Information on flag displays
Article Flag Displays
Helpful tips in our photo galleries
It’s easy to make mistakes when displaying flags – flying the wrong flag, or flying the right flag the wrong way. In our photo galleries, we explain the correct way to display the flag and how to avoid mistakes.
A closer look ...
The European flag (Part 2)
The European flag is officially described as follows: “On an azure field a circle of 12 golden mullets, their points not touching ... The emblem is in the form of a blue rectangular flag of which the fly is one and a half times the length of the hoist. Twelve gold stars situated at equal intervals form an invisible circle whose centre is the point of intersection of the diagonals of the rectangle. The radius of the circle is equal to one-third of the height of the hoist. Each of the stars has five points, which are situated on the circumference of an invisible circle whose radius is equal to 1/18th of the height of the hoist. All the stars are upright — that is to say, with the top point vertical and two points in a straight line at right angles to the mast. The circle is arranged so that the stars appear in the position of the hours on the face of a clock. Their number is invariable.
Common mistakes
Empty flagpoles
If flags are to be hoisted on only some of the available flagpoles, then they should be hoisted on flagpoles next to each other, not leaving any empty flagpoles between them. This applies above all to displays of the European and federal (institutions) flag, which are intended to express the close relationship between the two.
Exceptions should be limited to special situations, for example at the Federal Chancellery, when various foreign flags must be hoisted in short succession on the centre of three flagpoles. Flags should always be hoisted on the flagpoles in the superior position, i.e. on the left of an observer facing the building, so that empty flagpoles will be on the right.
Information for indivuals and businesses
Federal flags displayed on homes and cars
Private displays of the federal flag (black-red-gold, no eagle) are provided for in the Basic Law and constitutionally protected under Articles 2 and 5. Individuals are allowed to display the federal flag, as long as they show proper respect for it as a state symbol. Apart from Section 1 (1) of the Flag Act of 8 February 1951 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 79) as promulgated on 26 October 1994 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 3140) stating that all merchant ships and ocean-going vessels in German ownership and registered in the territory in which the Basic Law applies, citizens are not required to display the flag and are not subject to regulations on how to display the federal flag.
Whether permanent flag displays on house façades, windows or on cars are in fact appropriate, however, must be decided in the individual case.
