Catalonia Flags – Senyera, Estelada, Bunting & Hand Flags

The Catalan flag: the Senyera and the Estelada

The flag of Catalonia, the Senyera, is four horizontal red bars on a gold field. It comes from the arms of the Counts of Barcelona and the Crown of Aragon, recorded on seals from the twelfth century, which makes it one of the oldest flag designs still in daily use in Europe; the same bars appear in the flags of Aragon, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. The Senyera is the official flag of the autonomous community of Catalonia under its Statute of Autonomy and flies from the Generalitat, town halls and balconies across the region. The Estelada, the starred flag, adds a blue triangle at the hoist with a white five-pointed star to the four bars; it dates from 1918, with the star borrowed from the Cuban and Puerto Rican flags, and is the flag carried by supporters of Catalan independence. We stock both: the Catalonia flag and the Estelada flag, each in the full range of sizes, grades and formats.

The Diada, Sant Jordi and Barça

The Diada Nacional de Catalunya on 11 September is the national day, marked with floral offerings at the Rafael Casanova monument in Barcelona, the Senyera on every balcony and large street gatherings. Sant Jordi on 23 April, the day of books and roses, is the other date the flag is everywhere, and the castells, the human towers built by the colles in Tarragona, Vilafranca and Valls, parade under the Senyera through the summer festa majors. Catalan communities in London, Manchester and Edinburgh hold Diada dinners, calcotades in late winter and Sant Jordi book stalls, and the flag goes to the football for FC Barcelona, whose crest carries the four bars, for Girona and Espanyol, and for Catalan cyclists, swimmers and motorcycle racers.

Which size and grade

The 5ft x 3ft suits a balcony, a pole or a bar wall; the 3ft x 2ft a window, a desk wall or a short pole; the 8ft x 5ft a casal hall or a large fixed pole; and the 20x12in a car or a hand pole. Flagtex is the lighter printed polyester for indoor displays and short use outside, and DuraFlag the knitted heavyweight with double-stitched hems for a flag that stays on a balcony through the year. Both come with a sewn header and brass eyelets, and the DuraFlag can be had with clips or rope and toggle. The Estelada is offered in the same sizes and grades.

Catalonia bunting

Catalonia bunting is a string of rectangular Senyera pennants on a tape in 3m and 9m lengths, with Estelada bunting in the same lengths. A 3m run dresses a bar counter or a doorway for Sant Jordi; a 9m run goes along a hall or across a balcony for the Diada. The polyester pennants are printed on both sides and will take the weather.

Hand flags and table flags

Catalonia hand flags and Estelada hand flags on wooden sticks come in 9x6in and 18x12in for the Diada, the castells and the football. The Catalonia table flag is 6x4in on a base, with the Estelada table flag to match, and the large wooden table flag at 18x12in suits a casal or a restaurant desk. Spain, Valencia, the Basque Country and Aragon flags are under world flags.

Catalan flag FAQs

Popular in this collection

• Catalonia Flag (20x12in to 8x5ft, Flagtex or DuraFlag)from £6.99
• Estelada Flag (20x12in to 8x5ft, Flagtex or DuraFlag)from £6.99
• Catalonia Bunting (3m or 9m)from £9.98
• Estelada Bunting (3m or 9m)from £9.98
• Catalonia Hand Flags (9x6in, 18x12in)from £5.99
• Catalonia Table Flag 6x4in with Basefrom £1.98