Oldest European tricolour: Facts and History of Netherlands flag
Dating back in 1572, the national flag of Netherlands is one of the oldest flags of the world still being in use nowadays.
Being horizontally positioned, the blue, white and red colour stripes stand as symbol for the Dutch people for a long time, but experienced several changes throughout the years.
The facts and history of Netherlands flag considered true are related to the change of the red colour stripe into orange for honoring William I of Orange who fought for Netherland’s independence.
There is no constitutional symbolism attributed to the three colours, but they are considered by most of the people to signify courage (blue), peace (white), royalty and sacrifice (red).