The flag of Bulgaria consists of three equal horizontal bands of white (top), green, and red.

The white represents peace, green represents the fertility of the Bulgarian lands, and red stands for the courage of the people.

Originaly the flag used the Pan-Slavic colours, which were derived from the Pan-Slavic movement of 19th century Europe. The central band was blue, and so the flag was similar to the flag of Russia. However after Bulgaria's independence in 1878, the central band was replaced with green due to Bulgaria's development as an agricultural country. The flag of Eastern Rumelia, a former Turkish province now part of Bulgaria, also originally consisted of the same colours.

In later history, the former coat of arms on the left side of the white stripe was removed after 1989 - it contained a rampant lion within a wreath of wheat ears below a red five-pointed star and above a ribbon bearing the years 681, the year the first Bulgarian state was established, and 1944, the year when Communist rule was installed through a coup d'etat.

External link