This article contains a list of
flags for which the reverse (back ) is different from the
obverse (front ).
It includes current as well as historic flags of both nations and national subdivisions such as provinces, states, territories, cities and other administrations (including a few that are not recognized by the
United Nations or whose sovereignty is in dispute). When the flag is that of a nation, the Subdivision column is blank ( — ).
The list below does not include flags for which the reverse side is congruent (identical ) nor is it a mirror image of the obverse side (horizontally flipped ). Flag sides are usually mirror copy to satisfy
manufacturing constraints. Identical flags are much less common and contain an element for which a simple mirror image would be problematic, such as text (e.g. The
Flag of Saudi Arabia includes the
shahada, an Islamic creed; The
Flag of Iraq includes the
Takbir) or a geographic feature (e.g. The
Flag of the United Nations included an
Azimuthal equidistant projection of the earth). Flags having a truly different designs on both their sides (two-sided ) differ from the norm. The only UN-recognized nation whose present-day flag officially contains a unique image on each side is
Paraguay.
Not all impression of two-sided flags are de facto two-sided because of practical
manufacturing constraints or, judging from how often it was disregarded in practice, some formal concern of heraldic nature.
As such it may very well be prescribed legally from the very beginning and ever ignored in practice by institutions of every type.
Many of those flags are reconstructions based on various degree of evidence.
We have very little information on ancient Moldavian and Wallachian flags. For Moldavia the most important symbol has always been the wild ox head, which is still to be found on the flag of the new Moldavian republic. In early times the red prevailed on other colours: on standards, the wild ox head appeared on the recto, while the verso represented St. George killing the dragon. It seems that this standard was adopted by Bogdan I and maintained by Stephan the Great and successors. In the following century (XIX) the blue was added. According to an 1813 document, under prince Scarlat Calimachi the princely standard was red, yellow and blue on the recto (without any symbol), while on the verso was St George riding a horse on a blue field. Another document, dated 1814, again reports a red standard. Michael II Sutu (1819-21) had a blue flag with the wild ox head on the recto and red with St George the verso. The two Moldavian flags above from the XV-XVI c. are in Bucharest museum.
) is different from the
obverse (front
).
It includes current as well as historic flags of both nations and national subdivisions such as provinces, states, territories, cities and other administrations (including a few that are not recognized by the
United Nations or whose sovereignty is in dispute). When the flag is that of a nation, the Subdivision column is blank ( — ).
) nor is it a mirror image of the obverse side (horizontally flipped
). Flag sides are usually mirror copy to satisfy
manufacturing constraints. Identical flags are much less common and contain an element for which a simple mirror image would be problematic, such as text (e.g. The
Flag of Saudi Arabia includes the
shahada, an Islamic creed; The
Flag of Iraq includes the
Takbir) or a geographic feature (e.g. The
Flag of the United Nations included an
Azimuthal equidistant projection of the earth). Flags having a truly different designs on both their sides (two-sided
) differ from the norm. The only UN-recognized nation whose present-day flag officially contains a unique image on each side is
Paraguay.
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