Lower Saxony (Germany)

Niedersachsen, State of Lower Saxony, Land Niedersachsen

Last modified: 2004-12-29 by santiago dotor
Keywords: germany | lower saxony | niedersachsen | land niedersachsen | coat of arms (horse: forcene) | coat of arms (horse: white) | swallowtailed |
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2:3
by Marcus Schmöger
Flag adopted 13th April 1951

• Introduction
• Civil and State Flag (Landes- und Landesdienstflagge)
• State Ensign (Landesflagge in der Form des Doppelstanders)
• Construction Details
• Coat-of-Arms
• Car Flags for State Authorities (Dienstflaggen an Dienstkraftwagen für Behörden)
• Current Use of Former States Flags (ehemalige Länderflaggen)
• County, Municipal and Island Flags (Landkreis-, Gemeinde- und Inselflaggen)
• East Frisia (Ostfriesland)
• Flag Legislation
• Historical Flags
• German Party (Deutsche Partei)

See also:

• Germany

Other sites:

• Wappen und Flagge (Coat-of-Arms and Flag, German text only) at the Lower Saxony website

Lower Saxony was founded as Land Niedersachsen on 1st November 1946 as a merger of the former Länder Braunschweig [Brunswick], Oldenburg, Schaumburg-Lippe and Hannover [Hanover]. Due to the long tradition of own arms and flags in these former territories, it was especially difficult to find a common flag for the new Land Niedersachsen. [Some unofficial flags existed 1946-1951]. Although a red-white (or white-red) flag with the arms would have been appropriate for the Land Niedersachsen, as these are the colours of the arms (livery colours), this solution was viewed as only representing Hanover and not the other parts of Lower Saxony. A combination of the colours of the flags of all four constituent territories (red, white, blue, yellow) was also not feasible, so the final compromise was to use the German national flag (black-red-gold) with the Lower Saxony coat-of-arms on it. Sources: Rabbow 1999; Kuhn 1991, p. 90; Schnath 1961, Reihe B Heft 6; and