{{Short description|Flag and symbol of Basque nationalism}} {{expand Basque|topic=|otherarticle=Ikurrin|date=December 2017}} {{more citations needed|date=July 2014}} {{Use American English|date = April 2019}}
{{Infobox flag | Name = Basque Country | Nickname = ''Ikurrina'' | Image = Flag of the Basque Country.svg | Use = 110000 | Symbol = | Proportion = 14:25 | Adoption = 19 October 1936<br />18 December 1978 | Design = A red field with the white central cross that extends to the edges of the flag superimposed on the green diagonal cross that extends to the corners of the flag. | Designer = Luis Arana and Sabino Arana }} The '''flag of the Basque Country''' (Basque: ''ikurrin'', with the definite article, ''ikurrina'', pronounced /ˌi'kuri'ɲa/ in Southern Basque dialects, or /ˌi'kuri'na/ in Northern dialects)<ref name=EuskaltzaindiaIkurrina>Euskaltzaindia: [http://www.euskaltzaindia.net/dok/eaeb/hiztegibatua/hiztegibatua.pdf Dictionary of the Standard Basque] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110409213225/http://www.euskaltzaindia.net/dok/eaeb/hiztegibatua/hiztegibatua.pdf |date=2011-04-09 }}, retrieved 2010-10-04.</ref> is the official flag of the Basque Country Autonomous Community of Spain. This flag consists of a white cross over a green saltire on a red field.
The '''Ikurrina''' is also used informally and symbolically to represent Euskal Herria, the collective name for the seven historical territories of Basque ethnicity, language, and culture. This broader region includes not only the three provinces of the Basque Autonomous Community, but also Navarre and the three Basque provinces located in the French Basque Country.
==Terminology== The name is a neologism by Luis and Sabino Arana, from {{lang|eu|ikur}} 'mark, sign' (itself a neologism extracted from {{lang|eu|irakurri}} 'to read'), comparable to the Catalan {{lang|ca|Senyera}} and Faroese {{lang|fo|Merkið}}. In Basque, it has the generic meaning of 'flag', but especially that of the Basque Country, as defined by the Euskaltzaindia (Royal Academy of the Basque Language).<ref name=EuskaltzaindiaIkurrina /> The original Biscayne spelling of the Aranas was {{lang|eu|ikuŕiñ}} (the final {{lang|eu|-a}} is the Basque definite article, in singular). The modern standard Basque spelling is {{lang|eu|ikurrin}}.
==Design== [[File:Ikurrina Urgullen.jpg|thumb|The Ikurrina at the hill Urgull in San Sebastián (Gipuzkoa)]] [[File:Arrangoitzeko Herriko Etxea.jpg|thumb|The Ikurrina at the Town Hall in Arcangues (Labourd), 2012. The Ikurrina is the unofficial symbol of the Basque Country (''Euskal Herria'').]] Similar in pattern to the Union Jack, 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 (''Euskal Herria''). 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 Ikurrina 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 representing the province of Biscay) and many people thought that another flag must represent the entire country.
The red ground symbolizes the Biscayne people, 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 colors.
==History== 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 "ikurrina", at the suggestion of the socialist counselor Aznar, the Basque Government adopted it as the flag of the Basque Autonomous Region in 1936. This flag was used as the naval jack of the Basque Auxiliary Navy, a section of the Spanish Republican Navy operating in the Bay of Biscay during the Spanish Civil War.<ref>[http://www.marinavasca.eu/es/ La Marina de Guerra Auxiliar de Euzkadi 1936-1937]</ref>
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 Northern Basque Country.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Willis |first1=Craig |last2=Hughes |first2=Will |last3=Bober |first3=Sergiusz |title=ECMI Minorities Blog. National and Linguistic Minorities in the Context of Professional Football across Europe: Five Examples from Non-kin State Situations. |url=https://www.ecmi.de/infochannel/detail/ecmi-minorities-blognational-and-linguistic-minorities-in-the-context-of-professional-football-across-europe-five-examples-from-non-kin-state-situations |website=ECMI |access-date=27 March 2023}}</ref> In the following decades it became a symbol of defiance – the first actions of the clandestine group ETA involved placing flags in public places.
In 1976, during a derby match between Athletic Club Bilbao and Real Sociedad, players from both teams united to sneak in and display the illegal Basque flag, Ikurrina, at Atotxa Stadium. The act was successful, as the authorities took no action, and it became a significant step towards the legalization of the flag.<ref>[https://authenticbasquecountry.com/l/ikurrina-the-basque-flag/ The Basque Flag (Ikurrina) – A Brief History]</ref>
The Basque flag was legalised 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.
==Gallery== <gallery class="center"> File:Euskadi.jpg|A Basque flag. File:Ikurrinaren jatorrizko diseinua, 1894.jpg|Original design of Arana-Goiri brothers of Basque Flag or Ikurrina, 1894. File:Flag of the Basque Country by Sabino Arana.svg|Initial design of the Ikurrina. File:Flag of the Basque Country (original Arana proposal).svg|Original proposed flag to represent the entire Basque Country. File:Batasuna.svg|The Basque left-wing nationalist party Herri Batasuna used a logo inspired by the Ikurrina. File:Oiartzunen nafar ekitaldia.jpg|Riders with the Flag of Navarre, ''ikurrina'' and the ''Arrano beltza''. File:Abadiño bandera 2.JPG|Parade in Abadiño, Biscay.
File:Ikurrina, Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque, 2009.jpg|Ikurrina, Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque, 2009. File:20170514 Céret-Mauléon - 27.jpg|Mauleon SA rugby team. File:Castle of Mauleon, view to south-west.jpg|Castle of Mauléon-Licharre. 2017. File:Donibane Garaziko herriko etxea.jpg|Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, 4 flags in the Town Hall. </gallery>
==See also== {{Portal|Heraldry|Spain}} * The ''arrano beltza'' ("black eagle") is another flag often displayed by Basque leftist nationalists besides Ikurrina. * The flag of Navarre is also used by a sector of nationalism that considers the kingdom of Navarre as a precedent of a future Basque state. * The unofficial flag and the coat of arms of Saint Pierre et Miquelon (French North America) recognizes its Basque heritage by including an ikurrina. * Religion in national symbols * Basque people * Coat of arms of Basque Country (autonomous community) * Zazpiak Bat * Politics and sports
==References== {{Reflist}} * {{Cite journal |lang=es |title=Apuntes para la historia del nacionalismo vasco [Manuscrito] : las banderas de los ex-Estados históricos vascos o regiones autónomas |date=1930 |url=https://www.euskalmemoriadigitala.eus/handle/10357/3121 |author-link=Luis Arana (politician) | first=Luis| last=de Arana Goiri|website=Fundación Sancho el Sabio Fundazioa}} * {{FOTW|id=es-pv|title=Basque Country (Spain)}}
==External links== {{commons category|Ikurrina}}
{{Basque flags}} {{Spanish flags}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basque Country, Flag of}} Flag Category:Flags of Spain Category:National flags Category:Flags with crosses Category:Flags with green, red and white Category:Flags with rectangular symmetry