Moravia (Czech Republic)

Last modified: 2012-03-31 by andrew weeks
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• Moravian flag
• Moravian Coat of Arms
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Moravian flag

Moravia is the eastern part of the Czech Republic. Great Moravia was an independent kingdom in the 9th century, comprising Bohemia and other territories in Central Europe. It was conquered by the Magyars in 893, reconquered by Bohemia in 1029. In 1849 became a separate crown land of Austria with capital at Brno, and in 1918 organized as a province of Czechoslovakia. United with Silesia 1927 forming province of Moravia and Silesia. All of Silesia and some areas in north and south Moravia became part of German Sudetenland in 1938. The remainder of Moravia joined with Bohemia as German protectorate (1939-45) of Bohemia-Moravia. Restored to Czechoslovakia in 1945 and since 1990 part of the Czech Republic.
Jarig Bakker, 10 Dec 2000

Moravia - I think, that its flag is horizontal yellow-blue (this flag of Moravia was used by one separatist political party in 1st half of 1990s). I don't know any other flag of Moravia.
Jiri Martinek, 26 Jan 2000.

The regional flag of Moravia is yellow-over-red, not yellow-over-blue.
Jan Zrzavy, 27 Jan 2000

Recently I sent a contribution attempting to explain why Moravia uses YR flag (horizontal) if the Moravian coat of arms includes red-silver chequered eagle on the blue shield.

The ancient Moravian coat of arms is indeed WR/B but no flag was derived from it. This coat of arms was improved by Emperor Frederick III. (December 7, 1462) to include golden-red checkered eagle on blue field (YR/B); however, in the great coat of arms of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire (including arms of all crown lands) the old WR/B Moravian shield was erroneously displayed up to 1836. A declaration of the Chancellery at Court (April 7, 1838) said that "including the older, unimproved Moravian arms to the great state coat of arms was erroneous but because the coat of arms had already been published in all Austrian lands as well as abroad, the mistake cannot be corrected at time". This declaration also confirmed that YR flag derived from the improved coat of arms (YR/B) is fully legal.

Politically, the YR flag has not been used by Czech-speaking Moravians. They preferred the colors of Bohemia (WR) as this flag became Czech national (not only Bohemian regional) symbol. In practice, only German-speaking Moravians used the YR regional flag during the XIX century's Czech national revival (evidently because the YR flag is not Czech, because they oppose the formation of a "union of Czech-speaking lands" within the Empire, and because the YR flag is similar to the German national tricolore NRY). It is consequently not surprising that the Czechoslovak Republic returned to the old WR/B Moravian arms in 1918, that this version was accepted also by all succeeding regimes, including the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (1939-1945), the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (1990-1992), as well as the Czech Republic (since 1990), and that the Moravian regional colors were almost forgotten. (Note that traditional lands, Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, were cancelled and replaced by smaller regions in 1948, and have never been restored.) Only few (and quite weak) regionalist, autonomist, and separatist parties/movements use the Moravian and Silesian regional colors since 1989 ("Movement for Self-Government Democracy - Community for Moravia and Silesia", "Moravian National Party", "Moravian Democratic Party), and I do not believe that many Moravians know their flag.
Jan Zrzavy, 23 Sep 1999

Moravian Coat of Arms

HSMS (Hnutí samosprávné Moravy a Slezska - Movement for Self-government of Moravia and Silesia)