Luxembourg is a small state with a rich and interesting history (officially - the duchy) in the center of Europe. Now this country is one of the most developed in the world, a large financial center.
It borders with Belgium and Holland, forming an interstate economic hub called Benelux. It is not surprising that in the course of centuries of history, these three countries have been linked a lot, including with regard to heraldry. In order to understand how the symbolism that Luxembourg is proud of - the flag and coat of arms of the country - appeared and owes its origin, we will take an interesting excursion into the history of this state and its neighbors.
National emblem
At the end of the 10th century, Count Siegfried founded a small castle in Lower Lorraine called Luxembourg. Entire dynasties of counts, who were relatives of the ruling elites of neighboring kingdoms, sat here. When the castle was ruled by the Limburgs (originating from the county of the same name in the Netherlands), a coat of arms appeared in the form of a red lion, which wears a magnificent crown. The emblem also has horizontal stripes - silver and blue.
These colors are included in another state symbol that Luxembourg possesses - the flag. In 1837, the coat of arms was also used in the Belgian province of the same name. It is also the basis of the coats of arms of other cities of the country - Diekirch, Ashe, Ettelbrück, however, in combination with other elements (there are options where, for example, a tower, a bunch of flax, a river are depicted together with a lion). The coat of arms of Luxembourg is considered one of the oldest in Europe. He has two options - medium and large.
Country flag
The object of national pride possessed by Luxembourg is the tricolor flag. It is a rectangular cloth consisting of three horizontal stripes of the same width. He appeared in the 13th century. The proportion of the height and length of the flag is 3 to 5. This state symbol has three colors. Above is red, in the middle is white, below is blue (or light blue).
The flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has very similar proportions and color (a little later on the reasons for this similarity). The only visual difference is that the bottom line on the Dutch flag is usually dark blue.
Neighborhood
As mentioned above, the flag of Luxembourg and the Netherlands is almost the same. The story of this similarity is very interesting. In 1815, the king of the Netherlands, who was also the duke of Luxembourg, approved the national flag pattern at the local level. In 1972, the proportions and colors of this state symbol were enshrined in the duchy by law, and in 1992, it was decided to replace the color of the lower strip with light blue because of the obvious similarity with the flag of Holland.
It is interesting that now in Luxembourg there is a discussion between various political parties regarding the possible replacement of the flag, which, according to some citizens of the duchy, still remains similar to the Dutch flag. According to some opinion polls, the vast majority of Luxembourgers are in favor of replacing the main state symbol. Which flag of Luxembourg will be adopted in the foreseeable future - largely depends on the will of the country's parliament.
The story of tricolor
There is a very popular version that not only Luxembourg, whose flag has three colors, is obliged to the appearance of its state symbol to the Dutch. The Luxembourgish flag, according to some historians, has an interesting relative - the Russian tricolor. Peter the Great, as you know, lived in Holland for a long time. He returned to Russia on a recently built frigate, on which the tricolor flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands fluttered. The same state symbol, as some historians note, was also present at the first Russian frigate "Eagle", which sailed the sea during the time of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Despite the fact that the modern Russian flag appeared due to many historical reasons, many historians are sure that the tricolor format was taken as a basis thanks to the Dutch. Luxembourg, whose flag and coat of arms is also inherited from the Netherlands, can therefore have strong heraldic ties with Russia. This, according to some historians, once again emphasizes the cultural proximity of the Russian Federation with many European countries, including those that are relatively far from us.