Last modified: 2006-03-04 by ivan sache
Keywords: alsace | crowns: 6 (yellow) | regional council |
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Flag of Region Alsace - Image by Pascal Vagnat, 21 February 2004
See also:
Departments: Bas-Rhin,
Haut-Rhin
Bordering Regions:
Franche-Comté,
Lorraine
Bordering countries: Germany,
Switzerland
Traditional province: Alsace
Area: 8,280 km2
Population (1995): 1,689,800 inhabitants
Regional prefecture: Strasbourg
The flag and arms of Alsace are a simplification of the flag and arms of the traditional province of Alsace. The arms can be blazoned as following:
De gueules à la bande d'argent accompagnée de deux cotices fleuronnées du même et accostée de six couronnes d'or posées en orle, celles de la pointe opposées à celles du chef.
These arms are based on Alsatian arms that already existed in the XVIth
century but have been hardly used since then.
Instead of the two confronted bends of the former arms, the new arms
have kept only the white bend representing Lower-Alsace. The crowns
representing Upper-Alsace are now placed on both sides of the white
coticed bend.
These arms have been designed and used by the Regional Council since the
1990s.
The new flag is hoisted over the building of the Regional Council of
Alsace in Strasbourg. Beforehand, the Regional Council used the flag of the traditional province of Alsace.
The foundation stone of the maison d'Alsace, the future building of
the Regional Council, was laid on 3 June 2003. The stone is a block of
pink sandstone from the Vosges mountains. A transparent cylinder was
included into the block, which contains nine samples of Alsatian soils,
separated by mini-CD-ROMs. One of these CD-ROMS shows the regional logotype
and the coat of arms of Alsace.
Pascal Vagnat, 21 February 2004