Questions & answers: Questions about flags

As a rule, flags and banners should be positioned so that they can fly freely and do not knock against anything. You should wash the flag regularly, before it becomes too heavily soiled. Washable at 60 degrees. Do not bleach, do not dry clean. The flag must not be folded while damp or wet. If damage to the flag is discovered, it should be repaired as quickly as possible.

A banner formerly denoted a flag bearing a state emblem or coat of arms that marked a nobleman's territory or membership of their retinue. Today, the banner hanging from a horizontal shaft is distinguished from the flag flying on a vertical shaft (the flagpole).

Banner signs are often used as a welcome at festive events. Mounted on two poles, they are also known as double holders.

Any company or private individual may use flags or pennants of friendly nations for outdoor display or as table flags. Every company and private individual is free to use the federal, state or city flag, provided it is not a service flag. Flags in ecclesiastical colours, with or without an emblem, as well as association or club flags may also be displayed. Public authorities are obliged to fly flags on the regular, general flag days.

Companies and private individuals are free to decide on which dates they fly flags. Public authorities are required to fly flags on the following dates:
1 January (New Year's Day)
1 May (Labour Day)
5 May (Europe Day)
23 May (anniversary of the promulgation of the Basic Law)
17 June (anniversary of 17 June 1953)
20 July (anniversary of 20 July 1944)
3 October (German Unity Day)
November (national day of mourning, 2nd Sunday before the 1st Sunday of Advent)
Day of the election to the German Bundestag
Day of the election to the European Parliament

on special occasions:
1. on state visits by heads of government and heads of state
2. on visits by foreign trade delegations in industry and commerce
3. during national and state mourning as well as local bereavements
4. at trade fairs and exhibitions
5. at church festivals
6. at local festivals and anniversaries
7. at sporting events, especially those of an international character.

With national flag displays, precedence goes to the federal service flag and and the federal flag take the place of honour when other flags (e.g. state, city or association flags) are displayed alongside them. For international flag displays, national flags are arranged from right to left according to the French alphabet. The federal service flag or the federal flag is then placed next, followed by state, city, association flags and so on. The order of precedence runs from right to left (viewed from the building). These rules apply accordingly to the arrangement of flags for interior decoration. Official validity of the various flag formats: the internationally recognised and officially valid standard format is the hoisted flag. Portrait-format flags (including portrait-format flags, outrigger flags, banner flags and hanging flags) are used as decorative flags. In many countries around the world they are unknown and officially not recognised. Because of its strong advertising effect, this flag format is widespread and accepted in Germany.

If your flags are used in busy locations, we recommend choosing darker base colours, as white or beige show dirt easily and therefore need more care. When reproducing your desired colours according to the international RAL, HKS or Pantone colour charts, textiles may under certain circumstances give a slightly different colour impression depending on the fabric quality. The reason is the three-dimensional structure of the printed fabric and the sheen of the yarn used (matt versus glossy, coarse versus fine fabrics). Illuminate your flags at night so that their advertising effect comes fully into its own at later hours too. Faultless installation is a prerequisite for a longer flag life. Do make sure that your type of flag can move and fly freely according to its characteristics, without touching nearby objects such as buildings, poles, fences or trees. ? Such points of contact lead to immediate wear of your flag fabric. To protect your flags, we recommend not flying them in bad weather, or taking them down temporarily.

In Germany, flying flags for mourning is ordered by the federal or state interior ministers in the event of national mourning; in Austria by the Federal Chancellor. It may apply on certain commemorative days, such as the national day of mourning, on the death of an important statesman, or in remembrance of tragic events such as the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.
Procedure
Mourning is usually marked by flying flags at half-mast. In this case the flags concerned – but not banners – are positioned on public buildings not at the top of the flagpole but (depending on the length of the flag) slightly above the middle of the pole. The correct way to fly a flag at half-mast is to raise it first to the top of the pole, and only then to the half-mast position, where it is then lowered. Conversely, when taking it down, the flag is first raised all the way to the top again and only then removed. As an alternative to flying at half-mast, a mourning ribbon may be used on state banners; in that case the banner is positioned at the top of the pole.
History
The practice of flying flags at half-mast originates from naval battles between sailing ships. It was not only the flag of the defeated ship that was hauled down, but first of all the topmost sail. The enemy later also had to lower their own flag halfway, and in its place the victor's flag was raised as a visible sign to all. From this ritual later arose the custom of lowering a flag as a sign of respect for persons of higher rank. Ships also greeted one another by dipping their flags. The original purpose – to make room for another flag – was forgotten. Today, flying a flag at half-mast is a mark of respect for the dead (the space at the top of the pole is for the invisible flag of death).
Special features
The flag of Saudi Arabia is the only flag that is never flown at half-mast. The reason is that it bears the Shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith.

The federal state flags without a coat of arms are state flags that may be used without restriction. The use of state service flags (with a coat of arms) is reserved for public authorities in several federal states (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia). The Baden-Württemberg flag with the coat of arms may be used for private purposes with special permission. In Bavaria, the flag divided lengthwise in blue and white with the coat of arms is the official state service flag. The traditional flag with the blue and white lozenge pattern may be used without restriction, with or without the coat of arms

Hoisted flags:
- Suitable for all locations with a wide range of wind conditions.
- Ideal for very windy areas.
- Formats not ideally suited to advertising media.
Portrait-format flags:
- Suitable for a wide range of wind conditions.
- Ideal for company and advertising flags, as a large advertising area is available.
- In light wind the flag does not fly out fully.
Outrigger flags:
- The flag stays spread out even in light wind, which gives optimal advertising impact.
- With a rotating outrigger, suitable for a wide range of wind loads.
- This requires outrigger flagpoles, which need a greater distance between the poles.
Banner flags:
- The flag stays unfurled even in light wind.
- At sites with heavy wind loads, flying flags permanently is not advisable.
- For traditional festivals and events.

You can safely leave flags flying up to wind force 9 Bft. From 90 km/h you should take the flags down. With no flag flying, the pole withstands wind speeds of up to 130 km/h.

Flag finishing refers to the various ways of attaching flags. See our examples of flag finishing here.

We recommend the following sizes:

Flags and banners, portrait format:

Nominal height in m	Flag size in cm
5	80x200
6	100x300
7	150x350
8	100x400
9	120x500
10-12	larger

Hoisted flags, landscape format:

Nominal height in m	Flag size in cm
5	120x80
6	150x120
7	180x120
8	200x120
9	225x150
10	250x150
12	300x200

As soon as a flag bears a federal eagle or a coat of arms it is a service flag, which private individuals are not in fact permitted to use. Flying other national flags is likewise an "offence", since foreign flags fall within the sphere of foreign policy and are a matter for the federal government.

As a matter of principle, flags should never touch the ground, and so must not simply be thrown "into a corner" even when soiled. Even washing a flag is governed by rules of dignity. After cleaning, flags are not dried in an attic but in the hallway of the respective official building. Flags must also not be put to other uses, for example as a tablecloth or to wrap a lectern decoratively. And it goes without saying that no dirty or damaged flags are flown.

Flags follow clear hierarchies. As a rule, the national flag always takes precedence over the flags of the federal states and cities. Where several flags are flown in front of a building, there are rules on the order in which they must hang. If there are two poles in front of a building, the highest-ranking flag hangs on the right, seen from inside the building. With three poles, the highest-ranking flag hangs in the middle. When it comes to international flags, however, there is no order of precedence. National flags are regarded internationally as equal. A neutral arrangement in a circle is one option. Otherwise the flags are hung in alphabetical order of the country names. A minor problem with such international arrangements is that flags are not standardised and come in different formats. The aspect ratios of many flags in particular differ. The German flag is a rectangle with a ratio of 3 to 5, the Austrian flag has a ratio of 2 to 3, and the Swiss flag is even square.

Our flags are made of pure knitted polyester, glossy, weighing approx. 110 g/m², 0.45 mm thick. Air permeability to DIN 53887: 2100 l/m²/s. Maximum tensile force to DIN 53857 T1: 379 N lengthwise, 540 N crosswise. Elongation at maximum tensile force to DIN 53857 T1: 38% lengthwise, 63% crosswise. Lightfastness rating 6-7, weather fastness rating 6-7. Light- and weather-fast, finished to be antistatic and dirt-repellent. Manufacture certified to ISO 9002.

We are happy to confirm the service life of the flags we manufacture in premium quality glossy polyester = high-grade, three-rail knitted polyester as follows. In general, the above quality stands clearly apart from so-called import flags from Taiwan, China or India. These are all made for short-term use only, because they are a) not colourfast, b) not professionally sewn and c) produced on inferior polyester fabric (60 ? 80 g/m²). Consequently such products are not weatherproof either, let alone suitable for extreme weather conditions. Our premium quality, by contrast, is made with professional double safety seams, quality heading tape and, for windy locations, appropriate storm reinforcement. The flags are weatherproof, i.e. impregnated to be light-, water-, sun- and colourfast as well as dirt-repellent. This is achieved by sublimation printing (at around 180 °C the polyester fibre and the dye bond into a single unit, so the colour is not printed onto the fibre but right through it). Any residual surface dye is then washed off. Problems such as white creasing, poor print penetration or pale colours are therefore a thing of the past. Naturally our flags do not last forever either – flags are and remain items subject to wear. It is said that an advertising flag flown permanently lasts about half a year, give or take. You never know whether there will be a lot of strong winds and gales; if there are long calm spells, a year is no problem either. One fact is important to know: if you fly flags in open country, their fluttering is unimpeded and a relatively long service life is assured. If flags strike buildings or trees, they naturally wear out very quickly. Dense development also shortens a flag's life. Between houses, and especially high-rise buildings, broken winds create extreme turbulence that puts enormous strain on the seams. Ice, snow and the like are not the main problem here.

Eine Auslegerfahne braucht am oberen Tuchrand einen Hohlsaum mit Ø 3 cm, beidseitig offen – damit wird sie auf die Auslegerstange geschoben. An der Mastseite gehören Fahnenkarabiner im Abstand von jeweils 1 m an die Fahne; der oberste Karabiner sitzt unmittelbar unter dem Hohlsaum. Wenn Sie eine Fahne bei uns anfertigen lassen, berücksichtigen wir das automatisch – bei einer vorhandenen Fahne prüfen Sie bitte, ob der Hohlsaum diese Weite hat.

Nein. Eine Hochformatfahne wird mastseitig mit Besatzband verstärkt und mit Fahnenkarabinern im Abstand von jeweils 1 m am Mast gehisst – dafür ist kein Ausleger nötig. Einen Ausleger brauchen Sie dann, wenn die Fahne oben am Hohlsaum geführt werden soll (Auslegerfahne) und damit auch ohne Wind sichtbar bleibt. Bannerfahnen lassen sich an allen Masten ohne Ausleger einsetzen. Bitte beachten Sie dabei: Durch die Segelwirkung einer Bannerfahne verringert sich die zulässige Windlast um rund 30 %.