National symbols of Republic of Moldova

The State flag of the Republic of Moldova

The State flag of the Republic of Moldova is a tricolour. It is the official symbol of the Republic of Moldova. It symbolizes the past, the present and the future of the Moldovan State, reflecting its democratic principles, the traditions and history of Moldovan people, equal rights, friendship and solidarity amongst all the State’s citizens.

The State flag of the Republic of Moldova - the tricolour - represents a rectangular cloth formed of three equal coloured parts. The colours are arranged vertically in the following order from the flagpole: blue, yellow, red. The coat of arms is printed on the central yellow stripe of the tricolour. The proportion between the width of the coat of arms and the length of the flag is 1:5; the proportion between the width and the length of flag is 1:2.

The State coat of arms of the Republic of Moldova

The coat of arms of the Republic of Moldova consists of a shield divided horizontally into two parts: the upper part is red, and the lower part is blue with a superimposed auroch's head showing between its horns an eight-pointed star. On its right the auroch's head is flanked by a five-petalled rose, and on its left by a slightly rotated crescent. All heraldic elements present on the shield are of golden (yellow) colour. The shield is laid on the breast of a natural eagle holding in its beak a golden cross, in its right claw a green olive-tree branch and in its left claw a golden sceptre.

The State anthem of the Republic of Moldova

"Limba noastră" is the national anthem of the Republic of Moldova since 1994. For a short period before that, the official anthem of the country was Deșteaptă-te, române!, which is also the national anthem of Romania. The lyrics were written by Alexei Mateevici (1888-1917) a month before his death. Mateevici contributed significantly to the national emancipation of Bessarabia. The music for the anthem was composed by Alexandru Cristea (1890-1942).

The focus of "Limba noastră", written in a romantic style, is the national language. It calls for the people to revive the usage of their native language. The poem does not make a named reference to the language; it is only called poetically "our language". "Limba noastră", like "Deșteaptă-te, române!", makes reference to the awakening from the sleep of death: "a people suddenly awaken from the sleep of death" and "awaken, Romanian, from the sleep of death", respectively.

The original poem contains four stanzas of twelve verses each. For the anthem, the verses were selected and reorganised in five stanzas of four verses each.

Today, only verses 1, 2, 5, 9, and 12 are used in the national anthem.