Half-mast in Austria – procedure and rules

Half-mast is the best-known form of mourning with flags. In Austria no law regulates it. How it is done is described by the Austrian Armed Forces’ flag order, an article by the Ministry of the Interior and the flag guide of the State of Styria – consistent in principle, slightly different in detail.

The procedure

The Armed Forces’ flag order describes it as follows:

1. The flag is first raised slowly to the top of the pole.
2. After a short pause at the top, it is lowered to half the height of the pole.
3. To take it down, it is raised to the top again and only then lowered.

The Ministry of the Interior’s 2006 article describes the same sequence and adds that on the morning of the day of the funeral the flag is set at half-mast and raised to full mast again after the burial. Styria puts it briefly: hoisted flags are raised to the top of the pole and then slowly brought to half-mast.

How high is half-mast?

In practice the flag hangs clearly below the top, but no lower than the middle of the pole. On a 7-metre pole, the lower edge is about 3.5 metres above the ground according to the Styrian description. How the halyard makes lowering possible is described in the guide to flagpole mechanics.

When half-mast is not possible

Not every flag can be set at half-mast. Under the Styrian flag guide, hanging flags, banners and portrait-format flags – including the vertical flags common in Austria – are not set at half-mast. They receive a mourning ribbon instead:

• a black band about 20 cm wide, tied into a bow,
• with ribbons about as long as the width of the flag,
• attached in the middle of the top edge on hanging flags and at the top of the pole on portrait flags, no longer than the short side of the flag.

The Armed Forces’ flag order also provides a black ribbon of two bands, each 20 cm wide, for hanging flags. A third option is the black flag. More in the guide to flags in mourning.

Who orders half-mast

For official buildings, half-mast is ordered. The Armed Forces’ flag order names state mourning ordered by the Federal Government and mourning ordered by a state government. One example is 10 June 2025: after the shooting at a school in Graz, Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker announced three days of state mourning. The Austrian flag flew at half-mast on all public buildings, and the following day the whole country held a minute’s silence at 10 a.m.

How long flags fly at half-mast

• State mourning or mourning in a federal state: for the period ordered.
• Death of a member of the Armed Forces: under the flag order, from the day after the death becomes known up to and including the day of the funeral.
• Mourning under the Styrian flag guide: from the day of the death or the order until dusk on the day of the burial.

There are no rules for private individuals. Those who join in state mourning often follow the duration of the official order.