Saale-Orla district: Schools will be permanently flagged!

Saale-Orla district: Schools will be permanently flagged!

Something is happening in the lush Saale-Orla district: The district was the first in Thuringia to decide to permanently fly flags in front of around 40 public schools. This emerges from a decision that was recently made. The local district flag, the Thuringian flag, the German flag and the European flag are planned. A real eye-catcher that will soon decorate the schoolyards!

But when will the colorful spectacle finally be on the masts? Unfortunately, the students and teachers still have to be patient: implementation is not expected before the summer holidays. In the coming weeks, the first plan is to check the existing flagpoles, because ultimately we want to make sure that everything is flying properly. Where only one flag can be set, the German flag will initially fly highest, while the other colors will gradually follow.

Positive feedback and outlook

The response to this initiative to put flags in schools is generally positive. District Administrator Christian Herrgott reports that there is increasing discussion in other Thuringian districts about a similar approach. Things will be particularly exciting in Sömmerda, where the district council has already decided to permanently hoist the flags of Germany, Europe and the district in front of public buildings. Here too, a test for schools is in the works.

However, the opening pleasure should not take place without the other districts. The wheels of the flag are only slowly rolling in Gotha and Nordhausen. There will be no permanent flagging on official buildings there for the time being. The district administrator of Nordhausen, Matthias Jendricke (SPD), supports the idea of ​​flying the flag, but would like to wait for a decision from the state parliament.

Another look outside the box

Elsewhere, for example in the Jerichower Land in Saxony-Anhalt, people have already responded to an AfD request for a flag, which has sparked interesting discussions. Maybe the example from Thuringia will be copied there too? At least there is already progress in Weimar and Greiz: In Greiz the colors of the EU, Germany, Thuringia and the district are being hoisted, while in Weimar flags are already hanging on the town hall and other municipal buildings.

A special regulation applies to the flagging of public buildings in Thuringia, which states that municipalities can decide independently whether they want to fly flags on their official buildings. At the highest state authorities, however, the Thuringian state service flag, the federal flag and the European flag fly every day.

Flags with meaning

An interesting aspect is that flagging should also be discussed in class. This always has an identity-building effect - the students can deal with the symbols of their homeland and discuss them during class. But that's not all: Did you know that the flag is raised regularly on certain occasions, including the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of National Socialism or the Day of German Unity? The correct arrangement of the flags is also important: from left to right the European flag, the federal flag, the state flag and finally the flags of the municipalities are shown.

Overall, it can be seen that the discussion about permanent flagging of public buildings and schools in Thuringia is gaining momentum. It remains exciting to see how the situation will develop in the coming months - and whether the trend will also take hold in other regions. The signs point to a flag storm!