Flag of Skåneland
Encyclopedia
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
, the southernmost province of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
There are two other more official regional flags, one being the banner of arms of Skåne Regional Council
Skåne Regional Council
The Skåne Regional Council is the County Council of Skåne County in Sweden.Region Skåne was created on January 1, 1999, by the amalgamation of the County councils of Malmöhus County and Kristianstad County and some of the tasks handled by Malmö Municipality.Its county assembly is the highest...
(i.e. the county council), adopted 9 February 1999: On a field of blue a yellow crowned griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
head issuing from the bottom edge. Skåne County
Skåne County
Skåne County is the southernmost administrative county or län, of Sweden, basically corresponding to the historical province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronoberg and Blekinge. The seat of residence for the Skåne Governor is the town of Malmö...
, Skåne län, has also an official flag consisting of the banner of arms: On a field of yellow a red griffin head, crowned blue.
The cross flag is used by the Region when the Council is in session, alongside with the Swedish national flag, the European Union flag and the Council's own banner.
History
The Scanian cross flag is believed to have been created in 1902 at the private initiative of the historian Mathias Weibull, who based his design on the Nordic tradition of cross flagsNordic Cross Flag
The Nordic Cross Flag, Nordic Cross, or Scandinavian Cross is a pattern of flags usually associated with the flags of the Scandinavian countries of which it originated. All of the Nordic countries except Greenland have adopted such flags...
. It combines the red field of the flag of Denmark
Flag of Denmark
The national flag of Denmark, Dannebrog 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...
with the yellow cross of the flag of Sweden
Flag of Sweden
The flag of Sweden is a Scandinavian cross that extends to the edges of the flag. This Scandinavian cross represents Christianity. 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...
, reflecting the troubled history of the region.
A very disputed hypothesis claims that the flag is derived from the coat of arms of the Danish Archbishop of Lund, the Archbishop for all the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
from about 1100 until the separate Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
archdiocese was established in 1152 and the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
archdiocese in 1163. However, there is no evidence that this coat of arms or the corresponding banner was ever used by him. On the contrary, all sources agree that the archiepiscopal coat of arms depicted the gridiron of St. Lawrence, the patron saint of the Lund Cathedral
Lund Cathedral
The Lund Cathedral is the Lutheran cathedral in Lund, Scania, Sweden. It is the seat of the bishop of Lund of the Church of Sweden.- History :...
. This is still the coat of arms of the present diocese of Lund.
Similar flags
A flag of similar design, a yellow cross on a red field, was proposed as the flag of FinlandFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
before settling on a white field with a blue cross. It is sometimes used as an unofficial flag by the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland
Flag of the Swedish-speaking Finns
The flag of the Swedish-speaking Finns is an unofficial red flag with a yellow cross used in the Swedish-speaking parts of Finland to represent the Finland-Swedes. It may be flown in addition to the Finnish blue and white flag...
. The same colours appear in the Finnish coat of arms.
The same design, with proportions similar to those of the Swedish flag, was the official flag of the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
party Nasjonal Samling from 1933 until its dissolution in 1945. Red and yellow were considered the national colours of Norway, because they are found in the country's coat of arms. Norwegian myths claim that a yellow, or golden cross on a red background was used as King Olav Haraldson
Olaf II of Norway
Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...
's personal shield until his death at the battle of Stiklestad
Battle of Stiklestad
The Battle of Stiklestad in 1030 is one of the most famous battles in the history of Norway. In this battle, King Olaf II of Norway was killed. He was later canonized...
in AD 1030. This connection made the flag interesting to Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling was a Norwegian politician. On 9 April 1940, with the German invasion of Norway in progress, he seized power in a Nazi-backed coup d'etat that garnered him international infamy. From 1942 to 1945 he served as Minister-President, working with the occupying...
who saw his work as a continuation of King Olav's.