Norway

Norge, Noreg

Last modified: 2000-01-21 by phil nelson
Keywords: norway | scandinavian cross | cross |
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by Antonio Martins
Flag adopted 1821-JUL-17, coat of arms adopted 1937

• Dimensions of the flag
• Act of 1898 describing the flag
• Naval Jack
• Flag Pole
• Flag Flying Rules
• Pantone colors
• Roundel

See also:

• Clickable Map of Norway
• Historical Norwegian flags

Other official flags:

• Norwegian Royal Standard
• Minister of Defence
• Chief of Defence
• Post
• Customs
• Officer Rank Flags
• Coastal Artillery

Subnational flags:

• Dependencies
• Regional Flags
• County flags
• Arms of Norwegian kommuner
• City flags
• Cultural/Economic flags

Dimensions of the flag

The official proportions of the flag are 16:22, being divided horizontally 6:1:2:1:12 and vertically 6:1:2:1:6.
Yngvar Lundh, 29 August 1995

The dimensions of the swallow-tail flag are 6:1:2:1:6:11 horizontally and 6:1:2:1:6 vertically.
Mark Sensen, 25 September 1995

Act of 1898 describing the flag

Below is first the act of 1898 describing the flag (still in force). Note that it only relates to the merchant flag and the state flag(s). No mention of the flag being the national flag of Norway. I am quoting a brochure issued by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (no title, no date of publication),and the translation is theirs.

Act of 10th December 1898 relating to the Flag of the Realm of Norway

1

Norway's Merchant Flag shall be a dark blue cross, bordered with white, set on a bright red ground, its width in the proportion of 16 to 22 parts of its length. When flown from a mast or jack-staff, the two red quarters closest to the mast or jack-staff shall be squares, each with a side equal to six sixteenths of the width and six twenty-second parts of the length of the flag, while the two red rectangles furthest from the mast or jack-staff, both having the same width, shall comprise twelve twenty-second parts of the length of the flag. The width of the blue cross shall be equal to two sixteenths of the width of the flag, or two twenty-second parts of its length, while the width of the white border shall be equal to one sixteenth of the width of the flag or one twenty-second part of its length.

2

The flag as described in 1above shall be used on merchant vessels whenever in foreign harbours they wish to remain under the protection, or obtain the services, of embassies, consuls or commercial agents. On public buildings, mail and customs vessels,the same flag, but with a swallow-tail and tongue, shall be used, with this difference, however, that a white field shall be inserted in the centre of the mail and customs flag, bearing respectively the words "Post" or "Told", surmounted by a crown.

3

This Act shall come into force one year after the day on which it is published in "Lovtidenden" (Gazette).

The act was gazetted on 15th of December 1898, and the flag was hoisted a year later. The act is still in force, and the flags described by it are still seen. According to the spelling reforms early this century ('purging' the most Danish words), the customs has flag now got the word "Toll" on it.

The Norwegian flag did not originate with this act of 1898, but by a resolution by the Norwegian parliament, the Storting, in 1821. This was not sanctioned by the King, and a period of flag confusion started. As a merchant flag it could only be used on shorter distances, because of the threat from the pirates of North Africa. They did not recognize the flag, and having them do so would be too expensive for the young Norwegian state. On longer distances, therefore, the Swedish flag was used. From 1844 to 1898/99, the Norwegian flag was used, but with a Union mark in the upper hoist corner, consisting of the combined Norwegian and Swedish colours (the 'herring salad'). This was subject to great controversy and intense conflicts between Norwegian nationalists and unionists (and the Swedes). This was ended, for the merchant flag (that was what mattered most), by the Act quoted above. However, the state flag (flag for Government institutions/buildings and for the Navy and military installations) continued to bear the union mark until the dissolution of the union on 7th of June 1905. The "pure" Norwegian state and naval flag was hoisted two days later.

Until 1814 Norway was united with Denmark, and used the Dannebrog. In 1814 however, Norway went through a political revolution, declared itself independent and adopted a constitution. A flag was also adopted, adding only the Norwegianlion (facing the fly) to the Danish flag. It was used as a merchant flag on shorter distances (north of Cape Finisterre in Spain) from 27th of February 1814 until 6th May 1821, when the new 'pure' Norwegian flag took over. In 1815, Norway was forced to accept the decision of the great powers that Norway should enter into a union with Sweden (a personal union with a common king and foreign policy, amalgamation in most areas was resisted). From 1815 to 1838, a Swedish flag with the Norwegian colours, red with a white saltire, in the upper hoist corner, was used. Of course, the red and white colours were unpopular with the Swedes, who saw a design to reunite Norway with Denmark in the use of them. The uniforms of Norwegian civil servants were also red, but the Swedes replaced them with blue ones, in their efforts to eradicate any visible sign of Norway's Danish history.

The flag of 1821 was the idea of Frederik Meltzer, Member of Parliament from Bergen. He got the idea of adding a blue cross to the Danish flag during a meeting in the parliament. The discussion on the flag circled around considerations about reflecting the past, that is the Danish colours, which enjoyed great popularity, and considerations that the union with Sweden should also be reflected in the flag. So we can say that the red and white came from the Danish flag, the blue from the Swedish. At the same time, the colour combination red, white, blue was also attractive to the Parliament because it reflected the colours of liberty, as in the flags of France, the USA, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. A story, still told today,that it was Frederik Meltzer's young son Gerhard that came up with the idea of the flag, is not true.
Jan Oskar Engene, 30 August 1995

The red and white saltire design went out of use. It was never associated with a saint. The attribute of Norway's national saint, St. Olav, is an axe - the one seen on Norway's coat of arms, the royal banner, crown prince's banner, the flag of the Church of Norway, as well as some municipal flags. Thus the saltire could not really be called a national cross. It was just a practical design: a way to arrange the colours so that they were not similar in pattern to the Danish flag.
Jan Oskar Engene, 03 September 1995

Naval Jack

The jack - a square version of the national flag - is used by the Royal Norwegian Navy.
Jan Oskar Engene, 01 May 1996

I have seen a Norwegian cadet ship use the Olso flag as a jack when at anchor in San Francisco.

Also, see The Flag Bulletin # 179 p. 33 "In Scandinavian countries, where the jack closely resembles the ensign, merchant vessels often use the flag of the home port as a jack, a pleasant contribution to flag usage."
James Ferrigan, 11 August 1998

Flag Pole

Norwegian legislation does not say anything about the flagpole. Most often, there will be an ordinary knob on top of a flag pole, sometimes a spearhead. The flagpole itself is usually white.
Jan Oskar Engene, 03 May 1996

Rules for Flying the Norwegian Flag

* For the counties in the south (up to North Troendelag): From March until the end of October the flag is hoisted at 8 in the morning, and taken down no later that 9 in the evening (or when the sun is down). In the winter months the flag is hoisted at 9 in the morning and taken down at sunset.* For the three northern counties (Nordland, Troms and Finnmark): From November until the end of February the flag is hoisted at 10 in the morning and taken down as soon as 3 o'clock. The rest of the year, the flag is up at 8 in the morning and down at 9 in the evening.
Jan Oskar Engene, 06 August 1996

Pantone Colors of the flag

Semi-official PMS matches recommended by the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

-For printing:

Red: 032U
Blue: 281U

-For textiles:

Red: 186
Blue: 287

• "National Identity: Europeanisation or Globalisation? The case of the Norwegian Flag colours" (A non-official perspective)

White disc, fimbriated blue. In the disc, the Norwegian 'pennant' (red triangle with three thin white-blue-white bands in the middle).
Ivan Sache, 16 June 1997

A note about the design: The thickness of the white and blue parts should be in the same relationship as in the Norwegian national flag - that is the blue part should be twice as thick as the white parts.

I also checked with a history of the air force (Tom Arheim et al.: Fra Spitfire til F-16: Luftforsvaret 50 ar 1944-1994, Oslo, 1994), and found some more facts. The roundel was introduced in 1945. A variant had an extra white ring outside the blue one. From 1987 new regulations required the roundel to be outlined in black only, but this had not been put into effect when the book was published. It was said that the roundel in the national colours was to be reintroduced.
Jan Oskar Engene, 28 June 1997