Is flag burning illegal in Germany?
Criminal offense
Reviling or damaging the national or state flags in public is a criminal offense.
Germany is one of 55 countries classified “Criminal offense” for flag desecration — 82% of the 67 with data. (Also searched as flag burning.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Flag desecration
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Netherlands
- Legal / protected speech There are no laws banning flag desecration, which is protected under freedom of expression.
- Austria
- Criminal offense Desecration of national and international symbols is illegal in Austria.
- Belgium
- Legal / protected speech Flag desecration is not illegal in Belgium.
- Switzerland
- Criminal offense Desecrating national emblems installed by public authority is a crime in Switzerland.
- Denmark
- Only foreign flags protected Desecrating the national flag is legal, but desecrating foreign flags is illegal under the penal code.
- Slovenia
- Criminal offense Desecrating the national flag is a criminal offense punishable by fine or imprisonment.
Other laws in Germany
- Blasphemy Laws
- Criminal offense
- Holocaust Denial
- Criminal offense
- Conversion Therapy
- Banned
Every law in Germany → · Where is burning the flag illegal? →
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.