According to polls, about one out of three Poles say they own a Polish flag, and about one out of four fly it on national holidays. Such public display of patriotism is much more common in western Poland, especially inGreater Poland, than in other parts of the country.[3]
Example of vertical alignment of Polish national colours inside theSejm chamber
Flags in Poland are used according to a customary, rather than legal,flag protocol. Apart from the obligation to treat the flag with due respect, Polish law does not offer a detailed code of correct usage of the Polish flag. Some organisations and public institutions, such as the Heraldic and Vexillological Institute and theSupreme Chamber of Control have proposed written flag protocols for the Polish flag, based on custom, flag protocols of other countries such asIndia and theUnited States, and common sense. These guidelines, however, are not legally binding.[3][12]
Traditionally, the national flag is reserved to serve either informative or festive purposes. A single specimen of the flag on or in front of a public office building indicates its official role. Multiple flags, on the other hand, are normally used to decorate both public and private buildings to mark special occasions, such as national holidays.[3]
InPolish heraldry, the tincture of the charge has priority in relation to the tincture of the field. In the case of Polish national colours, white, the colour of the White Eagle, should always be placed in a more honorable position than red, the colour of the field of the Polish coat of arms. In the most usual, horizontal alignment, this means that the white stripe is placed above the red one. If the alignment is vertical, the white stripe should be on the left from the onlooker's point of view. If the flag is hung vertically above a street, the white stripe should be placed on the left when looking in the direction of increasing house numbers. If it drapes a coffin, the white stripe should be placed over the heart.[12]
The flag should be raised before 8 a.m. and lowered at sunset, and if flown at night, it should be illuminated.[3] During a ceremonial raising of the flag, thenational anthem is played so that the timing of the raising matches the duration of the anthem.[12] Civilians pay respect by standing in a dignified manner; additionally, men uncover their heads. Members of uniformed services stand at attention; if their uniform includes headgear and they are not standing in an organised group, they also perform thetwo-finger salute.Colour guards dip their banners to the flag.[2] (See video)
Example of indoor display of the flag of Poland (center) together with other flags: that of theLesser Poland Voivodeship (left) and theEuropean flag (right)
According to generally accepted standards of respect, the national flag should never be dipped to any person or thing. Care should be taken to prevent the flag from touching the ground, floor or water beneath it. It should be also secured from being torn off or falling to the ground and it should not be flown outdoors during a heavy rain, blizzard or very strong wind. The flag should never be flown dirty, torn or faded. When no longer in a fit condition to be used, it should be disposed of in a dignified manner, preferably by cutting it in half so as to separate the colours and then, burning.[3][12]
When displayed with other flags, the Polish flag should be raised first and lowered last. Each flag must be flown from a separate pole of the same height, but the flag of Poland should be always placed in the most honorable position.[3] It means that if the total number of flags is even, the Polish flag should be placed to its right of the other flags. If the total number of flags is odd, it should be placed in the middle. Alternatively, two Polish flags may be placed, one at each end of the row of flags.[12] The order of precedence for flags is as follows:
flag of Poland,
national flags of other countries (in alphabetical order),
The President of the Republic may announce a period ofnational mourning. During that time Polish flags are flown athalf-staff.[2] If a flag is flown from a wooden pole rather than a staff or mast, a black ribbon is attached to the pole as a sign of mourning or a black flag is flown to its left from the national flag.[3]
Stanisław Sobieski, Grand Standard Bearer of the Polish Crown, carrying KingSigismund III's double-swallow-tailed royal banner consisting of red and white stripes emblazoned with a coat of arms combining the heraldic symbols ofPoland,Lithuania,Sweden and theHouse of Vasa (c. 1605)
The earliestvexilloids (flag-like objects) used in Poland were known asstanice and probably resembled theRomanvexillum, that is a cloth draped vertically from a horizontal crosspiece attached to a wooden pole orspear. They served as both religious and military symbols as early as 10th century. With Poland's conversion to Christianity in 966, thestanice were probably Christianized by replacing pagan symbols with Christian ones. The royalbanner of arms dates back to the reign of KingBoleslaus the Generous (r. 1076–1079), but it was during the reign of KingLadislaus the Short (r. 1320–1333) that a red cloth emblazoned with the White Eagle of the arms of Poland was finally established as the Banner of the Kingdom of Poland, a symbol of royal authority used at coronations and in battles.[13]
In the times of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795), a banner of the Commonwealth was also used, combining the heraldic symbols of Poland and theGrand Duchy of Lithuania. The Commonwealth banner was initially plain white emblazoned with thearms of the Commonwealth which consisted of the heraldic charges of Poland (White Eagle) and Lithuania (Pursuer). Since both Polish and Lithuanian coats of arms consisted of white (Argent)charges in a red (Gules)field, these two colours started to be used for the entire banner. During the 17th century, the banner was usually divided into two, three or four horizontal, often swallow-tailed, stripes of red and white.[13][14]
A woman fastening a red-and-whitecockade to a Polish insurgent's square-shapedrogatywka cap during theJanuary Uprising of 1863–1864
In the 18th and 19th centuries, European nations usedcockades, or knots of coloured ribbons pinned to the hat, to denote the nationality of their military. In Poland, until 1831, there was no consensus as to what the colours of the national cockade should be. Polish soldiers wore white, white-and-red, blue-and-red or blue-white-red cockades.[13]
The custom came to Poland fromSaxony during the reign ofAugustus II (r. 1697–1733), King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. During that time, the cockade worn by the Polish military had, like in Saxony, the form of a white silk ribbon with a knot in the middle. It was later replaced with a circular white cockade wrinkled toward the center, patterned after the cockade of theKingdom of France. During the reign of KingStanislaus Augustus (r. 1764–1795), a white-and-red cockade came into use alongside the plain white one. In 1791, the Military Commission introduced a metalcross pattée as a more durable alternative to the cockade. However, many soldiers continued to either pin the cross to the cockade or wear the cockade without the cross. Polish military leaders and national heroes of the time, such as GeneralTadeusz Kościuszko and PrinceJózef Poniatowski pinned plain white "national" cockades to their hats.[13]
Polish-Lithuanian coat of arms during theNovember Uprising of 1830–1831
The patriotic and staunchlyCatholic members of theBar Confederation of 1768–1772 adoptedcrimson – the symbol of Polishszlachta, or nobility – and blue – symbolizingVirgin Mary – as their colours. These, as well as white-and-red, were considered national colours during theGreat Sejm of 1788–1792. White and red were first publicly used as national colours by civilians on 3 May 1792 inWarsaw, during a celebration of the first anniversary of the adoption of theConstitution of 1791. Meanwhile, thepolitical left wore the blue-white-red cockades of theFrench Revolution.Polish Legions created in 1797 inFrench-controlled republics in Italy, used either national cockades of the particular Italian republics in which they served or the French tricolour cockade. In the latter case, the red and blue colours were replaced withcrimson andnavy blue respectively, hues considered to be traditionally Polish. TheGeneral Confederation of the Kingdom of Poland, which sought to revive the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during theFrench invasion of Russia in 1812, adopted red-and-blue cockades, symbolizing the unity of Poland (red) and Lithuania (blue).[14] The military of the French-controlledDuchy of Warsaw (1807–1815) and theRussian-controlledCongress Kingdom of Poland (1815–1831) used the white cockade, which was also worn by the cadets who started theNovember Uprising against Russian rule on 29 November 1830.[13]
During the uprising, the Sejm realized the need for unified national insignia that could be used by the Polish military. On 7 February 1831 it adopted white and red, thetinctures (colours) of the Polish and Lithuanian coats of arms, as the national cockade of Poland. The white-and-red cockade was henceforth worn by Polish soldiers in the November Uprising, as well as by participants of theKraków Uprising of 1846, Polish freedom fighters in theGrand Duchy of Posen and theAustrian Empire during theSpring of Nations of 1848, and Polish insurgents during theJanuary Uprising of 1863–1864. White and red colours were also used by civilians to show their protest against the Russian rule, as well as by people in France,Britain,Germany,Belgium and other countries as a sign of their sympathy with the Polish cause. The Sejm's decision was not, however, immediately accepted by all. Left-wing politicians of the time, such asJoachim Lelewel, continued to regard the revolutionary blue, white and red as true national colours. Tricolour standards were used by some Polish guerrilla units during the January Uprising.[13]
The flag of Poland in 1937The civil ensign of Poland in 1938The flag of Poland in 1939
White-and-red flags were first waved during a patriotic demonstration on 3 May 1916 in Warsaw. The organizing committee advised participants about the correct alignment of the colours, that is with the white stripe above the red one. Still, many demonstrators brought flags with the red stripe on top. On 1 August 1919, almost a year after Poland regained independence in November 1918, the Sejm officially introduced a white-and-red bicolour as the Polish national flag. In order to avoid confusion with the white-and-redmaritime signal flag used internationally by harbor pilots and tugboats, the same act of Sejm introduced a variant of the flag with the coat of arms in the white stripe for use as acivil ensign and by Polish diplomats and consuls abroad.[13]
Apart from changes in the legal specifications of the shades of the national colours (see the section below), the basic design of the Polish flag, including the 5:8 ratio, has remained unchanged to this day. The flag with coat of arms was only modified to adjust to the changes in the coat of arms itself. Major modifications included a change in the stylisation of the eagle fromClassicist toBaroque in 1927 and the removal of the crown from the eagle's head during theCommunist rule from 1944 to 1990.[14][15] In that period,Poland was one of the fewsocialist states in theEastern Bloc (apart from theflag of Cuba andLaos) not to adorncommunist symbolism on its flag.
A frayed Polish flag during the final days of theWarsaw Uprising of 1944Polish flag in Berlin on 2 May 1945
20th-century Polish insurgents wore white-and-redbrassards (armbands) which played a role similar to the cockade of previous centuries. Such armbands were worn by Polish freedom fighters during theGreater Poland Uprising (1918–1919) andSilesian Uprisings (1919–1921), as well as during theSecond World War (1939–1945) by the soldiers of theHome Army (AK) andPeasants' Battalions (BCh) – usually emblazoned with the acronyms of their formations.[13] During the Second World War, Polish soldiers raised the Polish flag on several sites of their victories. On 18 May 1944, after an Allied victory over the German forces in theBattle of Monte Cassino, a patrol of the 12th Podolian Uhlan Regiment (part of thePolish 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division) raised a Polish flag on ruins of theMonte Cassino abbey in Italy. On 1 August 1944, the first day of theWarsaw Uprising, a white-and-red flag was hoisted on thePrudential building, Warsaw's tallest skyscraper of the time. During the liberation of Warsaw by Soviet forces andPolish People's Army on 17 January 1945, Polish flags were raised on theBelvedere palace and ruins of theMain Railway Station. On 2 May 1945, after thecapture of Berlin, soldiers of the 7th Battery, 3rd Division, 1st Light Artillery Regiment planted Polish flags on theBerlin Victory Column.[13]
Polish flags were also used by anti-government demonstrators under the Communist rule. During the bloody riots of1956 in Poznań and1970 in Gdynia, protesters carried flags that were blood-stained on the white stripe.[13]
Until 1927, the exact shades of the national colours were not legally specified. In practice, the actual hue, particularly of red, depended on what kind of red dye was available. In pre-partition Poland,crimson, due to its high price, was a colour associated with the rich and the privileged. It could be obtained from the domestically harvestedPolish cochineal, although imported alternatives were also available:kermes from the Mediterranean Basin (hencekarmazyn, the Polish name of the colour) and Mexicancochineal after the discovery of the New World. Crimson was reserved for the nobility and considered a symbol of the aristocracy, so thatkarmazyn became synonymous with amagnate. A royal ban on wearing this colour could be a form of punishment; in the 14th century, theNałęcz clan ofGreater Poland were forbidden to dress in crimson for their ancestors' complicity in the assassination of KingPremislaus in 1296.[13] In the first half of the 19th century, due to the influence of French fashion, crimson was largely replaced with the cheaperamaranth.[14]
The National Cockade Act of 1831 did not specify the shade of red, for which it was criticised by Joachim Lelewel,[13] nor did the Coat of Arms and National Colours Act of 1919. In 1921, the Ministry of Military Affairs issued a pamphlet with illustrations of the Polish flag and other national symbols which used the crimson shade of red.[16]The pamphlet was not, however, an official source of law and was published for informative purpose only. The shade of red was first legally specified by a presidential decree of 13 December 1927 which stipulated that the official shade wasvermilion. This specification was upheld by a decree of 7 December 1955.[13] The Coat of Arms Act of 31 January 1980[2] replaced the verbal prescription withtrichromatic coordinates in theCIE colour space as proposed by Nikodem Sobczak, an expert incolorimetry,[17]bringing the resulting hue closer to crimson again.
The flag of Poland has been taken to space on two occasions duringcrewed spaceflight. The first time was in June 1978, aboard theSoyuz 30, whenMirosław Hermaszewski (a Polish cosmonaut of the1976 Interkosmos Group and the first Pole in space) docked with theSoviet orbital stationSalyut 6 and spent over a week in orbit with a small Polish flag attached to hisspacesuit.[18] The same flag was taken back to space again almost 47 years later, in June 2025, whenESA astronautSławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski became the second Polish national to reach orbital flight. One of the items Uznański-Wiśniewski took with him aboard theCrew DragonGrace that carriedAxiom Mission 4 to theInternational Space Station was the same flag from Hermaszewski's spacesuit.[19][20] This also marked Poland's first mission to the ISS and the first time that the Polish flag appeared on that space station.
The flag of theGrand Duchy of Posen, a Polish-populated autonomous province of theKingdom of Prussia created in 1815, was a red-and-white horizontal bicolour. Its colours were taken from the duchy's coat of arms which consisted of the PrussianBlack Eagle with an inescutcheon of the Polish White Eagle. With Germany's increasingly anti-Polish policy and a rising identification of white and red as Polish national colours, the red-and-white flag ofPosen was replaced in 1886 with a white-black-white horizontaltriband.[21]
Today, many flags used in Poland are based on the design of the national flag. This applies especially to flags defined by Polish law and used by the Polish military and other uniformed services, such as the naval ensign – a swallow-tailed horizontal bicolour of white and reddefaced with the arms of Poland in the white stripe.[22] Flags of some administrative subdivisions also resemble the national flag. Examples include the former flag of theLower Silesian Voivodeship – a horizontal bicolour of white and red defaced with the arms of the voivodeship – or the flag of theLesser Poland Voivodeship – a horizontal tricolour of white, yellow and red with the yellow stripe half as wide as any of the other two.[23]
^abStatutory colour specifications rendered intosRGB for web display, assuming thewhite point at 6500 K. The resultingRGB values, inhexadecimal notation, are: white#E9E8E7 and red#D4213D. The shades actually visible on your screen depend on your browser and screen settings, as well as the surrounding context and other factors. An intensely luminous light background may make the statutory white colour appear grey. Many websites which display the Polish national colours use a simplified approximation of the legally specified shades by using basicHTML colours: white#FFFFFF and red#FF0000. ThePantone equivalents are 656 C and 1795 C.
Russocki Stanisław; Kuczyński Stefan; Willaume Juliusz (1970).Godło, barwy i hymn Rzeczypospolitej. Zarys dziejów [Arms, Colors, and Anthem of the Republic. A Historical Sketch] (in Polish). Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna.
Znamierowski, Alfred (1995).Stworzony do chwały [Created for Glory] (in Polish). Warsaw: Editions Spotkania.ISBN83-7115-055-5.
(in Polish and French)Łoza, Stanisław; Czaykowski, Zygmunt (1921).Godło i barwy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej – Armoiries et couleurs de la République polonaise. Warsaw: Ministry of Military Affairs. p. 10.
Magiera, Marek (9 June 2006)."Zaczyna się mundial..."Życie Częstochowskie (in Polish). Beta Press S.C. Archived fromthe original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved2 February 2008.
Kromer, Adam."Flagi województw polskich".Polskie flagi, chorągwie, bandery... (in Polish). Archived fromthe original on 4 February 2008. Retrieved2 February 2008.
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