Record / DK-NAT-1854

Denmark

Dannebrog / the cloth of the Danes

NationalEuropeNordic crossOfficial geometry
Flag of Denmark
Wikimedia Commons asset / official ratio 28:37
Quick answer

Denmark’s rectangular national flag is a deep-red field with a white Nordic cross. Its official 28:37 construction divides vertically 12:4:12 and horizontally 12:4:21.

Specification

The ordinary rectangular Dannebrog, or stutflag, carries a white cross one seventh of the hoist. The two red fields at the hoist are square, while each outer field is one and three quarters times the side of an inner field.

Hoist : fly28 : 37
Vertical divisions12 : 4 : 12
Horizontal divisions12 : 4 : 21
Cross width1⁄7 hoist

Reference colors

Dannebrog redHEX #C8102E / Pantone 186 C rendering
WhiteHEX #FFFFFF / RGB 255, 255, 255

Construction notes

Begin with a 28-by-37 rectangle. The cross is four units wide and centered fourteen units from both the hoist and the upper edge. This leaves 12-unit square fields at the hoist and 21-unit fields at the fly. Denmark also uses swallowtailed state and naval forms, but those are separate constructions.

Historical record

The Dannebrog is documented as a royal symbol from the fourteenth century. A tradition associates it with the Battle of Lyndanise in 1219; the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs distinguishes that legend from the later documentary record. Private use of the rectangular flag was permitted in 1854, and modern law names Dannebrog as the national flag of the Danish Realm.

Source trail

Retsinformation: Foreign Service instruction, national symbols and flags ↗

Retsinformation: Act on Flag Flying ↗

Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs: national flag history ↗