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Flag proposal of 1821, No. 3 (Norway)

Notes

See also:

Norwegian flag proposals

Notes

Designer: Fredrik Meltzer
Approximate date: May 4, 1821
This is the proposal that became the current Norwegian flag. The following is reproduced from the Norway page [now at the page for Norwegian flag law]

The flag of 1821 was the idea of Frederik Meltzer, Member of Parliament from Bergen. He got the idea of adding a blue cross to the Danish flag during a meeting in the parliament. The discussion on the flag circled around considerations about reflecting the past, that is the Danish colours, which enjoyed great popularity, and considerations that the union with Sweden should also be reflected in the flag. So we can say that the red and white came from the Danish flag, the blue from the Swedish. At the same time, the colour combination red, white, blue was also attractive to the Parliament because it reflected the colours of liberty, as in the flags of France, the USA, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. A story, still told today ,that it was Frederik Meltzer's young son Gerhard that came up with the idea of the flag, is not true.
Jan Oskar Engene, 30 August 1995