FLAG OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY

The Ikurrina flag is a Basque symbol and the official flag of the Basque Country Autonomous Community of Spain. The name is a neologism by Luis and Sabino Arana, from ikur ("mark, sign", compare to Catalan Senyera and Faroese Merkið). In Basque, it has the generic meaning of "flag," but specially the one of the Basque Country, as defined by the Euskaltzaindia (Royal Academy of the Basque Language).

Similar in pattern to the Union Flag, the flag was designed by the founders of the Basque Nationalist Party EAJ-PNV, Luis and Sabino Arana, and is commonly regarded as the national but unofficial symbol of the Basque Country. It is widely seen in the French Basque Country and forms part of the unofficial flag of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the French overseas community in North America that was settled by French Basque and also many Spanish Basque sailors. The Ikurriña is also the flag of the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV). A controversy exists because at first it was only the symbol of a section of the party (the section of Biscay) and many persons thought that another flag must represent the territory.

The red ground symbolizes the Biscayan people (the race); the green saltire might represent the Oak of Guernica, a symbol of the old laws of Biscay, or Fueros; and over them, the white cross, God's symbol of Basque Catholic devotion. Thus, red, white and green have become the national Basque colours.

The flag was designed in 1894 to represent the province of Biscay in a set of one flag for each of the seven Basque provinces and one for the whole country; however, since PNV activity was scarce outside of Biscay, only the Biscayne flag was publicly recognized. It was hoisted for the first time in the "Euzkeldun Batzokija", the club that preceded EAJ-PNV. The party adopted it in 1895 and, in 1933, proposed it as the flag of the whole Basque Country.

Since the Basque people had accepted the "ikurriña", at the suggestion of the socialist counsellor Aznar, the Basque Government adopted it as the flag of the Basque Autonomous Region in 1936. In 1938, after the military defeat of the Basque Government the regime of General Franco prohibited this flag —although it continued to be used in the Basque departments of France. In the following decades it became a symbol of defiance – the first actions of the clandestine group ETA involved placing flags in public places.

The Basque flag was legalized again in 1977 during the Spanish transition to democracy. Two years later, the Basque Government adopted it as the flag of the Basque autonomous community. It is also used as an unofficial flag for some sectors of Basque society in other provinces.

Flag Proportion 14:25

Adopted: 18 December 1978

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ABOUT THE BASQUE COUNTRY:

The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa.The Basque Country or Basque Autonomous Community was granted the status of nationality within Spain, attributed by the Spanish Constitution of 1978. The autonomous community is based on the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country, a foundational legal document providing the framework for the development of the Basque people on Spanish soil, although the territory of Navarre was left out and made into a separate autonomous community.

Currently there is no official capital in the autonomous community, but the city that holds the Basque Parliament, the headquarters of the Basque Government and the Basque Autonomous Community's President's residency is Vitoria-Gasteiz, located in the province of Álava. Whilst Vitoria-Gasteiz is the largest municipality in area, with 277 km2 (107 sq mi), Bilbao is the largest in population, with 353,187 people, located in the province of Biscay within a conurbation of 875,552 people.

The term Basque Country may also refer to the larger cultural region, the home of the Basque people, which includes the autonomous community.

CAPITAL OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY:

Vitoria-Gasteiz