![[State Flag of Bulgaria of 1913]](../images/b/bg_878ne.gif)
Last modified: 2011-07-09 by peter hans van den muijzenberg
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2:3 by Željko Heimer
The Bulgarian naval fleet was established with help from Russia in 1879. The
documents are not consistent regarding the date when the Bulgarian naval ensign
was first hoisted - 31 July, 1 August or 9 August - but all agree that it was
the Bulgarian tricolour of white-green-red with red square canton with golden
crowned rampant lion. The tricolour itself was at the time a very young flag.
Soon the whole set of naval flags was devised, and in the Russian flagbook (Belov
1904) "Албум Штандартов, Флагов и Вымпелов Российской Империи и
Иностранных Государств'", St. Petersburg 1898, there are six flags of the Principality of
Bulgaria mentioned. Ivanov (1998)
contains descriptions of these flags as well as a B/W facsimile of the relevant
page from the 1898 album. Ratios expressed in parenthesis are my approximations.
Željko Heimer, 03 September 2001
The first Bulgarian constitution (adopted on 16 April, 1879) says in its
23rd article: "The Bulgarian national flag is of three colors, and contain
<consists?> of horizontally placed white, green and red colours".
Ivan Marinov, 20 March 2001
While the lion has officially served as an emblem of Bulgaria since 1879, it
also was known as early as the late 14th Century, when it appeared on coins
issued by a Bulgarian czar, Ivan Shishman. - Smith
(1975).
Ivan Sache, 25 October 2003
![[Prince's standard of Bulgaria of 1913]](../images/b/bg_878pr.gif)
5:6~ by Željko Heimer
Prince's standard (Knyazheskiyat shtandart). Red flag with border of white and green triangles and with crowned rampant lion in the middle. As I have a feeling that the exact artistic rendition of the time was not firmly established (that is apparent from several examples of lions used in the period in different sources) - I have allowed myself a certain freedom in rendition.
Red flag with yellow crowned lion rampant armed green and all bordered with
green and white triangles (8 x 10 white triangles are shown along the inner
border, and with white corner-pieces). The lion that I show is not entirely the
same as the one in the 1898 Russian album, that one being rather odd, showing
the lion with what seems to be a beak (probably misinterpreted tongue) and claws
more appropriate to an eagle. I don't think that it was the intention to show
such a beast; the original naval ensign from the same period photographed in the
book shows the usual heraldic lion rampant.
Željko Heimer, 11 January 2004
2:3 by Željko Heimer
Naval Ensign. (Voennomorskiyat flag na Knyazhestvo B'lgariya). Tricolour of white-green-red with red square canton with golden
crowned rampant lion. The canton is square with each side equal to half the hoist. See also Naval Ensign,
1908-1944.
Željko Heimer, 03 September 2001
The naval ensign is preserved in the naval museum (voenomorski muzei) in
Varna. The size of the flag is 58 x 90 cm (though I guess that this was measured
together with the rope, which added the 3 cm excess to the expected ratio.)
Željko Heimer, 12 January 2004
![[Commander Flag of Bulgaria of 1878]](../images/b/bg_878co.gif)
2:3 by Željko Heimer
Commander-in-Chief of the Navy (Flag na komandvashtiya [morskata chast]). Tricolour of white-green-red with canton of red-green-white.
Based on the alternative title of the flag ("morskata chast"),
it may be that this was actually the commander's ensign?
Željko Heimer, 03 September 2001
![[Merchant Flag of Bulgaria of 1878]](../images/b/bg_878me.gif)
2:3 by Željko Heimer
Merchant Ensign (Voenomorski flagove na Knyazhectvo B'lgariya). Tricolour of white-green-red.
Željko Heimer, 03 September 2001
![[Pilot requesting signal of Bulgaria of 1878]](../images/b/bg_878pi.gif)
2:3 by Željko Heimer
A white flag with a horizontally divided rectangle in the middle - green over
red. According to the drawing, the length of the rectangle is half the length of
the flag, the height being slightly higher than half the hoist (I make it 0.55,
but the half may have indeed been intended).
Željko Heimer, 12 January 2004
![[Masthead Pennant of Bulgaria of 1878]](../images/b/bg_878wp.gif)
1:4~ by Željko Heimer
White forked pennant with a green saltire over a red cross near the hoist.
The crosses take up the area of a square next to the hoist; the indentation is
about two hoists, the width at fly half the hoist, the width of the crosses
about 1/6 of the hoist (all based on my impression of the image).
Željko Heimer, 12 January 2004
The 1878 jack is mentioned but not shown in Belov
(1904), though
it is not described in Ivanov (1998) until 20th
Century flags, by
the design of the masthead pennant we may suppose that the jack was
already in use.
Željko Heimer, 03 September 2001
![[Jack of Bulgaria 1878]](../images/b/bg_912ja.gif)
1:1, by Željko Heimer
Jack (1908) (Gyoits (nosovo zname) | Znamentse (nosovo zname)).
White square flag with a red cross and a green saltire.
Source: Bogoslovski, 1912 as quoted in Ivanov (1998). The
crosses are named throughout Bogoslovski, 1912 as
"Georgievski krst" and "Andreevski krst" meaning, of course, 'George's cross'
and 'Andrew's cross'.
Željko Heimer, 05 September 2001
The 1878 jack seems to have been as
the one we show as 1908, with green over red. This appears to have changed
subsequently to red over green (see Jack).
Željko Heimer, 11 December 2006
