History of the flagpole: Dannebrog and the flagpole in Denmark

For centuries, Dannebrog was the flag of the king and the state, and ordinary citizens were forbidden to raise it. Today, a flagpole stands in a great many Danish gardens, and the flag is used for everything from birthdays to funerals. This guide follows the development from the king’s banner to the people’s flag and the flagpole in the garden.

The king’s banner

According to Den Store Danske, the oldest known coloured depiction of Dannebrog is a red banner with a white cross in the Dutch armorial Gelre from after 1370, next to the arms of Valdemar IV. Valdemar IV was king from 1340 to 1375 and was probably the first Danish king to use Dannebrog. The legend of the flag that fell from the sky at Lyndanisse in 1219 is first mentioned in chronicles from the 1520s. At sea, Dannebrog has been flown since the end of the 16th century, according to Den Store Danske.

Swallow-tailed and rectangular flags

Ban and freedom

At the beginning of the 19th century, Dannebrog was still a symbol of royal power. According to Den Store Danske, a royal resolution of 21 December 1833 prohibited private individuals from flying Dannebrog, but the ban was not enforced. During the Schleswig Wars of 1848–1850 the population flew the flag eagerly, and a royal resolution of 7 July 1854 allowed the population to fly Dannebrog – as the rectangular flag. Both resolutions were repealed when the Flag Act came into force on 1 January 2025.

Flag days and flagpoles

With freedom came the flagpole in the garden. According to Den Store Danske, royal birthdays, church festivals and national and military days of remembrance have been flag days since the 1880s:

• 1886: The War Ministry introduces flag flying from military buildings on 13 royal birthdays, Constitution Day and days commemorating battles.
• 1912–1913: Valdemar’s Day, 15 June, is introduced as a flag day on the initiative of Danmarks-Samfundet.
• 1939: The yearbook Hvem-Hvad-Hvor publishes a list of flag days for the first time.
• 2009 and 2016: The flag day for Denmark’s deployed personnel and the flag days for Greenland and the Faroe Islands are introduced.
• 2024: The Ministry of Justice circular sets the current 21 official flag days.

According to Bolius, a wooden flagpole is typically spruce, which is felled, debarked, planed and possibly painted, and it is good flag etiquette to leave the pole painted white or in natural wood. Today glass fibre is widespread, but the white pole with a red finial is the classic picture.

Other countries’ flags

According to Den Store Danske, in 1915, during the First World War, the Ministry of Justice prohibited flying foreign flags. Over time it became permitted to fly the Nordic flags, the UN flag and the EU flag. In 2023 the Supreme Court held that the ban lacked a statutory basis, and from 1 January 2025 the Flag Act reintroduced it. More in the guide to foreign flags in Denmark.

Half-mast

According to Den Store Danske, flying the flag at half-mast has been practised in Denmark since 1743. Dannebrogs-Samfundet writes that the custom has been known since the beginning of the 17th century.

The cross and the colours are covered in more detail in the guide to flag symbolism, the different flags in the guide to flag types, and today’s flag days in the guide to flag days. The materials of today’s flagpoles are described in the guide to flagpole materials.