Faroe Islands

The Dannebrog (Danish Banner) is the oldest national flag in current use. Its design dates, probably, from the thirteenth century and it has served as the national flag of Denmark since the sixteenth century. It was in Denmark that the custom of using a a forked or swallowtailed variant of the national flag for official purposes developed. The Danish Splittflag originated as a royal banner and later became the Danish war ensign. By the nineteenth century it was being used by all departments of the Danish government, military and civil, often with a distinctive badge in the canton.

The Swedish national flag dates from the sixteenth century and its colors are based on the Sweden's ancient royal coat of arms: three golden crowns on a field of blue. As in Denmark, a forked version of the flag is used for official purposes. Between 1815 and 1905 the Swedish flag was modified to reflect the personal union with Norway, first with a canton consisting of a white saltire cross on a field of red and than with the so-called Union Mark: the Swedish and Norwegian crosses conjoined.

Local Civil Ensign 1821-99   •   National Flag and Civil Ensign Since 1899

Union of Sweden & Norway  •  Civil Ensign 1815-44

Norway was united in a personal union with Sweden under the Swedish crown between 1815 and 1905. The country had been part of Denmark until 1814 and enjoyed a brief period of full independence (1814-15) before being joined to Sweden. The "union flag" for both countries was the Swedish flag with the addition of a white saltire cross on red in the canton for Norway. However, Norway was permitted to continue using the flag of the 1814-15 independence period—the Dannebrog with the Norwegian arms in the canton—as a civil ensign. This arrangement by no means suited the Norwegians, however, and the campaign for a distinctive national flag was to be long and acrimonious. In 1821 a distinctive Norwegian flag was adopted: the Dannebrog with a blue cross superimposed over the white cross. This flag was initially approved as a civil ensign for use in local waters only; not until 1899 did it become Norway's official national flag on land and civil ensign at sea. In distant waters the 1815 civil ensign continued in use, and the 1815 union flag was specified for all official purposes until 1844. In that year the 1815 civil ensign and union flag were abolished. In its place Sweden and Norway were to fly their national flags with the so-called Union Mark in the canton: the Swedish and Norwegian crosses conjoined. This symbol was derided by Norwegians as the "herring salad" and it disappeared from both Swedish and Norwegian flags when the union was dissolved in 1905.

Finland was an autonomous grand duchy within the Russian Empire until 1917 and an independent grand duchy until 1919, when plans for the establishment of a monarchy fell through and the country was proclaimed a republic. During the nineteenth century there had been various proposals for a Finnish national flag, many of which incorporated the Scandinavian cross. The flag eventually selected was a white flag with a blue Scandinavian cross. White represents the snows of the long Finnish winter, blue the country's numerous lakes, and the Scandinavian cross symbolizes Finland's links to the other Nordic nations.

National Flag

The flag of Iceland was adopted in 1915, when the island was still part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Earlier Icelandic flag proposals featured a white Scandinavian cross on a blue field, but this design was rejected by the King of Denmark, who felt that it was too similar to the royal flag of Greece. Accordingly, a red cross was superimposed on the white cross, producing a flag similar to that of Norway, but with blue and red reversed.

Shetland Islands