---
title: "Flag of Austria: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Austria flag stands for, its official 2:3 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/austria/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Austria

**The flag of Austria: Three equal horizontal bands of red, white and red.**

Ratio 2:3 · current design adopted 1945

*[Flag drawn on the page: Austria]*

The legend, first recorded in the thirteenth century, has Leopold V returning from the siege of Acre in 1191 with his surcoat entirely soaked in blood except for a white stripe where his belt had been. Whatever its origin, the design is documented from 1230, which makes it one of the oldest national flag patterns in use. Austria and Latvia have the same three-band arrangement, and the distinguishing features are the shade and the proportions: Latvia's red is a dark carmine and its white band is only a fifth of the height. The state flag adds the black eagle with its broken chains, added in 1945.

## Flags it gets confused with

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| Latvia | Latvia's red is a dark carmine, its white band is much narrower, and it is longer at 1:2. |
| Lebanon | Lebanon has the same bands but a green cedar in the centre and a wider white band. |

## What the colours mean

*Flag laws usually specify a Pantone chip, a CMYK mix or just a colour name. Converting any of those to sRGB is lossy, which is why published hex values disagree.*

- **Red** (#ED2939) — Traditionally the blood-soaked tunic of Duke Leopold V
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — Traditionally the band left clean beneath his sword belt

- **Ratio:** 2:3
- **Current design adopted:** 1945
- **Colours:** red, white

## Common questions

### What does the flag of Austria look like?

Three equal horizontal bands of red, white and red.

### What do the colours of the Austria flag mean?

Red: traditionally the blood-soaked tunic of Duke Leopold V. White: traditionally the band left clean beneath his sword belt.

### How do you tell the Austria flag from the Latvia one?

Latvia's red is a dark carmine, its white band is much narrower, and it is longer at 1:2.

### When was the Austria flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1945, and its official ratio is 2:3.

## Related pages

- [Austria](https://atoneplace.net/country/austria/)
- [The flag of Latvia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/latvia/)
- [The flag of Lebanon](https://atoneplace.net/flag/lebanon/)
- [Every flag with red in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/red/)
- [The flag of United States](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-states/)
- [The flag of United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-kingdom/)
- [The flag of Canada](https://atoneplace.net/flag/canada/)
- [The flag of France](https://atoneplace.net/flag/france/)
- [The flag of China](https://atoneplace.net/flag/china/)
- [The flag of Germany](https://atoneplace.net/flag/germany/)
- [The flag of Russia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/russia/)
- [The flag of Italy](https://atoneplace.net/flag/italy/)

## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]