Republic of Baden 1919-1935 (Germany)

Freistaat Baden

Last modified: 2002-06-21 by santiago dotor
Keywords: baden | republic of baden | freistaat baden |
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3:5
by Jorge Candeias
Flag adopted 17th December 1891, possibly abandoned c.1925-c.1930, abolished 1935, readopted for South Baden c.1947, abolished 25th April 1952

• Introduction
• Civil Flag 1891-c.1925 (Landesflagge)
• Civil Flag c.1926-c.1930, possibly mistaken

See also:

• Historical Flags (Baden-Württemberg)
• Subnational Flags 1919-1933 (Germany)
• Baden-Württemberg
• Germany

I tried to check the 1891-c.1925 and c.1926-1935 flags in my sources and they are strangely contradictory. The Neubecker 1929 album shows the yellow-red-yellow as Baden (ältere Flagge) (i.e. former flag) in Serie 1, Bild 5, which is corrected by Bild 5a as Baden (neue offizielle Flagge) (i.e. new official flag) which shows the red-yellow-red. This agrees with Norman Martin's report.

However, Flaggenbuch 1926 which (as far as I can tell) did not initially show the flag of Baden, added it (together with that of Hesse) with the correction (Deckblatt or 'cover sheet') no.52 dated 1928 as a red-yellow-red flag with proportions 1:2, only to be superseded shortly thereafter by an (apparently unnumbered) correction which swapped the colours to yellow-red-yellow.

The question is therefore, since when and until when was the red-yellow-red flag used? Maybe this was a mistake both in Flaggenbuch 1926 and in Neubecker 1929 (as happened with the Lübeck state ensign), which was corrected in Flaggenbuch 1926 later on? I.e. maybe the red-yellow-red flag was never really adopted nor used?

By the way, the flag of Hesse is also shown as 1:2. I wonder why did these two non-seafaring states change their flag ratios from 2:3 to 1:2.

Santiago Dotor, 9 April 2001

I have now checked one more Neubecker source, the Flaggen Europas album. FOTW gives '1931 (approx.)' as the edition date, but in any case it is certainly not earlier than 1928 (since it shows the new Spanish civil ensign, in force 1st January 1928) and no later than early 1931 (since it shows the Spanish pre-Republican flags, abolished 14th April 1931).

However, it shows for Freistaat Baden the yellow-red-yellow flag. Which makes me think more and more that the red-yellow-red flag was actually a mistake and never existed. I cannot quite understand (but it may have happened) why would Baden reverse the colours in its 35-year-old flag during three or four years (c.1926-c.1930) only to change back to the old model.

In any case, it is clear that the alleged red-yellow-red flag, if at all adopted, was not used after 1928-1930.

Santiago Dotor, 10 May 2002

Landesflagge

3:5
by Jorge Candeias
Flag adopted 17th December 1891, possibly abandoned c.1925-c.1930, abolished 1935, readopted for South Baden c.1947, abolished 25th April 1952

A yellow-red-yellow triband. Officially adopted 17 December 1891. Continued in use until approximately 1925. Readopted as Landesflagge of the State of South Baden c.1947. Abolished as a result of the merger into Baden-Württemberg 25 April 1952.

Norman Martin, May 1998

by Jorge Candeias

A red-yellow-red triband. In use c.1926-1935.

Norman Martin, May 1998