The
flag of Åland refers to the geographical and political position of the
FinnishFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
islands of Åland just off the coast of
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
: it is the
Swedish flagThe flag of Sweden is blue with a yellow Scandinavian cross that extends to the edges of the flag. The design and colours of the Swedish flag are believed to have been inspired by the present Coat of arms of Sweden of 1442, which is blue divided quarterly by a cross pattée of gold, and modelled on...
defacedThe design and description of flags typically uses specialised flag terminology with precise and technical meanings, and is hence a form of jargon.-Description of standard flag parts and terms:...
by a red cross symbolising Finland
. (Today, blue and white are considered
the Finnish coloursThe flag of Finland , also called Siniristilippu , dates from the beginning of the 20th century. It features a blue Nordic cross on a white background. The state flag has a coat of arms in the centre, but is otherwise identical to the civil flag. The swallow-tailed state flag is used by the military...
, but in the early days of Finnish nationalism, red and yellow from the
Finnish coat of armsThe Coat of arms of Finland is a crowned lion on a red field, the right forepaw replaced with an armoured hand brandishing a sword, trampling on a saber with the hindpaws...
were also an option.
)
The flag has been the official flag of the autonomous Finnish province of Åland since 1954.
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The
flag of Åland refers to the geographical and political position of the
FinnishFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
islands of Åland just off the coast of
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
: it is the
Swedish flagThe flag of Sweden is blue with a yellow Scandinavian cross that extends to the edges of the flag. The design and colours of the Swedish flag are believed to have been inspired by the present Coat of arms of Sweden of 1442, which is blue divided quarterly by a cross pattée of gold, and modelled on...
defacedThe design and description of flags typically uses specialised flag terminology with precise and technical meanings, and is hence a form of jargon.-Description of standard flag parts and terms:...
by a red cross symbolising Finland
. (Today, blue and white are considered
the Finnish coloursThe flag of Finland , also called Siniristilippu , dates from the beginning of the 20th century. It features a blue Nordic cross on a white background. The state flag has a coat of arms in the centre, but is otherwise identical to the civil flag. The swallow-tailed state flag is used by the military...
, but in the early days of Finnish nationalism, red and yellow from the
Finnish coat of armsThe Coat of arms of Finland is a crowned lion on a red field, the right forepaw replaced with an armoured hand brandishing a sword, trampling on a saber with the hindpaws...
were also an option.
)
The flag has been the official flag of the autonomous Finnish province of Åland since 1954. It was first hoisted in the capital
MariehamnMariehamn is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city...
on 3 April 1954
.
Prior to autonomy, an unofficial horizontal bicolour triband of blue-yellow-blue was in use
.
The
flag of OrkneyThe new official Orkney Community Flag was the winner of a public flag consultation in February and March 2007. In the flag consultation the people of Orkney were asked for their preferred design from a short list of 5 , all of which had been approved by the Court of the Lord Lyon...
in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, created in 2007, is the exact opposite of the flag of Åland; much in the same way as the
flag of IcelandThe flag of Iceland was officially described in Law No. 34, set out on 17 June 1944, the day Iceland became a republic. The law is entitled "The Law of the National Flag of Icelanders and the State Arms" and describes the Icelandic flag as follows:...
is the opposite of the
flag of NorwayThe flag of Norway is red with an indigo blue Scandinavian cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog, the flag of Denmark...
.
External links
Flag of Europe