| Colors | HEX Code | RGB | CMYK |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | #FFFFFF | 255, 255, 255 | 0, 0, 0, 0 |
| Green | #00966E | 0, 150, 110 | 100, 0, 27, 41 |
| Red | #D62612 | 214, 38, 18 | 0, 82, 92, 16 |
The Bulgarian flag is made of three horizontal bands of equal width. The top band is white, the middle is green, and the bottom is red. The design of the flag is simple but highly emblematic.
Meaning of the Bulgarian Flag
The tricolor flag represents the history of Bulgaria while struggling for independence. The white color in the Bulgarian flag represents peace, love, and freedom. The green color stands for Bulgaria’s agricultural wealth and green nature, and the red color stands for independence struggles, courage, and valor. It also emphasizes the friendly relations of Bulgaria with its ethnic neighbors, the Russian.
History of the Bulgarian Flag
Bulgaria struggled to gain independence from the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. The nationalist movements at that time raised a flag inspired by the coat of arms of the 14th century Czar Ivan Shishman. The coat of arms depicted red lions on a gold shield. The Bulgarian flag then was inspired by the Russian flag, but the blue was replaced with green since the Bulgarians had common roots and ethnic relations with the Russians. The modern flag of Bulgaria was officially adopted on April 16, 1879. It resembled the modern flag used nowadays. As the communists rose to rule Bulgaria, they added their symbols to the flag, which was changed four times during the communist rule. When communism collapsed, the old traditional, three-striped flag was re-adopted on November 27, 1990.