The Bavarian flag

The Bavarian flag is white and blue, and it comes in two official versions: one with two horizontal stripes and one covered in a pattern of white and blue lozenges, often called diamonds. Both are equal in law. This guide explains what each Bavarian flag looks like, why the colors are white and blue, which rules apply to the lozenge pattern and when state buildings in Munich fly the flag.

The two official Bavarian flags

Bavaria has two state flags, the striped flag and the lozenge flag. According to the Bavarian state parliament, the Landtag, they have been used side by side with equal standing since 1953. Neither shows the state coat of arms. The legal framework is set by Article 1 of the Bavarian Constitution of 2 December 1946, which names white and blue as the state colors. The details are laid down in an administrative order of the state government on flags, known by its German abbreviation VwAoFlag. Its original version took effect in 1971; the current text dates from 4 December 2001, and was last amended on 8 November 2011.

The striped flag

The striped flag consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width: white on top, blue below.

The lozenge flag

The lozenge flag is covered entirely in white and blue lozenges, which heraldry calls Wecken. The rules are precise:

• There must be at least 21 lozenges, and the partial ones cut off at the edges count.
• Depending on the size and shape of the flag, there may be more, for example on long and narrow banners.
• The top left corner, as seen by the viewer, is always a partial white lozenge. In heraldic terms that is the upper right corner, because heraldry describes a shield from the bearer's point of view. This matches the small state coat of arms.

The Bavarian flag is not the same as the German national flag. Under Article 22 of Germany's Basic Law, the federal flag is black, red and gold. When state buildings in Bavaria are flagged, the Bavarian and federal flags are as a rule flown together, along with the European flag where possible.

Why is the Bavarian flag white and blue?

The colors and the lozenges come from the Counts of Bogen, a noble family from eastern Bavaria whose seat was the Bogenberg near Straubing. When the last male count, Adalbert V, died in 1242, his coat of arms passed to his stepbrother Otto II, Duke of Bavaria, from the House of Wittelsbach. The Landtag notes that the Wittelsbachs have carried the white and blue lozenges in their own shield ever since.

The Historisches Lexikon Bayerns, the online encyclopedia of Bavarian history, explains the link between shield and flag with an old heraldic principle: the colors of the arms determine the colors of the owner's flag. The order of the colors was not always fixed. Until the 16th century, colored depictions of the lozenge shield sometimes put blue first; only afterward did white before blue become the rule. The colors of the Palatinate lion, the other old Wittelsbach emblem, never played a role in choosing the state colors.

The interior ministry calls the white and blue lozenges the Bavarian emblem par excellence. You will see them in the white and blue spiral painted on every Bavarian maypole, which the city of Munich describes as an image of the Bavarian lozenge pattern.

When are flags flown in Bavaria?

The administrative order applies to the state. Buildings used wholly or mainly by state authorities fly the flag without a special order on these days:

• 27 January, day of remembrance for the victims of National Socialism
• 1 May, Labor Day, and 9 May, Europe Day
• 23 May, anniversary of the proclamation of the Basic Law
• The anniversaries of 17 June 1953 and 20 July 1944
• Tag der Heimat on the first Sunday in September, unless the Minister-President sets another day
• 3 October, German Unity Day
• National Day of Mourning, the second Sunday before the first Sunday of Advent
• 1 December, anniversary of the referendum that adopted the Bavarian Constitution
• Election days for the Bavarian Landtag, the German Bundestag and the European Parliament

Flags go up at 7 a.m. and usually come down at dusk; when flags fly for several days or permanently, they may stay up overnight. The State Chancellery, the ministries, the district governments and the higher courts fly their flags every day. When the Bavarian, German and European flags fly together, the federal flag takes the place of honor in the middle. Looking out from inside the building toward the street, the Bavarian flag hangs to its right and the European flag to its left; on Europe Day the European flag takes the preferred place. On days of mourning, the flags fly at half-staff or carry a black mourning ribbon. For special occasions in Munich, the decision to order flags is always reserved for the Minister-President.

Can you fly the Bavarian flag yourself?

Yes. The administrative order covers state buildings, not private homes. For the popular lozenge pattern there is an explicit permission: since 1987, the Bavarian interior ministry has allowed citizens, companies and clubs to use the white and blue lozenges freely, as long as the use is compatible with the meaning and dignity of the symbol and does not create an official impression. The words "Bayern" or "Freistaat Bayern" may be added. Crowns, heraldic animals or figures may not.

The coat of arms is a different matter. Both versions of the state arms are reserved for public authorities. Private use is permitted only for artistic, craft or academic purposes and for teaching and civic education; anything else needs a permit from the Regierung von Oberfranken, which grants it only in well-founded exceptional cases. Unauthorized use is an administrative offense that can be punished with a fine. So a white and blue flag with lozenges is fine on your balcony or at an Oktoberfest party, while a homemade banner with the lion arms is not. More detail in German is on our pages Die bayerische Flagge and Das bayerische Wappen.