🎃 Happy Halloween! 🎃
Hi, neighbor. My name’s Jorge and I change the flag out front about once a month. I created this site to easily share information about the flag currently flying. Thanks for stopping by!
While there is no officially recognized flag or coat of arms for Transylvania, as it is a historical and cultural region of central Romania and not a country on it's own, this flag and the coat of arms on it are generally recognized to represent Transylvania.
The flag and coat of arms were officially granted in 1765 by Maria Theresa, ruler of the Habsburg Dynasty when she established the Grand Principality of Transylvania. The symbols go back further, to at least 1580 when Prince Sigismund Báthory of Transylvania first recognized them as official symbols.
Today, the Transylvanian coat of arms is on the National Romanian Arms and, from 1849 to 1918, featured on the Hungarian coat of arms.
Interesting Spooky Season Facts
The real Vlad Dracula (also known as Vlad Tepes and, more infamously, as Vlad the Impaler) was not from Transylvania. He was from neighboring Wallachia.
Bram Stoker's villain in Dracula was originally named Count Wampyr. Stoker made the change late in the writing process after discovering the name Dracula in William Wilkinson's book An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia.
Stoker mistakenly believed "Dracula" meant "devil" in Romanian. It actually translates to "the dragon" (drac for "dragon" and -ul for "the"). Vlad's father, who was part of the Order of the Dragon, became known as Vlad Dracula, or Vlad the Dragon. The name passed down to Vlad the Impaler.
Prince Sigismund Báthory, the first to recognize the symbols today associated with Transylvania, was the cousin to the much more infamous Erzsébet Báthory, known as the Blood Countess. Personally, I think it was a frame up as she was a wealthy woman to whom the king owed money. What easier way to alleviate those debts than frame her for heinous acts?
Dracula was not the first vampire story by a long shot. The idea of vampires has deep roots in folklore around the world. Two earlier stories worth your time:
The Vampyre by John Polidori (1819). This story, falsely attributed to Lord Byron at first, was written at the same gathering where Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein.
Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu (1872). Stoker based much of his idea of vampires on this story.
Herefordshire, England
(Sept. 2026)
Herefordshire was one of three English counties without an official flag. In 2019, a design competition elected this design for the official flag.
The symbolism:
Red for the red earth of the county
Wavy white and blue lines for the River Wye
Bull's face for the famous Hereford cattle (who often have deep red fur)
Prior to 2019, the Herefordshire Council banner of arms was often used for a flag, and served as a strong influence for the current flag.
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Cabo Verde
(Aug. 2026)
Cabo Verde is small archipelagic nation of the coast of west Africa. They gained independence from Portugal in 1975. The tiny nation (approx. population of 530,000) captured the heart of the world with their surprising performance at the 2026 World Cup. The Cabo Verdeans went undefeated in the group stage where they faced two soccer heavyweights in Uruguay and Spain (who went on to win the cup). They were knocked out by Argentina in the first knockout round*.
Symbolism: Blue for the sky and sea, white for peace, red for efforts in nation-building, and the ten stars represent the ten islands that make up the archipelago of Cabo Verde.
*The refereeing of this game was suspect at best.
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Greenland
(July 2026)
Until 1985, Greenland hoisted the Danish flag since they are an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. Interest in developing a flag specifically for Greenland started in the early 1970s. After 10 years, this design was chosen, narrowly beating out a green and white Nordic cross, making this the only Nordic country or territory without a Nordic cross in the flag.
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Minnesota Pride
(June 2026)
One of the really neat things about the new Minnesota flag is how it can be altered to show support for various causes by replacing the light blue with another color or pattern. In this case, the Progress Pride flag colors are incorporated into the field of the Minnesota flag.
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Friesland
(May 2026)
The flag of the Dutch province of Friesland is often thought to have hearts on it, but it's actually red pompeblêden (leaves of the yellow water lily).
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Wessex
(April 2026)
Designed in 1970 to represent the Wessex region of England, the flag is based on the historic standard of the Kingdom of West Saxons, or Kingdom of Wessex, in the south of Great Britain.
The flag depicts a gold wyvern on a red field. The earliest depiction of this symbol appears in the Bayeux Tapestry as a war standard at the time of the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
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Women's Suffrage
(March 2026)
In recognition of Women's History Month, this is the Women's Suffrage flag, also known as the National Women's Party Ratification Flag, was created in 1919 by Alice Paul for use at rallies and pickets for the cause of women's suffrage.
Congress passed the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote on June 4, 1919, but it still needed to be ratified by three fourths of the states (36 of 48 at the time) to become national law. Stars were added to the flag as each state ratified the amendment with Tennessee being the 36th and final state on August 18, 1920.
Notes:
On September 8, 1919, Minnesota became the 15th state to ratify.
British suffragists used a gold, white, and green flag.
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Rebel Loon
This symbol was created in support of Minnesota's resistance to the federal government attempting to sow fear and mistrust in our communities by terrorizing our friends and neighbors. Based on the Rebel Alliance insignia from Star Wars, it features our state bird, the Loon, in the Rebel Alliance pose.
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Rebellious Stripes
The Rebellious Stripes used by the Sons of Liberty during the American Revolution.
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Flag of Gondor
The flag of Gondor is based the description Aragorn gives when he reveals his standard in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King:
“There flowered a White Tree, and that was for Gondor; but Seven Stars were about it, and a high crown above it.”
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Serapis Flag
The Serapis Flag is a historic American naval flag created out of necessity during the American Revolution.
In 1779, American naval commander John Paul Jones captured the British warship HMS Serapis and sailed it to the neutral Dutch port of Texel. Not having an American flag on hand, Jones had to commission one to avoid being arrested as a pirate. Using this description from Benjamin Franklin, a flag was quickly sewn to enter into Dutch records:
“It is with pleasure that we acquaint your excellency that the flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen stripes, alternately red, white, and blue; a small square in the upper angle, next the flagstaff, is a blue field, with thirteen white stars, denoting a new constellation.”