Catalonia

Catalonia
Country	Spain
Flag of Catalonia
Adopted	25 May 1933
Wikipedia article
Flags of the World article

The flag of Catalonia, adopted as the official flag of the autonomous community of Catalonia in the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 1979 in its article 4.1 is currently defined and regulated according to article 8.2 of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006:

... is the traditional one with four red bars on a yellow background and must be present in public buildings and at official events that take place in Catalonia.

It is the traditional landmark of the Kings of the Crown of Aragon, which was formerly used only by the King, as an expression of his sovereignty.

There is documentation that conclusively proves that it was used since the times of Alfonso II, King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona, ​​being universally known as Aragon, given the preeminence of the kingdom of Aragon in the degree, as recognized by Pedro IV the Ceremonious himself. :

[...] since the kings of Aragon are obliged to receive the anointing in the city of Zaragoza, which is the head of the Kingdom of Aragon, which kingdom is our main designation and title, we consider it convenient and reasonable that, from In the same way, in it the kings of Aragon receive the honor of the coronation and the other royal insignia, just as we saw the emperors receive the crown in the city of Rome, the head of their empire. Apud Domingo J. Buesa Conde, The King of Aragon, Zaragoza, CAI, 2000, pp. 57-59. [[]].

With the passage of time, the emblem of the kings of the Crown of Aragon became identified with the territories they ruled. Its identification with the county of Barcelona and, by extension, with the Principality of Catalonia, seems to also originate in the times of Pedro the Ceremonious and continues in subsequent centuries, although it is still used by other territories of the Crown as well. Already in the middle of the 16th century, the Valencian historian Pere Antoni Beuter narrates the legend of Wifredo el Velloso and the fingers of blood in his General Chronicle of Spain. Later, in a poem of 1644, Francesc Fontanella alluded to "bars" in one of his poems:

Mirau també a monsiur de Fontanella

surcar ab altre barca esta ribera
y tremolar a l'ayre altre bandera,
perquè se aclama en remota zona
barras de Catalunya y Barselona.

Since the mid-19th century, and particularly after the emergence of Catalanism as a cultural and political movement with the Renaissance, the ancient weapons of the King of Aragon acquire a political symbolism of identity affirmation. After alternative periods of tolerance and repression of the use of the quadrilateral flag, it was raised as the "flag of the Fatherland" in the Barcelona Provincial Council on May 27, 1930 and again on April 14, 1931 when the Catalan Republic was proclaimed. by Francesc Macià.

Common elements of the Flag and the Shield are the sticks of gules or bars of Aragon, a common historical element of the current four autonomous communities that in their day were integrated into the Crown of Aragon, in whose emblematic they are still found, and that in their representation were incorporated into the Shield of Spain.

Historical flags

Due to is still a controversial issue and on which there is still no absolute consensus, the historical flags of Catalonia (represented by the senyera) appears on the page corresponding to Aragon (because they evolved at the same time within the Kingdom of Aragon). If anyone thinks it should be there here too, feel free to paste it.

Royal banner of the Crown of Aragon, used during centuries and what inspired the current catalonian senyera

Catalonian flag used by the Generalitat between 1931 and 1939.

Catalonian official flag adopted in 1933

Current flag of Catalonia with new red shade, adopted in 2006.

Proposals, redesigns and "esteladas"

Over the years, several "esteladas" have emerged in Catalonia, flags with a star and a similar format that claims for many different things.

First estelada design, in 1908. It's, by far, the most known and used one, especially in the independence movement.

Probably the second most used and known "estelada". It was created by Esquerra Catalana dels Treballadors (the first Catalanist political party in Northern Catalonia) in 1972, without the blue triangle. The kite is red to symbolize the claim of the social revolution in addition to the national one, it was adopted by the PSAN in 1977, is traditionally used by left-wing independentists.

Another proposed estelada in 1908 that is no longer in use.

PSAN estelada: Star with the white triangle and the red star: It was used from 1968 to 1976 by the PSAN, the Marxist Unification Movement, the Bloc Catalan de Treballadors and from 1979 until its dissolution in 1982 , the National Liberation Left Bloc.

Anarchist estelada: used between 1970 and 1990 by anarchist sectors. The red of the kite and the black of the triangle symbolize anarchism and the eight points of the kite each of the territories of the Catalan Countries.

Socors Català estelada: the blue triangle and the red star, used in the years 1974-1976 by the Demonikè group, a split of the PSAN Youth, the Catalan Liberation Group, created in 1976, and in 1977 , by the organization of solidarity with the Catalan patriots called Socors Català.

Ecologist esteleda: with the green triangle and the white star: It was created as an anti-military symbol in 2008 and was used by the ecological sectors. The green of the triangle symbolizes ecology.

Yankee estelada: inspired by the flag of the United States of America was proposed without success in the late 1960s. She had been employed by the Aragonese independence party Estado Aragonés in 1933.

Variation of the yankee estelada.

3 stars estelada: proposed to represent PSAN, but never used.

Països Catalans estelada: used as the unitary flag of the Catalan Countries. The blue triangle symbolizes independence and the ten white stars in a circle symbolize the territories of the Catalan Countries.

Students estelada: This star was used in some student demonstrations in the 1960s.

The catalan republic estelada: The Reeixida Foundation presented a proposal to graphically guide the stela within the parameters of contemporary vexillology. This foundation also proposed making it as the flag of the Catalan Republic.

Proposed senyera to represent Catalonia.

Tabarnia flag: Tabarnia is a fictional region within Catalonia, a satirical parody of the Catalan independence movement and a movement against the independence of Catalonia from Spain.

New Redesigns

Catalonia nordic flag design by Hansei, Apr 2019. (DeviantArt)