Last modified: 2008-01-19 by jarig bakker
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3:5
image by Marcus Schmöger, 19 Sep 2001
Flag adopted 13th May 1954 for West Berlin,
1990 for all Berlin
The bear on the flag and coat of arms of Berlin represents the first
half of the city's name, German Bär meaning bear. In English we
call this sort of pun canting arms.
John Ayer, 13 Oct 1999
I have heard a version that adds to the pun by making it a bärlein,
i.e. little bear.
Joseph McMillan, 13 Oct 1999
The civil flag is a horizontal tricolour of red-white-red, the ratio
of the stripes is 1:3:1; in the white stripe - somewhat shifted to the
hoist - there is the black bear from the coat-of-arms, without the escutcheon.
This design was introduced in 1954 for West Berlin, in 1990 - with the
reunification of the city - also for East Berlin. My image is made after
the drawings attached to the law.
Marcus Schmöger, 19 Sep 2001
The law also mentions the vertical variant (Banner) of the civil
flag, but does not give a drawing. However, Laitenberger
and Bassier 2000 shows a drawing, after which I made the above image.
Marcus Schmöger, 19 Sep 2001
State flag:, proportions 3:5, adopted 13th May 1954.
Pascal Vagnat, 14 Dec 1997
The service flag, in the size of 15 × 25 cm, is used by the president
of the revenue court, the presidents of the supreme courts, the directors
of the Senate, the mayors of the city's districts and the president of
the police. Source: personal and legal archives, with legislation and official
documents from the German Länder, as well as the informations of
Jürgen Rimann, the best German specialist for all the car flags
in the world and a very reliable source.
Pascal Vagnat, 1 Aug 1999
The state flag is the same as the civil flag, but
shows the whole arms instead of the bear alone. The arms are the black
bear in a silver (white) escutcheon under a golden crown. This design was
introduced in 1954 for West Berlin, in 1990 —with the reunification of
the city— also for East Berlin. As West Berlin had a special status until
1990, the state flag was also used as a state ensign (e.g. for police boats),
as the German state ensign could not be used
as such. Since 1990 the German state ensign is used as such and the Berlin
state flag is used as a jack on state vessels — as usual in other Länder.
My image is made after the drawings attached to the law.
Marcus Schmöger, 19 Sep 2001
The members of the senate, as well as the city mayor, have their own
flag which is white with a red border and the coat of arms in the middle,
dimensions 25 × 25 cm.
Pascal Vagnat, 1 Aug 1999
The flag for the members of the Senate (government) is actually their
car flag, used by the Regierender Bürgermeister (prime minister/mayor)
and the Senatoren (ministers). It is a white square with a red border
as wide as 2/15ths of the flag height, and in the white field the arms.
The drawings attached to the law shows the arms in this case in silver
[metallic shade], not in white, so I made the image accordingly. As this
is a car flag, it is not improbable that actual flags would have the arms
embroidered, so that the silver would actually be silver and perhaps the
gold would actually be gold.
Marcus Schmöger, 19 Sep 2001
Berlin has a new star, "Cute Knut", a baby polar bear:htt: //www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,469860,00.html
The little bear is so popular, the senat, Berlin's parliament, want
to change now CoA and flag by changing the black bear into a polar bear
and the background white to black.
J. Patrick Fischer, 1 April 2007