Skip to content

Danish national flag

According to the legend, on 15 June 1219 the Danish flag Dannebrog fell down from the sky in Tallinn.
When 06.11.2023

The legend goes that during his crusade to Estonia Danish king Valdemar II was close to losing the Lyndanise battle near present day Tallinn, but suddenly a flag fell down from the sky. The luck of Valdemar II immediately changed and he won the battle.

If the legend of how Dannebrog became the Danish national flag were true, it would make it the World's oldest national flag still in use.

The first factual proof that Dannebrog was used to represent the King of the Danes can be traced back to 14th century, as it was incorporated in the coat of arms of King Valdemar III.

Up to 1854 the Dannebrog was solely the flag of the Danish King and the Royal Navy. Slowly it also became the Danish symbol of the army and the mercantile marine. Since 1854, private persons have been allowed to use the flag.

The word "Dannebrog" means "the cloth of the Danes".
The name of Tallinn is believed to derive from "Taani linn" (in Estonian "Danish Town").

Presently in Tallinn the Danish King's Garden in Old Town is marked with a memorial and information signs introducing the Dannebrog legend.