A variety of Polish flags are defined in current Polish national law, either through an act of parliament or a ministerial ordinance. Apart from the national flag, these are mostly military flags, used by one or all branches of the Polish Armed Forces, especially the Polish Navy. Other flags are flown by vessels of non-military uniformed services.
Most Polish flags feature white and red, the national colors of Poland. The national colors, officially adopted in 1831, are of heraldic origin and derive from the tinctures of the coats of arms of Poland and Lithuania. Additionally, some flags incorporate the white eagle of the Polish coat of arms, while other flags used by the Armed Forces incorporate military eagles, which are variants.
Both variants of the national flag of Poland were officially adopted in 1919, shortly after Poland re-emerged as an independent state in the aftermath of World War I in 1918. Many Polish flags were adopted within the following three years.[1]
The designs of most of these flags have been modified only to adjust to the changes in the official rendering of the national coat of arms. Major modifications included a change in the stylization of the eagle from Neoclassicist to Baroque in 1927 and the removal of the crown from the eagle's head during the Communist rule from 1944 to 1990. Legal specification for the shades of the national colors has also changed with time. The shade of red was first legally specified as vermilion by a presidential decree of 13 December 1928.[2]
This verbal prescription was replaced with coordinates in the CIE 1976 color space by the Coat of Arms Act of 31 January 1980.[3]
The basic variant of the national flag is a plain white-and-red horizontal bicolor. A variant defaced with the coat of arms is restricted to official use abroad and at sea. Legal restrictions notwithstanding, the two variants are often treated as interchangeable in practice.
Horizontal bicolor of white and red defaced with the arms of Poland in the white stripe Proportion 5:8[3]
Polish embassies, consulates etc.; civilian airplanes during international flights; civilian airports and heliports; civil and state ensign[3]
Military flags
Rank flags used in all branches of the Armed Forces
Originally used only by the Navy, the use of these rank flags was extended in 2005 to all branches of the Armed Forces by an amendment to the relevant ministerial ordinance.[4] They are flown to mark the presence and pay respect to the highest civilian and military authorities: the President of the Republic of Poland who is ex officiocommander-in-chief of the Armed Forces; the Minister of National Defence who acts on the commander-in-chief's behalf in peacetime; Marshal of Poland, the highest rank in the Polish army (no living holders since 1989); and the Chief of the General Staff.
Red flag emblazoned with the white eagle of the arms of Poland and bordered with a white wężyk generalski, an ornate wavy line used in the Polish military as a symbol of general's rank Proportion 5:6[5]
On Navy vessels when the President is on board.[5] On land when the President is present.
Swallow-tailed horizontal bicolor of white and red defaced in the white stripe with the arms of Poland and in the red stripe with a white anchor entwined with an S-shaped rope and a yellow cannon barrel in saltire Proportion 5:8[5]
On Navy vessels when the Minister is on board.[5] On land when the Minister is present.
Red flag with a double white border emblazoned with the Generals' Eagle Proportion 5:6[5]
On Navy vessels when the Chief of the General Staff is on board.[5] On land when the Chief of the General Staff is present.
Navy
War ensign
Navy flag
Commissioning pennant
The war ensign and the naval jack symbolize traditions of the Polish Navy[6] dating back to Polish privateer fleet of the 15th–17th centuries.[7]
They are also symbols of a navy ship crew's courage, honor, unbreakable fighting spirit and readiness to defend Poland and its maritime rights.[6] Naval Service Regulations define when, where and how the flags should be raised and lowered on board a navy ship.[5]
Horizontal bicolor of white and red defaced with a cross pattée countercharged and, in the middle of the cross, with an armed arm brandishing a sabre (szabla) in a torteau (a red roundel) Proportion 4:5[6]
Flown together with the war ensign on Sundays, holidays and other special occasions; flown everyday when in foreign waters[8]
Swallow-tailed red flag emblazoned with the Navy Eagle Proportion 10:21[6]
Ceremonial flag used on military holidays, visits of high civilian or military authorities, or representatives of foreign countries, as well as other ceremonies. Flown together with flags of other branches of the Armed Forces during Polish Armed Forces Day (15 August) ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw.[5]
Horizontal bicolor of white and red defaced with the arms of Poland in the middle of the white stripe, the Air Force checkerboard in the white stripe between the coat of arms and the hoist, and a white anchor entwined with an S-shaped rope in the red stripe below the checkerboard Proportion 5:8[5]
Swallow-tailed horizontal bicolor of white and red defaced with the arms of Poland in the white stripe and a white anchor entwined with an S-shaped rope in the red stripe Proportion 5:6[5]
On naval vessels when the Commander of the Navy is on board
Swallow-tailed horizontal bicolor of white and red defaced in the white stripe with the arms of Poland and in the red stripe with three white five-pointed stars arranged in an equilateral triangle one of whose sides is parallel to the hoist Proportion 5:6[5]
Swallow-tailed horizontal bicolor of white and red defaced in the white stripe with the arms of Poland and in the red stripe with two white five-pointed stars arranged in a line parallel to the hoist Proportion 5:6[5]
Swallow-tailed horizontal bicolor of white and red defaced with the arms of Poland in the white stripe and with a white five-pointed star near the hoist in the red stripe Proportion 5:6[5]
Swallow-tailed horizontal bicolor of white and red defaced in the white stripe with the arms of Poland and in the red stripe with two yellow cannon barrels in saltire above a yellow cannonball Proportion 5:6[5]
On naval vessels when a general is on board
Rank pennants
Image
Name
Design
Use
Pennant of the Chief of the Naval Staff
Pennant consisting of two horizontal stripes of white and red, and a red swallow-tail, defaced with the arms of Poland in the white stripe[5]
On naval vessels when the Chief of the Naval Staff is on board
Swallow-tailed red flag emblazoned with the Air Force Eagle Proportion 10:21[6]
Ceremonial flag used on military holidays, visits of high civilian or military authorities, or representatives of foreign countries, as well as other ceremonies. Flown together with flags of other branches of the Armed Forces during Polish Armed Forces Day (15 August) ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw.[5]
Military airport (heliport) flag Flaga lotnisk (lądowisk) wojskowych
Horizontal bicolor of white and red defaced with the arms of Poland in the middle of the white stripe and the Air Force checkerboard in the white stripe between the coat of arms and the hoist Proportion 5:8[6]
A square divided into four parts, in form of a checkerboard, with alternating white and red colours, and with outer linen of opposite colours Proportion 1:1[6]
Swallow-tailed red flag emblazoned with the Land Forces Eagle Proportion 10:21[6]
Ceremonial flag used on military holidays, visits of high civilian or military authorities, or representatives of foreign countries, as well as other ceremonies. Flown together with flags of other branches of the Armed Forces during Polish Armed Forces Day (15 August) ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw.[5]
Blue flag emblazoned with a badge used by waterborne Police units, i.e. a lifebelt and an anchor within a dark-blue diamond above a dark-blue ribbon with the word POLICJA written on it in white letters, all on a white eight-pointed star Proportion 5:9[10]
Special state service flags are used by state-employed civil special-purpose ships while on duty. These flags all follow the same basic design; a white flag with a horizontal stripe whose width is 1/5 of the flag's width. In the middle, each flag is emblazoned with the national coat of arms superimposed on a golden or yellow anchor whose height is 3/5 of the flag's width. The middle stripe is broken in the middle and does not touch the anchor or the arms. The type of special service performed by the ship is indicated by the color of the middle stripe.[11]
Image
English name Polish name
Design
Use
Hydrographic survey and Maritime Office flag Flaga statku hydrograficznego i dozorczego urzędu morskiego
White flag emblazoned with the coat of arms of Poland placed on a golden anchor in the middle of a blue horizontal stripe Proportion 5:8
Hydrographic survey vessels and vessels of Maritime Offices[11]
Lifeboat and pollution control flag Flaga statku ratowniczego oraz specjalnego statku do zwalczania zanieczyszczeń
White flag emblazoned with the coat of arms of Poland placed on a golden anchor in the middle of an orange horizontal stripe Proportion 5:8
Khaki banner with a red cross and the motto, commonly used during the uprising in front of the insurgents' fortifications.
1815–1830
Military ensign of Vistula Flotilla of Congress Poland
A ensign raised on the ships of the Polish Trade Company, sailing through the Black Sea to Mediterranean countries in 1784–1787. Restored by Tsar Alexander I in 1815 as the war ensign flag of the Congress Kingdom.
Flag of the Russian Tsar as king of the Congress Kingdom in 1815–1830.
De facto flag. The state entity did not have an officially adopted flag.
Grand Standard Bearer of the Polish Crown (Chorąży Wielki Koronny), Sebastian Sobieski, at the wedding procession of King Sigismund III of Poland and Sweden, as painted anonymously on the Stockholm Roll (c. 1605).
Firstli used by National Radical Camp (ONR), then two successor organizations ONR-Falanga and ONR-ABC, ONR was reactivated in 1993 shortly after the fall of communism, currently, this flag is used by two more organizations called National Revival of Poland (NOP) and Falanga, which also use their own designs.
German Union (Deutsche Vereinigung) was a Nazi German extreme right-wing political party founded in 1934 by members of the ethnic German minority residing in the Second Polish Republic. Their main symbol was rune Tiwaz.
1920s
Banner of the Zblewo chapter of the National Party, before the introduction of the green and white flag, there were many local party flags.
^Koczorowski, Eugeniusz; Koziarski, Jerzy; Pluta, Ryszard (1972). Zwyczaje i ceremoniał morski [Maritime Customs and Ceremonies] (in Polish). Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Morskie. p. 291.
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.png)
.svg)
.png){kind=small}
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
_in_Poland,_1936.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
