Flag of Albania
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{{Infobox flag
| Name = Albania
| Nickname =
| Morenicks =
| Image = Flag of Albania.svg
| Use = 111010
| Proportion = 5:7
| Adoption = [[April 7]], [[1992]]
| Design = A [[silhouette]] of an open-winged [[Double-headed eagle|bicephalated eagle]] on a red field.
| Designer =
| Image2 = Civil Ensign of Albania.svg
| Use2 = 000100
| Proportion2 = 2:3
| Design2 = A horizontal bicolor triband of red, black, and red.
| Image3 = Naval Ensign of Albania.svg
| Use3 = 000001
| Proportion3 = 2:3
| Design3 = A silhouette of an open-winged bicephalated eagle on a white field with a wide horizontal red stripe below.
| Type = National
}}
The national '''flag of [[Albania]]''' is a red flag with a black [[two-headed eagle]] in the center. It is the only red and black flag of a recognized sovereign state. It is claimed to be derived from the similar [[Skanderbeg#Seal of Skanderbeg|seal]] of [[Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg]], a [[15th century]] Albanian who led the revolt against the [[Ottoman Empire]] that resulted in brief independence for some regions of Albania from [[1443]] to [[1478]]. The current flag was officially adopted on [[April 7]], [[1992]], but previous Albanian states such as the [[Kingdom of Albania]] and the post-war communist state had used much the same flag, with the former sporting the "[[Helmet of Skanderbeg]]" above the eagle and the latter a red star with a yellow rim.
The National Assembly of Vlora which proclaimed Albanian Independence on [[28 November]] [[1912]] approved the flag as a symbol of the Albanian nation.
The National Eldery of [[Durrës]] which created the government of Muslim Albania in 1914 approved the flag of Esat Pasha as the symbol of Albania, whereas the Muslim Albanians who created their parallel government until 1915 used their old Ottoman flag as their symbol.
The horizontal open-winged eagle symbolises the lack of submission of the highland Albanians to foreign conquest. The communist regime added a yellow five-pointed star to the flag, which was removed by the first Albanian pluralist parliament in 1992 after the communist collapse.
Albania's [[civil ensign]] and [[naval ensign]], both [[maritime flags]] are different from the national flag. The civil ensign consists of three horizontal bands of red, black, and red. The naval ensign is similar to the national flag, except that the eagle is on a white field, and the lower portion of the flag has a red stripe.
The flag of Albania may be the inspiration for the flag of the fictional nation of [[Syldavia]] in [[Hergé]]'s ''[[The Adventures of Tintin|Tintin]]'' comics. It also influenced the revival of the [[Navarre|Navarrese]] ''[[arrano beltza]]''.
The presidential flag of [[Kosovo]], which is ethnically largely Albanian, is also based on the flag of Albania.
==Symbolism and Evolution==
The main theory suggests that [[Skanderbeg]] used the [[Byzantine]] double-headed eagle on his seals, hence the modern flag<ref>[http://www.fotw.us/flags/al.html#ori Flags Of The World, Albania]</ref>. Although the flag of Albania is very similar to the [[Byzantine]] flag due to its ties to the ancient empire (much like any country in Eastern Europe), in Albania the symbol of the bicephalous eagle has acquired another interpretation by communists. It refers to the territory of Albania as the crossroads between eastern and western cultures and the unity of its peoples despite religious cleavages. Whereas the Serbs, for example created their medieval empire of [[Tsar]] [[Stefan Dusan]], or Modern Greece, whose nationalist program [[Megali Idea]] borrowed heavily from Byzantine tradition Albania possesses a four-fold confessional divide and was forced by the Habsburgs to maintain a laic identity. Similarly, although unsubstantiated, the name [[Land of the Eagles]] may refer to the mountainous territory of the country, and the inhabitants of this territory.
==Historical flags==
<gallery>
Image:Albania 1914 Flag.gif|Flag of the [[Principality of Albania]] from 1914 to 1920.
Image:Flag of Albania 1920.svg|Flag of the Prinicpality of Albania from 1920 to 1925 and the [[Albanian Republic]] from 1925 to 1926.
Image:Flag of Albania 1926.svg|Flag of the Albanian Republic from 1926 to 1928.
Image:Flag of Albania 1928.svg|Flag of the [[Albanian Kingdom]] from 1928 to 1934
Image:Flag Kingdom Of Albania.svg|Flag of the Albanian Kingdom from 1934 to 1939.
Image:Flag of Albania (1939).svg|Flag of the [[Albania under Italy|Albanian Kingdom under Italy]] from 1939 to 1943.
Image:Flag of Albania (1939 crowned).svg|Crowned version of the flag of the Albanian Kingdom under Italy. This is the crown of the [[House of Savoy]], which ruled Italy since 1861 to 1946 and Albania from 1939 to 1943.
Image:Flag of German occupied Albania.svg|Flag of [[Albania under Nazi Germany]] from 1943 to 1944
Image:Flag of Albania 1944.svg|Flag of the [[Socialist People's Republic of Albania|Democratic Government of Albania]] from 1944 to 1946
Image:Flag of Albania 1946.svg|Flag of the [[People's Republic of Albania]] from 1946 to 1976, the [[Socialist People's Republic of Albania]] from 1976 to 1991, and the [[Albania|Republic of Albania]] from 1991 to 1992.
Image:Flag of Albania.svg|Flag of the [[Albania|Republic of Albania]] from 1992 to present.
</gallery>
==See also==
* [[Emblem of Albania]]
* [[The Tale of the Eagle]]
* [[Religion in Albania]]
* [[Epirus]]
* [[Flag of Kosovo]]
{{-}}
==External links==
*{{FOTW|id=al|title=Albania}}
==References==
<references/>
* Noel Malcolm, ''Kosovo: A Short History'' (New York: New York University Press, 1999), 29
* Marin Barleti, ''Storia de Vita et Gestis Scanderbegis, Princeps Epirotarum'' trans. Stefan I. Prifti (Tirane: Shtypshkronja “Mihal Duri” 1964).
{{Flag of Europe}}
{{nationalflags}}
[[Category:National symbols of Albania]]
[[Category:National flags|Albania]]
[[ar:علم ألبانيا]]
[[an:Bandera d'Albania]]
[[roa-rup:Flãmbura-a Arbinishiiljei]]
[[ast:Bandera d'Albania]]
[[bn:আলবেনিয়ার জাতীয় পতাকা]]
[[bs:Zastava Albanije]]
[[bg:Национално знаме на Албания]]
[[ca:Bandera d'Albània]]
[[cs:Albánská vlajka]]
[[cy:Baner Albania]]
[[da:Albaniens flag]]
[[de:Flagge Albaniens]]
[[et:Albaania lipp]]
[[el:Σημαία της Αλβανίας]]
[[es:Bandera de Albania]]
[[eu:Albaniako bandera]]
[[fr:Drapeau de l'Albanie]]
[[gl:Bandeira de Albania]]
[[ko:알바니아의 국기]]
[[hy:Ալբանիայի դրոշը]]
[[hr:Zastava Albanije]]
[[bpy:আলবেনিয়ার ফিরালহান]]
[[id:Bendera Albania]]
[[it:Bandiera albanese]]
[[he:דגל אלבניה]]
[[lv:Albānijas karogs]]
[[lt:Albanijos vėliava]]
[[hu:Albánia zászlaja]]
[[ms:Bendera Albania]]
[[nl:Vlag van Albanië]]
[[ja:アルバニアの国旗]]
[[no:Albanias flagg]]
[[nn:Det albanske flagget]]
[[pl:Flaga Albanii]]
[[pt:Bandeira da Albânia]]
[[ro:Drapelul Albaniei]]
[[ru:Флаг Албании]]
[[sq:Flamuri i Shqipërisë]]
[[sk:Vlajka Albánska]]
[[sr:Застава Албаније]]
[[sh:Zastava Albanije]]
[[fi:Albanian lippu]]
[[sv:Albaniens flagga]]
[[tr:Arnavutluk Bayrağı]]
[[uk:Прапор Албанії]]
[[zh:阿尔巴尼亚国旗]]