Flag of Denmark

Dannebrog (roughly "Danish cloth" or "red cloth")

Denmark's flag is red with a white cross that reaches the edges, set closer to the flagpole than to the far end.

At a glance

Adopted: 1625a red banner with a white cross was used by Danish kings from the 14th century; it is recorded as the national flag from 1625, and its proportions were set by a regulation of 1748
Shape (height : width): 28:37
Capital: Copenhagen
Continent: Europe
Colours: red
white

What it means

White cross: a Christian cross; Denmark's was the first of the Nordic cross flags
Red field: no official meaning is given; red and white were simply the royal colours

Where it came from

A famous legend says the flag fell from the sky during the Battle of Lindanise in Estonia on 15 June 1219, helping King Valdemar II win. This story was written down only in the 1500s, so historians see it as a legend.

What we know for sure is that Danish kings used a red banner with a white cross from the 14th century. The earliest certain colour picture of it is in the Gelre Armorial, a Dutch book of coats of arms from around 1340 to 1370. Why the kings chose it is unknown.

History

The name Dannebrog appears in a Danish text in 1478. The flag was recognised as the national flag in 1625, and a regulation of 1748, still in force, sets its shape: square fields near the pole and longer fields on the far side.

A swallow-tailed version, the Splitflag, is used by the state and the navy. For a while in the 1800s ordinary people were not allowed to fly the flag, but that ban was lifted in 1854.

Fun facts

Guinness World Records lists the Dannebrog as the oldest national flag in continuous use.
Its offset Nordic cross was copied by Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
A red pig with a white band, nicknamed the Danish Protest Pig, is said to have been bred to look like the flag when Danes under Prussian rule could not fly it, but this story may be a legend.
Early red dye for the flag came from the root of the madder plant.

Easy to mix up with

Switzerland: Switzerland is also red and white, but it is square with a short, centred cross that does not touch the edges
Norway: Norway uses the same red field and white cross but adds a blue cross inside the white one

Questions

What does the flag of Denmark look like?

Denmark's flag is red with a white cross that reaches the edges, set closer to the flagpole than to the far end.

What do the colours and symbols on the flag of Denmark mean?

White cross: a Christian cross; Denmark's was the first of the Nordic cross flags; Red field: no official meaning is given; red and white were simply the royal colours.

When was the flag of Denmark adopted?

The current flag of Denmark was adopted on 1625. (a red banner with a white cross was used by Danish kings from the 14th century; it is recorded as the national flag from 1625, and its proportions were set by a regulation of 1748)

What colours are on the flag of Denmark?

The flag of Denmark uses red and white.

Which flag is easy to mix up with the flag of Denmark?

It is easy to mix up with the flag of Switzerland. Switzerland is also red and white, but it is square with a short, centred cross that does not touch the edges