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Grand Duchy of Finland

Merchant flag of Finland, 1809-21
Nyland Yacht Club
- Yacht club flag model of 24, May, 1882
- Yacht club flag model of 18 January 1910
Proposals
Finnish Department of Pilots and Customs, 1902

See also:

Background

The Grand Duchy of Finland was ceded to Russia in 1809 after Sweden lost the War of Third Coalition. It became an autonomous territory in union with the tsar, but in the period of 1899 to 1917 the Grand Duchy suffered under the Russification policies. In 1917 Finland proclaimed independence from Russia and with aid from the Germany it became independent after a civil war (1917-19).

Flags of the Grand Duchy

1. Merchant flag of Finland, 1809-21

by Zeljko Heimer

The blue ensign with the Russian tricolour in the canton. The flag was initially prescribed but was relatively soon revoked and the normal Russian merchant ensign was to be used by Finnish ships as well. The Finnish merchant fleet was the main part of the Russian merchant navy anyway (and the Russian merchant ensign was, apparently, often referred as Finnish by the seamen of the time).

Nyland Yacht Club

2. Nyland Yacht Club, Yacht club flag model of 24, May, 1882

by Zeljko Heimer

The white flag with blue slightly off-set cross throughout and the Yacht Club badge in the canton.¹ The badge consists of the traditional coat of arms of the province of Nyland (Uusimaa) within a wreath of (oak?) leaves and a blue ribbon. The coat of arms is azure boat or between two wavy bars argent and is topped with a baronial coronet.

3. Nyland Yacht club, Yacht club flag model of 18 January 1910

[Nyland Yacht Club, 1961-1919, alternate]

by Zeljko Heimer

A variant of the NYC flag is shown. This one is as previous but with the badge in the hoist lower quarter, while the canton is occupied with the Russian tricolour.

This is the usual pattern of the Russian yacht club ensigns of the time. The NYC flag is considered to be the root of the current Finnish national flag, though they way of adoption was not straight and simple. In any case, the NYC ensign was very popular on private boats of the period.

Proposals

4. Proposal in Helsingfors Dagblad 1863

by Zeljko Heimer

(from sewn examples in Turku Provincial Museum and Satakunta Museum)

A Red flag with blue fimbriated yellow cross.

This is different from the proposals shown currently on FOTW, this real sewn flags has regular, not Scandinavian, crosses.

5. Proposal by Carl Fredrik Forsman in Finlands Almänna Tidningar

by Zeljko Heimer

Date: 1.6.1863 (national flag)

Yellow and red horizontal bicolour.

6. idem (merchant flag)

by Zeljko Heimer

Red flag with thin yellow cross (not Scandinavian).²

Finnish Department of Pilots and Customs, 1902

7. Chief of Department Pennant

by Zeljko Heimer

White triangular pennant with rounded tip, with a blue cross and a black compass rose in the canton.

This and the following flags are Russian in layout - but maybe they were being used in Finland only? In any case, the caption says Finnish Department of Pilots and Customs.

8. Department Flag

by Zeljko Heimer

A white flag with a blue cross and a black compass rose in the canton.

9. Department Masthead Pennant (Pilot ships)

by Zeljko Heimer

Triangular swallow-tailed pennant with a white panel containing a black compass rose and the tricolour white-blue-red fly.

10. Department Masthead Pennant (Customs ships)

by Zeljko Heimer

Triangular swallow-tailed pennant with a blue panel containing two white caduceus in saltire and the tricolour white-blue-red fly.

11. Customs flag

by Zeljko Heimer

A blue flag with the Russian tricolour in canton and two white caduceus in saltire. It is not clear from the caption whether this was the ensign used on customs vessels, or if it was a flag used on land, or something else.

12. Pilot jack

by Zeljko Heimer

The Russian tricolour bordered all around with a white border of width equal to the width of each of the tricolour stripes. This was used as the jack on the pilot boats, apparently, but it is not clear what was used as the ensign - the usual Russian merchant ensign of the time, I guess (the tricolour I believe).

Source: article by Bergroth in the proceedings of the 20th International Congress of Vexillology, Stockholm
Zeljko Heimer, 8-9 October, 2004

Footnotes:

1. This was the flag which could be the original inspiration to the flag which became the Finnish national flag in 1918.

2. Red and yellow are the tinctures of the Finnish state arms. This should be the reason for these colours in these flags.
Elias Granqvist, 11 October 2004