Flag of Melilla

What the flag looks like

A light blue field with Melilla's coat of arms in the center: a crowned shield flanked by the two Pillars of Hercules, under a scroll bearing a Latin motto.

What it means

The coat of arms comes from the Dukes of Medina Sidonia, whose forces took Melilla for Spain in 1497; the Pillars of Hercules are the old symbol of the Strait of Gibraltar.

How to remember it

Melilla is a busy crowned shield between two white columns on a plain sky-blue field.

Fun facts

• The motto Praeferre patriam liberis parentem decet, "a parent should put the homeland before his children", comes from the house of Medina Sidonia.
• The coat of arms was granted by King Alfonso XIII in 1913; the flag itself became official with Melilla's autonomy statute in 1995.

Melilla at a glance

Status

Autonomous city of Spain

Sovereign state

Spain

Capital

Melilla

Region

Autonomous city of Spain

Population

87,067

Area

12 km²

Languages

Spanish

Currency

Euro (€)

Flag adopted

1995