10 European Countries with most beautiful Flags

Flags are identity of a country on world stage. For some countries they represent their freedom struggle, for some they are a symbol of hope and faith, while for some it represents its people and their religion and beliefs. 

Earlier, I wrote a post on Asian Countries and their Flags , in which I explained the symbolism behind the design of some of the most unique Asian Flags.

Coming to Europe now, European countries have some of the oldest flags which are still in use. The flag of Denmark holds the record of being the oldest flag still in use. Here I will tell you about 10 most beautiful European flags and the meaning behind their design. So, lets get started.

1. Greece

Greece is known for its rich history, culture and natural beauty. The Greece flag is a blend of all these factors. It has nine stripes of blue and white and there is a white cross on a square blue background at the canton position.

• The white cross represents Greek Orthodoxy and the established religion of Greece. 
• The blue and white stripes represent the seas surrounding Greece with its blue water and white wave crests. 

The flag is also called 'Sky-Blue-White'

2. Macedonia

Macedonia, one of Greece's neighboring also has a unique flag. It has a stylized yellow sun at the center on a red background with 8 broadening rays extending towards the edges. It was designed by Miroslav Grcev in 1995.

The 8 rayed sun refers to the 'Sun of Liberty' as explained in the Macedonian National Anthem.

3. Albania

The Albanian flag has a red background with a silhouetted double headed black eagle at its center. The Albanians call their country Shapiperia, meaning the 'Land of the Eagles'. Hence the design.

The red color of the flag represents bravery, strength and valor and the double headed eagle is for the sovereign state of Albania. The flag was adopted in 1912.

4. Croatia 

The country known for its untouched natural beauty, castles has recently gained a lot of fame due to many Game of Thrones filming locations there. The Croatian flag also combines the flag of its 3 kingdoms. It has 3 equal stripes of red, white and blue with a coat of arms in the middle.

The flag combines the color of flags of the Kingdom of Croatia (red and white), the Kingdom of Slovenia (blue and white) and the Kingdom of Dalmatia (blue and yellow). These 3 kingdoms were the historic constituent states of the Croatian Kingdom.

5. Bosnia and Herzegovina

This flag has a yellow right angled triangle at the center on a medium blue background. There are seven 5-pointed stars and 2 half stars along the hypotenuse of the triangle.

• The three corners of the triangle represent the 3 constituent people in the country mainly the Bosniaks, Croats and the Serbs. 
• The stars represent Europe and are supposed to be infinite in number, hence continue from top to bottom. 
• The flag color represents neutrality and peace. It also tells that its a flag of a European country.

6. Serbia

The flag is a bit similar in design to the Croatian flag. It is tricolor with red, blue and white and a coat of arms towards the host side. The coat of arms represents a two headed white eagle on a red shield. 

The unique part of this flag is its coat of arms.

A smaller red shield on the eagle of coat of arms represents Serbian nation and is divided into four quarters by a white cross, with a Cyrillic C in each corner - the letters together mean "Samo Sloga Serbina Spasava"  meaning 'Only Unity will Save the Serbs'.

A royal crown surmounts the coat of arms.

7. Kosovo

Kosovo is one of the newly formed countries. Its flag was adopted on 17th February 2008, after its independence from Serbia. It was designed by Muhamer Ibrahimi. The flag has a golden map of the country on a blue background. Kosovo is the only among 2 countries to have its map on the national flag. The other being Cyprus.

Above the map are six white stars arranged in an arc. The stars symbolize 6 major ethnic groups of Turks, Albanians, Serbs, Gorani, Romani and Bosniaks.

8. Ukraine

This flag has the simplest design of all the other flags in the list. It is a simple banner of two equally sized bands of blue above yellow. It was adopted in 1992.

Whats makes this flag unique is symbolism behind the colors. These colors have represented Ukraine since the 12th century. 

• Being one of the major wheat cultivating nations in Europe, the yellow color on the flag represents the wheat fields. 
• Whereas the blue color represents sky, mountains and streams.

9. Vatican City

The next country on our list is the smallest country in the world, Vatican City. This flag was adopted on June 7, 1929 when Pope Pius XI signed a treaty with Italy, creating a new independent state. This flag holds the distinction of being one of the only two square flags in the world, the other is Swiss Flag.

The flag consists of two vertical bands of yellow and white with crossed keys of Saint Peter and Papal Tiara centered on the white field. The two keys represent the keys to Heaven given by Jesus Christ to Saint Peter. The gold key represents spiritual power while the silver key symbolizes worldly power.

The red cord connects the two keys, which according to Vatican. va: "alludes to the bond between the two powers."

10. United Kingdom  

This flag is one of the most unique flags you will ever see. It was designed in 1801, when Ireland combined with Great Britain to form United Kingdom. It is formed by overlapping the flags of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, three of its constituent nations. Wales patron is not included as it was part of England Kingdom then.

It consists of Red Cross of Saint George (patron of England), with white border placed on the Cross of Saint Patrick (patron of Ireland), which are then superimposed on the Saltire of Saint Andrew (patron of Scotland). 

Hope you liked it.

Also see :-

Asian Countries and Flags