What three colors form Germany's national flag, from top to bottom?

Germany’s national flag is black, red, and gold from top to bottom. It is a horizontal tricolour of three equal bands, with black at the hoist-side top, red in the center, and gold at the bottom.

The colour combination became associated with German national unity and liberal politics during the 19th century. It was strongly linked to the Lützow Free Corps during the Napoleonic Wars, whose uniforms were black with red details and gold buttons. The colours later appeared prominently at the Hambach Festival of 1832 and in the revolutions of 1848.

Germany has not always used this design. The German Empire and the North German Confederation used black, white, and red, while the Weimar Republic restored black-red-gold in 1919. The Federal Republic adopted it again in 1949, and reunified Germany retained it after 1990.

“Gold” is the official term, even though the bottom stripe often looks yellow in printed or digital versions.