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Tenerife (Island, Canary Islands, Spain)

Flag of Tenerife - Image by Jaume Ollé, 10 January 1997

Symbols of Tenerife
Vertical flag of Tenerife
Municipalities on Tenerife

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Symbols of Tenerife

The flag of Tenerife is prescribed by a Decree adopted on 9 May 1989 by the Government of the Canary Islands and published on 22 May 1989 in the official gazette of the Canary Islands, No. 70, p. 1,988 (text).
The flag is described as follows:

Flag: Blue with a white cross whose arms reach the corners of the flag, in the shape known as St. Andrew's saltire or cross of Burgundy. The colour shall be sea blue while the white saltire shall be approximately 1/5 of the flag's width.

According to José Manuel Erbez (Banderas y escudos de Canarias, 2007; website), the flag was established on 30 June 1845 as the register flag of the Maritime Province of the Canary Islands. When the province was divided into two parts in 1869, the flag remained as the flag of the Maritime Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, being eventually adopted as the flag of Tenerife in 1989.
The choice of the design was completely arbitrary. The only purpose was to distinguish this flag from other Spanish register flags. Accordingly, it has nothing to do with the flag of Scotland, even if a local legend claims such a connection. An official state tour guide told that the flag was taken when Admiral Nelson was beaten in battle and surrendered his ship's flag he gave the St. Andrew's flag instead of the Union Flag, so as not to offend the King of Britain (report by Alastair Hudson, 8 August 2009).

Coat of arms of Tenerife - Image by José Manuel Erbez, 31 March 2008

The coat of arms of Tenerife was originally granted to San Cristóbal de La Laguna by Royal Letters signed on 23 March 1510 by Queen Juana the Mad, and subsequently adopted in 1912 by the newly created Island Council of Tenerife, with a minor change in the motto for the sake of differentiation and the addition of two palms beneath the shield.
"Or an island vert surmounted by a volcano proper emitting fire over waves azure and argent surrounded dexter by a castle gules and sinister by a lion of the same and ensigned by an Archangel St. Michael proper holding a pear in the one hand and a shield in the other hand. A bordure gules inscribed with 'Thenerife Me Fecit Cabildo Insular de Tenerife' in letters or. Beneath the shield two palms proper. The shield surmounted with a Royal crown open."
The coat of arms recalls the incorporation of Tenerife to the Crown of Castile and its evangelization under the protection of St. Michael. The motto reads "Tenerife Made Me. Insular Council of Tenerife".

The flag of Tenerife is sometimes used with the coat of arms in the middle (photo), seemingly without the palms beneath the arms.

Jaume Ollé, Santiago Dotor, Klaus-Michael Schneider & Ivan Sache, 31 March 2008

Vertical flag of Tenerife

Vertical flag of Tenerife, as seen on 11 February 2010 - Image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 10 March 2010

A vertical flag of Tenerife, in proportions 3:1, was hoisted from a staff with horizontal bar in the port area of Los Christianos.

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 10 March 2010

Municipalities on Tenerife