Dannebrogen

Denmark

Name	Dannebrog
Use	Civil flag and ensign
Proportion	28:34 (14:17) to 28:37
Adopted	1748 (merchant ensign), 1842 (military flag), 1854 (private use on land); medieval predecessors (13th/14th c.)
Design	A red field charged with a white cross extending to the edges; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. Dimensions: 3:1:3 width / 3:1:4.5 to 3:1:5.25 length.
Variant flag of Denmark
Use	State flag and ensign
Proportion	56:107

The flag of Denmark (Danish: Dannebrog, pronounced [ˈdanəˌbʁoːˀ]) is red with a white Scandinavian cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side.

A banner with a white-on-red cross is attested as having been used by the kings of Denmark since the 14th century. An origin legend with considerable impact on Danish national historiography connects the introduction of the flag to the Battle of Lyndanisse of 1219. The elongated Nordic cross reflects the use as maritime flag in the 18th century. The flag became popular as national flag in the early 19th century. Its private use was outlawed in 1834, and again permitted in a regulation of 1854. The flag holds the world record of being the oldest continuously used national flag.

A red field charged with a white cross extending to the edges; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. In 1748, a regulation defined the correct lengths of the two last fields in the flag as  ⁶⁄₄. In May 1893 a new regulation to all chiefs of police, stated that the police should not intervene, if the two last fields in the flag were longer than  ⁶⁄₄ as long as these did not exceed  ⁷⁄₄, and provided that this was the only rule violated. This regulation is still in effect today and thus the legal proportions of the National flag is today 3:1:3 in width and anywhere between 3:1:4.5 and 3:1:5.25 in length.

No official nuance definition of "Dannebrog rød" exists. The private company Dansk Standard, regulation number 359 (2005), defines the red colour of the flag as Pantone 186c.

The white-on-red cross emblem originates in the age of the Crusades. In the 12th century, it was also used as war flag by the Holy Roman Empire.