Iceland Flag Meaning: Details On Icelandic National Flag Revealed

The Icelandic National Flag has a blue background with a red cross placed on it, often referred to as the Scandinavian cross.

The Icelandic flag is known to have been designed by Matthías Þórðarson. The cross-section of the Icelandic flag represents the connection between Scandinavia and Iceland.

The national flag of Iceland includes red, white, and blue. It also has a simple yet recognizable Scandinavian cross in its center.

This modern version of the national flag of Iceland is known to have been first adopted in 1915. It was during this time that the red cross was added on top of the white cross.

The Scandinavian cross that was thus formed symbolized the similarity of the Icelandic flag with other Nordic flags.

Of these three colors present on the national flag of Iceland, blue represents mountains and oceans, red symbolizes volcanoes and magma, while white color means glaciers and snow. Interestingly, Einar Benediktsson, a renowned poet, thought of the colors of the flag white and blue to reflect two of the most exciting aspects of the country, snow and mountains.

Scroll down to learn more about the national flag of Iceland and its history. Keep reading to understand the making and significance of this flag.

History Behind Iceland's Flag

The first formal Iceland flag was introduced by Jørgen Jørgensen, with three cods in its top left corner. When Jørgen Jørgensen ruled Iceland, he had strong opinions about Iceland having a national flag of its own.

The flag design he later adopted as the official symbol of the nation had a blue-colored background with three cod, or fish, in its top left corner. While many considered this flag design to be weird, it was used as the nation's official flag from July 12, 1809.

After this, the next Icelandic flag was introduced in 1870 and is popularly remembered as 'the flag of Sigurður Guðmundsson'. Similar to its predecessor, it also had a blue-colored background, but this shade was brighter than the earlier one.

The modern flag we see today was adopted from the flag Hvítbláinn, also known as the white-blue flag. This version of the Iceland flag had a dark-blue background with a white cross on the flag's top.

This blue and white-colored flag was first seen at a parade in 1897. One can see this flag at the National Museum of Iceland, where it has been preserved as a part of Iceland's history.

With the advent of time, the red cross was adopted on top of the white cross to symbolize volcanoes and magma.

Before the addition of the red cross, many believed the flag to be similar to the Greek flag. This version of the flag was used as the unofficial symbol of the country since 1913 but was officially adopted on June 19, 1915.

Later, this blue and white flag with a red cross became more apparent as the official flag of Iceland when Iceland turned into a sovereign state on December 1, 1918.

Apart from these flags, one of the oldest flags of Iceland had a white falcon present on it. This version of the flag was introduced after the flag earlier introduced by Jørgen Jørgensen.

The white falcon was seen as a symbol of the rise of Iceland as a nation and the country's flight to complete liberty.

To the surprise of several individuals, this design of the Icelandic flag was approved by the Danish state and was officially adopted as the flag of Iceland for some time.

Several studies state that at first, the falcon drawn on the flag had its wings spread out. Eventually, when Danes modified the design of the flag, the falcon's wings were placed in a relatively settled and calmer position.

Moreover, contrary to several reports, the design of the Icelandic flag we see now was first introduced in a 1906 student council meeting. Matthías Þórðarson presented this design of the Iceland flag at the meeting.

When asked about his choice of colors, Matthías Þórðarson, like many others, associated the colors with volcanoes, mountains, and glaciers. Later in his life, Matthías Þórðarson served as the museum curator of the National Museum of Iceland.

While Matthías Þórðarson's design of the Icelandic flag was adopted as the modern flag of Iceland, the only difference which exists between the two versions is the shade of blue.

Matthías Þórðarson's design had a lighter shade of blue. The change came into effect in 1944, when Iceland no longer had any ties with Denmark.

Colors Of Iceland Flag And Meaning

The flag of Iceland has a blue background with a red Nordic cross on top, which has white-colored edges extending to the edges of the flag.

The vertical part of this Nordic cross is located on the hoist side of the flag, similar to the Danish flag. While the blue field of the flag is known to represent the mountains and oceans when viewed from the Atlantic Ocean and the coast, the white color is representative of snow and ice.

The red color on the Nordic cross symbolizes the volcanoes and magma present in Iceland. But, at the same time, this red cross is also believed to be a Christian symbol.

However, over the past years following Iceland's independence, the people of the country popularly recognized the red color as representative of volcanoes and magma. In the official record, the Prime Minister's office is responsible for providing the details of the significance of the colors of the national flag of Iceland.

Significance Of Iceland Flag

The national flag of Iceland has become a symbol of this Scandinavian country ever since Iceland gained independence from Denmark in 1944. There are certain select days called Flag days when all the state buildings must raise the national flag.

Some of these flag days are New Year's Day, Icelandic Language Day, Icelandic National Day, Pentecost, Christmas Day, Easter, Good Friday, Sovereignty Day, Sailors Day, and others. On days like Good Friday, the flag is drawn at half-mast only.

The President of Iceland has their flag, a version slightly different from the original flag of the country, recognized as the Icelandic Presidential flag.

This version of the flag has a coat of arms present on top of the flag.

The Icelandic Presidential flag can be seen on the dwellings of the country's president and the vehicles used by him or her. This national coat of arms distinguishes the president's flag from the original flag of the country and is known to comprise four protectors that can be seen standing on a columnar basalt block.

These four protectors include the dragon protecting the southeast, the bull protecting the northwest, the rock giant guarding the southwest, and the eagle looking after the northeast.

Why did Iceland choose its flag?

The Icelandic flag emerged to represent Iceland as a separate kingdom and identify itself as one of the free Scandinavian countries, gaining freedom from the clutches of Denmark.

The flag that was initially adopted had a deep blue background with a white cross in the center to represent the mountains, oceans, snow, ice, and glaciers of the country.

Later a red cross was also added on top of the white stripes to represent all of the country's landscape, including the volcanoes and magma. Interestingly, a legend in Iceland states that a red cloth, along with a white cross, dropped from heaven to declare the Danish victory in the 13th century at the Battle of Valdemar.

While Denmark went on to use the cross of the flag of Scandinavia as a sign of divine right, Iceland used this red cross as a symbol following its independence.