Finland Flag / Finnish Flag

Finland Flag / Finnish Flag

Finland Flag

The nomadic Saami, or Lapps, were the earliest-known inhabitants of the region that is today called Finland, but from about the 1st century b.c. Finnic nomads from Asia gradually drove them into Saamiland, in the far north of Finland above the Arctic Circle. During the 12th century Finland was conquered and ruled by Sweden, for the next 200 years serving as the battleground for wars between Sweden and Russia. In 1809, during the Napoleonic Wars, Finland passed into Russian control, becoming a grand duchy ruled by the Russian czar. Nationalist feeling grew, however, and Finland proclaimed its independence during the 1917 Russian Revolution. Having initially tried to re-establish control over the country, in 1920 the Soviet regime acknowledged Finland's independence.

Although it was adopted as the national Finland flag in 1918, the design of the Finnish flag dates from the 19th century. Like other flags from this region, Finland uses a 'Scandinavian cross', in which the upright arm is set closer to the hoist than the fly. The blue of the cross represents Finland's lakes - of which there are some 60,000 - while the white field represents the snow that covers the land for four to five months a year in the south of the country and for about seven months in the north.