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Gulating (separatist entity), Norway

image by Tomislav Todorovic, 22 June 2023

The Flag

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The Flag

Republic of Gulating (Republikken Gulating) was declared in Eivindvik, Gulen municipality on 2005-06-04, after lengthy preparations which began by inauguration of its Internet domain on 2004-09-09 [1, 2]. This would-be country comprises the counties of Vestland, Rogaland and Agder, as well as the regions of Sunnmøre (southern part of Møre og Romsdal county), Valdres (county of Innlandet/Oppland) and Hallingdal (county of Viken/Buskerud) - the areas where the laws adopted by the medieval Gulating assembly, which was gathering in Gulen, were in effect [1, 3]. In addition to that, these areas largely overlap with those where Nynorsk is the official standard form of Norwegian language, which is considered one of key elements of the regional identity [1].

Flag of the Republic of Gulating was adopted on 2004-09-17 [2, 4], the first copies having been produced on 2004-11-12 [2]. It is derived from the flag of Norway by repainting the blue cross into yellow. The shades of yellow and red are the same as used in the flag and arms of Norway [4]. While these two are the colors of the arms of Republic, in order to produce a design which would not be confused with other Nordic Cross flags, most notably those of Nasjonal Samling and Scania. White was added as a symbol of peace and solidarity [4]. The first public use of the flag outside Gulen municipality was at protests in Hardanger on 2010-08-14 [1].

Sources:
[1] Republic of Gulating at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Gulating

[2] Republic of Gulating website - Timeline: https://www.republikkengulating.no/nyrep.htm

[3] Republic of Gulating website - Geography: https://www.republikkengulating.no/geo.htm

[4] Republic of Gulating website - Flag and Arms: https://www.republikkengulating.no/flaggosv.htm

Tomislav Todorovic, 22 June 2023

The oldest and still sometimes in used red flag with a yellow Scandinavian cross is the one in Finland, which originally was concieved as a flag for Finland but then came to be a flag for the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. It has red and yellow as these are the main tinctures of the state arms of Finland.
Elias Granqvist, 23 June 2023

Considering that the flag was used in Gulen only for the first six years or so, I think it is not much used (I don't believe that the things have changed much since), which also suggests that the movement is not much of a force either, although a few officials seem to have shown some sympathies, according to Wikipedia (not only English, but also both Norwegian versions) as well as the sources. Also note that the website of the movement has remained very much incomplete for years, which speaks in favour of the same assumption.

While the flag of Swedish-speaking minority in Finland might be the oldest flag with yellow Nordic Cross on red field, it is used far away from Norway, while the Scanian one is used nearby and that of Nasjonal Samling was used in Norway herself, so the danger of confusing this flag with those two was certainly much bigger.
Tomislav Todorovic, 23 June 2023