The Republic of Hungary

The National Flag of Hungary

The Hungarian tricolour was first seen before 1848, and came to prominence during the Hungarian Revolution in 1848, against the Habsburgs dominance, and to set up a new republic. The revolutionary movement took the French tricolour, inspired as they where by the French revolution. They changed the flags colours to match those on the Hungarian coat of arms. 

However, the Revolution was defeated, and the flag was banned. However, in 1867, due to a Compromise deal in 1867, the tricolour was brought in as the official flag of Hungary, with the coat of arms placed upon it, supported by a pair of angels. 

After the fall of the Habsburg Empire, there was a 2 year period of instability in Hungary, with many changes in the nation. Indeed, from 1919 to 1920 the government was replaced with a Communist one, creating Soviet Hungary. They used the solid red banner of Communism as their flag.

However, the Soviet Republic did not last, and in 1920, it too collapsed. From 1920 to 1944-5 the flag remained the same, as the tricolour with the coat of arms displayed. However, there where no longer any more supporters to the coat of arms.

After WWII, the Communists took power in Hungary. To begin with, to break with Hungary's monarchistic past, the shape of the coat of arms was altered, and the crown was removed.

In 1949, with the Communist party in total control, the old Hungarian coat of arms was replaced with the Communist coat of arms. A crossed hammer and wheat sheaf, surround by ears of wheat, topped with a red star. 

However, the Communist regime was amazingly brutal. Possibly the harshest of all Communist regimes in Europe. It finally led to the uprising in 1956. The Revolutionaries wanted a return to multi-party politics, and fought the Hungarians and Soviets. They took the Hungarian flag, and cut out the national coat of arms. It was also common to see the post-WWII flag being used.

After the revolution was brutally suppressed by the Soviet Army, the new Communist regime did institute a new flag featuring the new coat of arms. The new coat took the hammer and wheat sheaf off, and replaced it with a shield on which was the Hungarian tricolour.

However, this flag never became official, and upon the move away from Communism in 1989, all Communist symbols disappeared, with the old coat of arms returning. There has been a push to create a state flag which features the coat of arms, but it has not come into effect, legally. However, you can see flags with the arms placed upon it.

According to legend, the red on the flag stands for strength, the white for faithfulness, and the green for hope. Alternatively, they stand for blood (red), freedom (white), and the land (green).