This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website

Tarifa (Municipality, Andalusia, Spain)

Last modified: 2019-01-12 by ivan sache
Keywords: tarifa |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors



[Flag]

Flag of Tarifa, as seen on 7 November 2009 in the harbour - Image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 December 2009


See also:


Presentation of Tarifa

The municipality of Tarifa (18,085 inhabitants in 2013; 41,967 ha; municipal website) is located in the extreme south of Spain, 100 km south-east of Cádiz.

Ivan Sache, 2 December 2009


Symbols of Tarifa

The flag (photo, photo, photo) of Tarifa is prescribed by Decree No. 17, adopted on 25 January 1994 and confirmed by a Resolution adopted on 30 November 2004 by the Government of Andalusia and published on 20 December 2004 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 246, pp. 28,986-29,002 (text).
. The flag is described as follows:

Flag: Rectangular panel in proportions 2:3, made of three horizontal stripes, the upper stripe, red with three yellow keys placed vertically, the central stripe, white, and the lower stripe, blue, in respective proportions 2:3, 1:6, and 1:6.

The flag was adopted on 12 June 1992 by the Municipal Council and inaugurated on 21 September 1992. [Tomás Rodríguez, Aljaranda, Revista de Estudios Tinerfeños, September 1992]

The coat of arms of Tarifa, adopted on 22 November 2005 by the Municipal Council and submitted on 15 December 2005 to the Directorate General of the Local Administration, is prescribed by a Resolution adopted on 12 January 2006 by the Directorate General of the Local Administration and published on 30 January 2006 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 19, pp. 33-34 (text).
The modifed coat of arms is described as follows:

Coat of arms: Gules on waves azure and argent a castle or surrounded by three keys or one on each side and the third in base per fess. A bordure argent inscribed with the motto "ESTOTE FORTES IN BELLO" in letters sable. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown open.

The castle, a symbol of force, recalls the fortress owned by the Guzmán. The waves represent the sea. The keys are a symbol of control and vigilance; the key placed on the waves recalls that Tarifa was one of the keys of spain, as was Gibraltar before being lost. The two keys flanking the castle recall that the castle was the sole safeguard of the two keys of the Strait. Ignacio López de Ayala (Historia de Gibraltar, 1782) indeed reports an old rhyme, "The house of Guzmán has the key of the one and the other sea" (that is, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea). Another explanation says that the keys are an allusion to the three gates of Guzmán's castle: the gate of Aljaranda, the gate of Almedina and the gate of the Sea.
[Símbolos de las Entidades Locales de Andalucía. Cádiz (PDF file); José Antonio Delgado y Orellana. Heráldica Municipal de la Provincia de Cádiz (1969)]

Klaus-Michael Schneider & & Ivan Sache, 30 March 2014


Flag used during the inauguration

[Flag]

Earlier flag of Tarifa - Image by Ivan Sache, 30 March 2014

The flag hoisted during the inauguration ceremony (photo), held on 21 September 1992, had the key's wards turned to the hoist.

Ivan Sache, 30 March 2014


Submunicipal entities

Facinas

[Flag]

Flag of Facinas - Image from the Símbolos de Cádiz website, 7 May 2014

The submunicipal entity of Facinas (1,307 inhabitants in 2009) is located 20 km of Tarifa.

The flag and arms of Facinas, submitted on 16 February 2010 by the Municipal Council to the Directorate General of the Local Administration, are prescribed by a Resolution adopted on 22 February 2010 by the Directorate General of the Local Administration and published on 5 March 2010 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 44, p. 15 (text).
The symbols are described as follows:

Flag: Rectangular flag in proportions 3:2 (length on width), vertically divided in three stripes of equal length: green at hoist, the central white, and blue at fly. In the middle, the local coat of arms in height 6/10 of the flag's width.
Coat of arms: Spanish shield. Quarterly, 1. Azure a water mill argent, 2. Vert three wheat spikes or per fess, 3. Gules three keys or, 4. Argent a cork oak eradicated vert the trunk and branches proper. The shield surmounted by a Royal Spanish crown closed.

The colours of the flag are those of the fields of three of the quarters of the coat of arms. The three keys are taken from the coat of arms of Tarifa.
[Símbolos de Cádiz website]

Ivan Sache & Klaus-Michael Schenider, 7 May 2014