In 1927 the eagle was modified to its present style and crimson gave way to red. A new presidential flag, a swallow tailed pennant vertically striped in the national colors with the eagle on the red stripe, replaced the banner of arms. During and after World War II these flags were used by the London-based Polish government in exile. With the demise of the Polish Peoples Republic in this flag, slightly modified became the Standard of the President of the Republic of Poland. 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.
This flag is a variant of the usual red and white polish flag with the national coat of arms in the middle of the white stripe. 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.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.This verbal prescription was replaced with coordinates in the CIE 1976 color space by the Coat of Arms Act of 31 January 1980.
Between 1807 and 1830, Poland was a ‘puppet state’ of both France and then Russia. To find the first official usage of red and white representing Poland, we need to go back over 1000 years to 966 – the baptism of Poland. It was here when Mieszko I converted to Christianity, leaving behind paganism. But King Vladislaus the Elbow-High used red cloth and placed a white eagle on it. It’s worth noting that it’s hard to talk about Poland’s flag without referencing thered and white of Poland.So to learn its origins, you first need to know a little about the origin of red and white in Poland. If you’ve ever wanted to know a little more about the plain white and red, orbiały czerwony,you’re in the right place.
Legal restrictions notwithstanding, the two variants are often treated as interchangeable in practice. According to the Coat of Arms Act, everyone can use the Polish flag, especially during national and cultural events, as long as it is done in a respectful manner. This liberty in the use of national colours is a relative novelty. Until 2004, Polish citizens were only allowed to fly the Polish flag on national holidays.By the eighteenth century white and red had come to be recognized as Poland’s national colors and the country’s first true national flag was a horizontal bicolor, white over red. Today, many flags used in Poland are based on the design of the national flag. Flags of some administrative subdivisions also resemble the national flag. The origin of Poland’s coat of arms is obscure but its first appearance in flag form dates from the thirteenth century.