flag of Albania

On November 28, 1443, the national hero of Albania, a prince known as Skanderbeg (George Kastrioti), raised his flag over the fortress of Krujë in defiance of the Turks who ruled the country. His small mountainous nation was able to resist the forces of the Ottoman Empire, although after Skanderbeg’s death in 1468 independence was lost again. His flag was red and bore a black eagle, even today the symbol of Albania. Like the symbol of the Byzantine Empire to which it once belonged, Albania’s eagle is double-headed.

Albanian immigrants Faik Konitsa of Brussels and Querim Panarity of Boston popularized Skanderbeg in the late 19th century and revived his flag as a national rallying point for Albanians at home and abroad. Independence from Ottoman rule was finally proclaimed on November 28, 1912. Since that time various Albanian regimes—republic, monarchy, fascist corporate state, and communist people’s republic—have used the red flag with the double-headed black eagle. There has been no symbol over the heads of the eagle since the fall of communism. Prior to restoration of the simple flag on May 22, 1993, however, separate emblems (a star, a cross, a crown, etc.) had identified the different governments.