Norway is one of the Nordic countries, which gained independence not so long ago, in 1905, since then it uses its own symbol, rather than the distinctive signs of the countries, in whose subordination it was.
This is how the modern flag of Norway looks like:
History of the flag
The first registered flag was the symbol of the Kalmar Union, which included the countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula as well as Switzerland, Iceland and Greenland. Its colors are still unknown, but it was a cloth with a Scandinavian cross. It existed from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century.
After the collapse of the union, all the Norwegian lands were ceded to Denmark, so the Danish flag was used in the future. Later the country had a maritime one, looking like the Danish one, supplemented only by the Norwegian coat of arms in the upper left corner.
From 1815 Norway was part of the Swedish-Norwegian Union, and used the Swedish flag, to which was later added the coat of arms as a sign of identification. The idea of the modern flag originated at that time.
Description of the flag of Norway
It is a single-color cloth on which there is a blue Scandinavian cross with a white border, the vertical stripe of which is slightly offset from the center to the left, closer to the staff. Its width is equal to one eighth of the width of the cloth, and the white border is twice as thin.
The author of the idea and creator of the prototype is one of the members of the Danish Parliament, Frederik Melzer.
Flag colors
The three colors are red, blue and white.
It is believed that the colors are not unique, but are taken from both the Danish and Swedish flags. But their meaning is the same as that of France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and the United States.
Meaning of colors and flag symbol
- Red – the blood of warriors who valiantly defended the independence of the state in battles.
- Blue – the stormy sea and Norway’s belonging to the maritime powers.
- White – the desire for eternal peace in the world, innocence and purity.
- Their combination – freedom.
Other Flags
The symbol of the Navy is similar to the state symbol, but has a square rather than the classic rectangular shape.
The royal standard is a red cloth with a Norwegian golden lion.
Government and military flag.
Similar country flags
Icelandic flag: depicts the same symbolism, only the cloth is blue and the cross is red.
Finnish flag: has a white, – blue cross.
Danish flag: a red flag with a white cross.
Swedish flag: blue with a yellow cross.
The Norwegian flag is typical of the Scandinavians, but has its own memorable distinctive features that are not characteristic of others.
General information about Norway
| Official language | Norwegian (bukmol and nyunoshk) locally – Sámi |
| Capital | Oslo |
| Territory | 385 207 km² |
| Population | 5 367 580 people |
| Currency | Norwegian krone (NOK, code 578) |
| Phone Code | +47 |
