---
title: "Flag of Germany: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Germany flag stands for, its official 3:5 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/germany/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Germany

**The flag of Germany: Three equal horizontal bands of black, red and gold.**

Ratio 3:5 · current design adopted 1949

*[Flag drawn on the page: Germany]*

The third colour is gold, not yellow, and German law says so explicitly — Schwarz-Rot-Gold. The colours come from the volunteer corps of the wars against Napoleon, were taken up by the student fraternities and the 1848 revolutionaries, and were the flag of the Weimar Republic before West Germany readopted them in 1949. East Germany used the identical tricolour until 1959, when it added a hammer, compass and rye wreath to the centre; between 1949 and 1959 the two German states flew the same flag. The state flag carries the federal eagle shield and may only be flown by federal authorities.

## Flags it gets confused with

*[Flag drawn on the page: Germany, Belgium]*

*Drawn at each flag’s own official ratio, which is itself the difference in some of these pairs.*

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| Belgium | Belgium uses the same three colours but in vertical bands, and its ratio is a nearly square 13:15. |

## 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.*

- **Black** (#000000) — Traditionally the uniforms of the Lützow Free Corps of 1813
- **Red** (#DD0000) — Traditionally the corps' facings
- **Gold** (#FFCE00) — Traditionally their brass buttons

- **Ratio:** 3:5
- **Current design adopted:** 1949
- **Colours:** black, red, gold

## Common questions

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

Three equal horizontal bands of black, red and gold.

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

Black: traditionally the uniforms of the Lützow Free Corps of 1813. Red: traditionally the corps' facings. Gold: traditionally their brass buttons.

### How do you tell the Germany flag from the Belgium one?

Belgium uses the same three colours but in vertical bands, and its ratio is a nearly square 13:15.

### When was the Germany flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1949, and its official ratio is 3:5.

## Related pages

- [Germany](https://atoneplace.net/country/germany/)
- [The flag of Belgium](https://atoneplace.net/flag/belgium/)
- [Every flag with black in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/black/)
- [The flag of South Korea](https://atoneplace.net/flag/south-korea/)
- [The flag of South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/flag/south-africa/)
- [The flag of Jamaica](https://atoneplace.net/flag/jamaica/)
- [The flag of Egypt](https://atoneplace.net/flag/egypt/)
- [The flag of Palestine](https://atoneplace.net/flag/palestine/)
- [The flag of United Arab Emirates](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-arab-emirates/)
- [The flag of Mozambique](https://atoneplace.net/flag/mozambique/)
- [The flag of Kenya](https://atoneplace.net/flag/kenya/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]