Flag of Norway

What the flag of Norway looks like

The Norwegian flag has a red field with a Scandinavian (Nordic) cross. The cross is dark blue and is bordered in white on all sides. The vertical arm of the cross is shifted toward the hoist, the side nearest the pole, which is the typical Nordic arrangement. The flag's proportions are 8:11.

The red field is by far the largest part of the flag, which is why the flag looks mostly red at a distance. The blue cross is twice as wide as each white border, so the white forms a thin outline. The same layout is used on the flags of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, each with its own colors. Only Norway and Iceland combine red, white and blue.

There are two official forms. The ordinary rectangular flag is used by everyone. The state flag, used by the government and military, has a swallow-tail cut at the fly and is known in Norwegian as splittflagg. A smaller version of the flag appears as the Norway flag emoji, and you can get an image from the download page.

Norway flag meaning and symbolism

The colors of the Norwegian flag do not have an official meaning, but common explanations exist. Red, white and blue were the colors of the French Revolution, and the designer is said to have chosen them to show support for liberty and democracy, the ideals of the revolutions in France and the United States. The same colors appear in the British flag and the American flag. Red and white also come from the Danish flag, which was used in Norway for centuries, so the new flag kept a link to the old one while adding blue.

The cross is a Christian symbol. All Nordic flags show it, and it recalls that Norway became a Christian kingdom in the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. In Norway, the cross also connects to the earlier Danish-Norwegian flag, the Dannebrog, from which the new flag developed. The blue-and-white layers of the cross are sometimes read as "water" and "snow", but this is a modern, popular reading.

History of the Norwegian flag

Norway was part of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway until 1814, and Norwegian ships sailed under the Danish flag, a white cross on red. The medieval kings of Norway had their own banners, with the red banner showing a golden lion (the Norwegian lion) being the best known, and it became the basis for the national coat of arms.

In 1814 Denmark gave Norway to Sweden. Norway adopted a constitution on 17 May and entered a union with Sweden, which allowed it to keep its own institutions. A version of the Danish flag with the Norwegian lion in the canton was used for a short time. In 1821 the Storting (parliament) approved a new flag for merchant ships on 13 July 1821. It had been proposed by Fredrik Meltzer, a member of parliament, and it was a red field with a white-bordered blue cross. The Swedish-Norwegian king approved it for use on merchant ships that year.

From 1844 the flag carried a "union mark" in the upper hoist corner, a symbol that showed the union with Sweden. Norwegians disliked it, and it was removed from the merchant flag in 1898, and the flag took the form it has today. Norway voted to dissolve the union in 1905, and the flag stayed the same.

During the German occupation of 1940-45, Norwegians used the flag as a sign of resistance, and flying it was forbidden. After the liberation in 1945, flags were flown everywhere. The Norwegian national day, 17 May, is the biggest flag day of the year, with children parading with flags in every town.

How the Norwegian flag is used

Flag days are regulated by law, and the flag is flown on public holidays and at official events. Etiquette says that it should be raised in the morning (8:00 in summer, 9:00 in winter) and lowered at sunset or by 21:00 at the latest. It should not touch the ground, and a dirty or torn flag should be replaced. Norwegians also fly the flag at private celebrations such as birthdays, and many houses have a flagpole.

Norway lies in northern Europe, and you can compare the flag with others on the European flags page.