The Scandinavian Flags

Among Scandinavian flags, all flags show the Scandinavian Cross (also called Nordic Cross or Crusader's Cross). The "Cross Flag" is Scandinavia's historic flag pattern showing a + stretching to all four sides of the flag. The vertical bar of the Scandinavian Cross isn't centered on the flag, but is moved toward the flag's left side (hoist).

All of the Scandinavian countries use this basic traditional design on their flags, and show similarities. The Scandinavian countries individualize their flags in color and other (minor) flag details. Due to the individualization of the Scandinavian flags, they are easy to distinguish.

The very first flag showing the Scandinavian Cross was Denmark's national flag, called the Dannebrog in Danish. Later, the flag's cross design was adopted by other countries in the Nordic region although the colors differed. The flag colors have very specific meanings for each Scandinavian country. The first flag with three colors was the flag of Norway.