Country profile: Denmark

The Danish flag, known as the Dannebrog, is regarded as the oldest national flag still in use. According to legend, it fell from the sky on 15 June 1219, at the Battle of Lyndanisse, near present-day Tallinn in Estonia, when the troops of King Valdemar II were in difficulty. The story is only recorded from the 16th century onwards.

The earliest reliable depiction of a red banner with a white cross associated with the King of Denmark appears in the Gelre Armorial, produced in the 14th century. The flag was first that of the King and his armies, and then spread among the population during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Dannebrog served as a model for all the Nordic flags: Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland adopted its cross offset towards the hoist. 15 June (Valdemarsdag, ‘Valdemar's Day’) is Flag Day, and the 800th anniversary of the legend was celebrated in 2019.

The Dannebrog has no official symbolism, but its two elements are generally interpreted as follows:

• White cross: the Christian faith, since according to legend the flag appeared during a crusade in the Baltic lands.
• Red field: the colour of medieval war banners, often associated with courage.

The name Dannebrog is generally understood to mean ‘the cloth of the Danes’ or ‘the Danish flag’.

Danes use their flag far more often than most other peoples: it decorates birthday cakes, Christmas trees and festive tables, and it is raised in gardens for important family occasions.

Custom has it that the flag should not be raised before 8 a.m. and should be lowered at sunset. Since 1915, it has also been forbidden to fly a foreign flag in Denmark without permission, with exceptions that include the flags of the Nordic countries, the European Union and the United Nations.

In Tallinn, a small garden at the foot of Toompea Hill, the ‘Danish King's Garden’, commemorates the place where, according to legend, the flag fell from the sky.