The Secret History Behind Romania's Flag
Romania's flag was once a flag with a hole in it.
The blue, yellow and red tricolor was set by the provisional government of Wallachia during the revolution of 1848, in a decree that defined the colors as dark blue, light yellow and carmine red. The colors belong to the old principalities: red and yellow for Wallachia, red and blue for Moldavia.
After the Second World War, the communist government added its own emblem to the center of the flag. In December 1989, the protesters in Timișoara cut that emblem out of the flags and carried them through the streets. The plain tricolor was adopted on December 27, 1989.
The date printed on every Romania design in our catalog, May 9, 1877, is the day Romania declared its independence.
A flag that kept its colors, even when someone tried to rewrite its center.
Looking for a gift with a story? See our heritage gift guide, or read the story behind any other country's flag on our free Flag Stories page.