Denmark’s rectangular national flag is a deep-red field with a white Nordic cross. Its official 28:37 construction divides vertically 12:4:12 and horizontally 12:4:21.
Specification
The ordinary rectangular Dannebrog, or stutflag, carries a white cross one seventh of the hoist. The two red fields at the hoist are square, while each outer field is one and three quarters times the side of an inner field.
Reference colors
HEX #C8102E / Pantone 186 C renderingHEX #FFFFFF / RGB 255, 255, 255Construction notes
Begin with a 28-by-37 rectangle. The cross is four units wide and centered fourteen units from both the hoist and the upper edge. This leaves 12-unit square fields at the hoist and 21-unit fields at the fly. Denmark also uses swallowtailed state and naval forms, but those are separate constructions.
Historical record
The Dannebrog is documented as a royal symbol from the fourteenth century. A tradition associates it with the Battle of Lyndanise in 1219; the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs distinguishes that legend from the later documentary record. Private use of the rectangular flag was permitted in 1854, and modern law names Dannebrog as the national flag of the Danish Realm.
Source trail
Retsinformation: Foreign Service instruction, national symbols and flags ↗
Reading the construction measurements
For the rectangular stutflag, hoist means the flag’s height and fly means its length. The cited geometry gives a height-to-length ratio of 56:74, which reduces to 28:37 by dividing both numbers by two.
On a 28-unit-high by 37-unit-long rectangle, 12:4:12 describes the top-to-bottom divisions: 12 units of red, 4 units of white cross, and 12 units of red. 12:4:21 describes the hoist-to-fly divisions: 12 units from the hoist edge to the cross, 4 units of white cross, and 21 units from the cross to the fly edge.
Each hoist-side red panel is 12 units high by 12 units wide. Each fly-side red panel is 12 units high by 21 units wide. Thus, the imported phrase “21-unit fields” describes their width, not their height. Both arms of the cross are 4 units wide, equal to one seventh of the 28-unit hoist. These measurements describe the rectangular form.
Reference colors and specification scope
The displayed HEX values, #C8102E for red and #FFFFFF for white, are screen representations used in this record. The imported label “Pantone 186 C rendering” does not itself establish an official color requirement or verify an authoritative equivalence between that Pantone reference and the displayed HEX value.
The cited construction geometry supports the proportions and panel measurements explained above. Treat that geometry specification separately from the record’s reference-color guidance: the displayed swatches and rendering label do not establish manufacturing tolerances or verified production color standards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 1219 or 1854 the Dannebrog’s adoption date?
The supplied historical account does not establish either year as a single adoption date. 1219 belongs to the tradition associating the Dannebrog with the Battle of Lyndanise, rather than a documented adoption. Fourteenth-century evidence documents its use as a royal symbol. 1854 concerns permission for private use of the rectangular flag. These are distinct milestones and should not be collapsed into one adoption date.