Flag of Austria

Country

Flag of Austria uses horizontal triband. Ratio 2:3 and current adoption May 1, 1945.

Hoist Ratio 2:3 Fly

Flag Reference

Flag	Flag of Austria
Entity Type	Country
Official Name	Republic of Austria
Identifier	AT / AUT
Region	Central Europe

Flag Specifications

Current Adoption	May 1, 1945
First Documented Use	1230
Proportion	2:3
Shape	Rectangle
Colours	Red, White
Construction	Horizontal triband
Common Name	Rot-Weiß-Rot

Documented Colour Values

Colour	Appearance	HEX	RGB	CMYK
Red		#ED2939	237, 41, 57	0, 83, 76, 7
White		#FFFFFF	255, 255, 255	0, 0, 0, 0

Design and Symbolism

Red	the blood shed in battle.
White	the River Danube, and the belt of Duke Leopold V.
Origin legend	Duke Leopold V’s tunic was soaked red with blood after a battle, leaving only a white band where his belt had been — one of the oldest national flag designs in the world.

Proportions

Ratio	2:3
Hoist	2 units
Fly	3 units

About the Flag of Austria

Horizontal triband The recorded proportion is 2:3. Within this library it is grouped with horizontal tricolour designs.

Colours and construction

The reference palette stored for Austria is Red (#ED2939) and White (#FFFFFF). The colour table above is intended for digital reference; where an issuing authority publishes a different colour standard, that specification takes precedence.

Symbols and recorded meaning

Origin legend: Duke Leopold V’s tunic was soaked red with blood after a battle, leaving only a white band where his belt had been — one of the oldest national flag designs in the world.

History and adoption record

The design record traces first use to 1230. The adoption field for the present record is May 1, 1945.

Additional flag context

The red-white-red arrangement is recorded on a ducal seal of 1230, making it one of the oldest national colour schemes in continuous use in Europe.

The civil flag is plain. The state flag adds a black eagle holding a hammer and sickle with a broken chain — the chain was added in 1945 to mark the end of Nazi rule.

Austria and Latvia both use red-white-red horizontal bands; Latvia's red is a much darker carmine and its centre band is narrower.

How to identify this flag

For quick identification, look for Horizontal triband, a 2:3 proportion and the visible origin legend. Use the comparison and design-family links on this page when another flag has a similar palette or layout.

Verification sources

Flags of the World — Austria — Specialist vexillological reference

Other horizontal tricolour flags

See all

Facts about the Flag of Austria

Austria is recorded as horizontal triband.
The reference proportion for the flag of Austria is 2:3.
The stored palette for Austria contains Red and White.
The adoption field for this country flag record is May 1, 1945.
The design record traces first use to 1230.
Its construction is grouped with the horizontal tricolour design family in this library.
Origin legend: Duke Leopold V’s tunic was soaked red with blood after a battle, leaving only a white band where his belt had been — one of the oldest national flag designs in the world.
The red-white-red arrangement is recorded on a ducal seal of 1230, making it one of the oldest national colour schemes in continuous use in Europe.
The civil flag is plain. The state flag adds a black eagle holding a hammer and sickle with a broken chain — the chain was added in 1945 to mark the end of Nazi rule.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Flag of Austria

What does the flag of Austria look like?

Horizontal triband, with a recorded proportion of 2:3.

What proportion is recorded for the flag of Austria?

The reference proportion stored for this flag is 2:3.

Which colours are recorded for the flag of Austria?

The reference palette lists Red #ED2939 and White #FFFFFF.

What do the symbols on the flag of Austria represent?

Origin legend — Duke Leopold V’s tunic was soaked red with blood after a battle, leaving only a white band where his belt had been — one of the oldest national flag designs in the world.

When was the present flag record for Austria adopted?

The adoption field in this record is May 1, 1945.

Which design family does the flag of Austria belong to?

WorldFlags.online groups it with horizontal tricolour designs for visual browsing; that classification describes construction, not necessarily historical ancestry.

Where can I verify information about the flag of Austria?

The verification-source section on this page links to an official, governmental or specialist reference used to check the underlying record. Source wording is not copied into the article.