Flag of Scania refers to two different flags, of which one is a banner of the provincial coat of arms featuring a griffin head, and the other is a flag with a

Scandinavian cross A Nordic cross flag is a flag bearing the design of the Nordic or Scandinavian cross, a cross symbol in a rectangular field, with the centre of the cross shifted towards the hoist. All independent Nordic countries have adopted such flags in t ...

, the Scanian Cross Flag. They both are used as a provincial flag representing

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...

( sv, Skåne), the southernmost province of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. While the banner only represents Scania, some southern Swedish historians and other authorities assert that the cross flag represents the entire former Eastern Denmark (

Skåneland Skåneland (Swedish and Danish) or Skånelandene (Danish) is a region on the southern Scandinavian peninsula. It includes the Swedish provinces of Blekinge, Halland, and Scania. The Danish island of Bornholm is traditionally also included.For p ...

), which is not just Scania but also

Blekinge Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second ...

and

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömsebro ...

. The flag is sometimes seen also in Blekinge, but rarely in Halland. The cross flag is used by the Region when the council is in session, alongside the Swedish national flag, the European Union flag and the council's own banner, so it's officially used. The traditional province of Scania also has ''arms'' bearing a red griffin head in a golden field, and the official flag of the province is thus a

banner of arms A banner of arms is a type of heraldic flag which has the same image as a coat of arms, ''i.e.'' the shield of a full achievement (heraldry), heraldic achievement, rendered in a square or rectangular shape of the flag. The term is derived from t ...

based on this arms. (But is next to never used as ''a flag'') The modern provincial authorities also use banners-of-arms, one being the banner-of-arms of Scanian Regional Council (i.e. the county council), adopted 9 February 1999: on a field of blue, a yellow crowned

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

head issuing from the bottom edge. County of Scania, ''Skåne län'', also has an official flag consisting of the

: on a field of yellow, a red griffin head, crowned blue.

Proportions

The Scanian cross flag has no firm rules related to its mathematical relationships, with the major exceptions, that it has to resemble either the Danish

Dannebrog Dannebrog (until the mid-20th century often spelled Danebrog) may refer to: Flags and orders * The national Flag of Denmark * Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen, links=no), a Royal Danish decoration Places * Dannebrog Island, an i ...

or the

Flag of Sweden The national flag of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges flagga) consists of a yellow or gold Nordic cross (i.e. a horizontal cross extending to the edges, with the crossbar closer to the hoist than the fly) on a field of light blue. The Nordic cross design t ...

, or somewhere in between these two flags. For instance, to base the Scanian flag on the

Flag of Finland The flag of Finland ( fi, Suomen lippu, sv, Finlands flagga), also called ' ("Blue Cross Flag"), dates from the beginning of the 20th century. On a white background, it features a blue Nordic cross, which represents Christianity. The state ...

or the English

Saint George's Cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross, the Cross of Saint George, is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with the cru ...

by changing the colours are both considered wrong, as the Cross on the Finnish flag is too wide and the English one has a different, symmetrical, cross.

History

The banner with the griffin head derives from the coat of arms, given to the province by the king of Sweden in the 1600s. It is the flag version of the coat. A disputed hypothesis claims that the cross flag is derived from the coat of arms of the Danish

Archbishop of Lund List of (arch)bishops of Lund. Until the Danish Reformation the centre of a great Latin (arch)bishopric, Lund has been in Sweden since the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. The Diocese of Lund is now one of thirteen in the Church of Sweden. Cathol ...

. and would thereby be older than the banner with the griffin head. The ''modern'' Scanian cross flag was for a long period believed to have been created in the 1870s at the private initiative of the historical professor Martin Weibull. But this was later denied by his son, Curt Weibull, who instead gave this credit to his uncle, Mathias Weibull, who also was a historical professor. Curt Weibull also stated that the modern flag was created first in 1902. His design is based on the Nordic tradition of cross flags. It combines the red field of the

flag of Denmark The national flag of Denmark ( da, Dannebrog, ) is red with a white Nordic cross, which means that the cross extends to the edges of the flag and the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. A banner with a white-on-red cross is ...

with the yellow cross of the

flag of Sweden The national flag of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges flagga) consists of a yellow or gold Nordic cross (i.e. a horizontal cross extending to the edges, with the crossbar closer to the hoist than the fly) on a field of light blue. The Nordic cross design t ...

, reflecting the troubled history of the region. The Swedish broadcaster SVT, in their regional news for

, aired on Tuesday 26 September 2017 the news, the chairman of Region Scania, the

Social Democrat Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

Henrik Fritzon Henrik Fritzon (born 3 July 1972) is a Swedish politician of the Social Democrats. He was the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Skåne Regional Council

, wants to make the flag of Scania official within the region, as it is "locally well-liked". The regional SVT-news did also encourage their viewer to vote at their website, and the outcome of 4827 votes became 55% for, 45% against.

References

External links

Scanian Cross Flag
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Skane Scania

Skane Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...

Flags displaying animals

Proportions

History

See also

References

External links