^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Denmark Post Flag

by Jan Oskar Engene 15 January 2001

Description of the flag
Emblem detail
History of the flag
Incorrect reported version
Ensign of the Cable Ships of the Post and Telegraph Authorities

Description of the Flag

This flag was introduced by Royal resolution of 21 November 1898. The emblem was changed to a new one in 1939 and the version of the flag charged with that new emblem is still in use. Christian Fogd Pedersen notes that the post ensign is only used by vessels actually carrying mail. When they are not, they do not have the right to fly the ensign. He also notes that the flag is used on land by postal authorities. One interesting fact mentioned by Pedersen is that only larger mail carrying vessels use the swallow-tailed post flag. Smaller boats use a rectangular ensign with the emblem in the canton.
Jan Oskar Engene 15 January 2001

Flaggenbuch notes 'Cable ships of the Post and Telegraph Administration and the postal ships over 20 BRT. In the latter case, civil ensign with this emblem.'
Ivan Sache, 11 June 2001

The ferry-captains (and first officers in some cases) I spoke with, told me that the flag they are allowed to fly because of the Royal Privilege for the Danish mail service, is flown on the ferries for being the mail-boats. (Some of the smaller ferries are actually known as, e.g. the mail-boat to Birkholm, but place allowing they also carry passengers.) It's not limited to boats that actually have mail on board, and they couldn't switch it if they wanted to, for lack of a different Danish flag on board. It's correct that smaller vessels use a stutflag as base for their mail-flag. This is not, by choice of the boats/captains, but of the Mail-service. "We fly what the Mail gives us."; "Yes, it ought to be a splitflag but we have a 'square' flag because the splitflags aren't made small enough for our boat.' (Since yacht-flags are in fact made that small, I assume it's the Mail that doesn't make the split-flags small enough, but I didn't realize this in time to ask.) The emblem is stitched on to the flag (rather than painted in some way), but it's still hoist-equal. It is really yellow, which means Politikens Flagbog should have coloured in the emblem, instead of leaving it white.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 27 August 2001

Emblem detail

by Jan Oskar Engene, 15 January 2001

I have now checked the question of the colour of the emblem directly with the Post Danmark. The answer I was given is clear: No change. The emblem is still yellow (golden) as it has been since the post flag/ensign was introduced. I was informed that the question of the error in the flag plate at http://www.um.dk/english/danmark/danmarksbog/kap1/1-2-2.asp has been raised with the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that a correction can be made. I have made an image of the post flag here using the emblem as it appears in the current logo of t