The flag of the Faroe Islands (in faroese: ''Merkið'') is an offset cross, representing

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. It is similar in design to other Nordic flags – a tradition set by the ''

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 ...

'' of Denmark, of which the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

are an autonomous territory.* * * The flag is called ''Merkið'', which means "the banner" or "the mark". It resembles the flags of neighbouring

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

Description and symbolism

The design of the flag incorporates a red

Nordic 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 ...

, which is offset to the left. The red cross is

fimbriated In heraldry and vexillology, fimbriation is the placement of small stripes of contrasting colour around common charges or ordinaries, usually in order for them to stand out from the background, but often simply due to the designer's subjective ...

azure and is set on a white field. The flag design closely resembles that of the

Norwegian flag The national flag of Norway ( nb, Norges flagg; nn, Noregs flagg; ) is red with a navy blue Scandinavian cross fimbriated 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 ...

, with the fimbriated cross. White symbolises the creators of the flag, the foam of the sea and the pure, radiant sky of the Faroe Islands, while the old Faroese blue and red colours are reminiscent of other Scandinavian and Nordic flags, representing the Faroe Islands' bonds with other Nordic countries.Smith/Neubecker: Wappen und Flaggen aller Nationen. München 1981;

Colours

The specific colours of the flag are defined in a 1959 law.

History

The modern Faroese flag was devised in 1919 by

Jens Oliver Lisberg Jens Oliver Lisberg (24 December 1896 – 31 August 1920) (Jens Olivur Lisberg in modern Faroese) was one of the designers of the ''Merkið'', the flag of the Faroe Islands. While a law student in Copenhagen, he devised the flag in 1919 with ...

and others while they were studying in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. The first time Merkið was raised in the

was on 22 June that year in

Fámjin Fámjin ( da, Famien) is a village located on the western side of Suðuroy, the southernmost island in Faroe Islands. Fámjin is looking directly out to the North Atlantic Ocean. Name Geography The village of Fámjin faces the ocean, althou ...

on the occasion of a wedding. On 25 April 1940, the British occupation government approved the flag for use by Faroese vessels, during the tenure of

Carl Aage Hilbert Carl Aage Hilbert (27 March 1899 – 17 October 1953), born in Copenhagen to Doretha Marie (née Barnucka) and Emil Christopher Hilbert, was the Danish Prefect of the Faroe Islands from 1936 until 1945. During this period, the Faroe Islands had the ...

as Danish prefect. Britain did not want the same flag as German-occupied Denmark to be used. April 25 is still celebrated as Flaggdagur and it is a national holiday. With the Home Rule Act of 23 March, 1948, the flag was recognized by the

Danish Government The Cabinet of Denmark ( da, regering) has been the chief executive body and the government of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1848. The Cabinet is led by the Prime Minister. There are around 25 members of the Cabinet, known as "ministers", all of wh ...

as the national flag of the Faroes. The original flag is displayed in the church of

Suðuroy Suðuroy (literally South Island, da, Suderø) is the southernmost of the Faroe Islands. The island covers 163.7 square kilometres (63.2 sq mi). In 2018 the population was 4,601. Suðuroy region (sýsla) comprises this island and Lítla ...

Notes

References

*
Learn about the Flag of Faroe islands
on Faroeisland.fo {{Authority control 1940 establishments in the Faroe Islands

National symbols of the Faroe Islands

Faroe

Description and symbolism

Colours

History

See also

Notes

References