FLAG OF CATALONIA

The Senyera is a vexillological symbol based on the coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon, which consists of four red stripes on a golden background. This coat of arms, often called bars of Aragon, or simply "the four bars", historically represented the King of the Crown of Aragon.

The senyera pattern is nowadays in the flag of four Spanish autonomous communities (Catalonia, Aragon, the Balearic Islands, Valencia), and is the flag of the historically Catalan-speaking city of Alghero in Sardinia. It is also used on the coat of arms of Spain, the coat of arms of Pyrénées-Orientales and of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, the flag of Roussillon, Capcir, Vallespir and Provence in France, one quarter of the coat of arms of Andorra, and on the local flags of many municipalities belonging to these territories. The Senyera (sometimes together with the flag of Andorra) is also used more informally to represent the Catalan language.

The Senyera is one of the oldest flags in Europe to be used in present day, but not in continuous use since its creation. There are several theories advocating either a purely Catalan or a purely Aragonese origin for the symbol.

According to a 14th-century legend, the flag dates back from the 9th century, when the four red bars were drawn, as an act of gratitude, on Wilfred I the Hairy's (Count of Barcelona) golden shield by king Charles the Bald's fingers drenched with blood from the Count's war wounds prior to Wilfred's death in 897 during the siege of Barcelona by Lobo ibn Mohammed, the Moorish governor of Lleida. This legend would relate the emblem unambiguously to the Counts of Barcelona title.

Romantic-driven Catalan nationalists were particularly keen on this legend during the Renaixença, in the 19th century, albeit it has always been recognized and divulged as such even in patriotic circles. Charles the Bald had died 20 years earlier, in 877.

Another version of this legend cites Louis the Pious as the king drawing the bars during the conquest of Barcelona, in this version drawing them in a golden shield, but Louis died before Guifré was born. Also, Barcelona was conquered long before the events described on the legend. Another medieval variant of the legend features Ramon Berenguer painting the bars with his own blood on a yellow shield, with the yellow field of the shield being the arms of Aragon before his marriage.

Flag Proportion 2:3

Adopted: 25 May 1933

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ABOUT CATALONIA:

Catalonia is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, located on the northeastern extremity of the Iberian Peninsula. It is politically designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy. Catalonia consists of four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. The capital and largest city is Barcelona, the second-largest city in Spain and the seventh-most populous urban area in the European Union.

Catalonia comprises most of the territory of the former Principality of Catalonia, with the remainder now part of France's Pyrénées-Orientales. It is bordered by France and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, and the Spanish autonomous communities of Aragon to the west and Valencia to the south. The official languages are Catalan, Spanish, and the Aranese dialect of Occitan.

CAPITAL OF CATALONIA:

Barcelona