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

Estonia - Scandinavian Cross design for Estonian Flag

Last modified: 2023-06-03 by zachary harden
Keywords: cross | estonia | scandinavian cross |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors



[Northern Cross design for Estonia]
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 23 January 2022



See also:


Overview

One of largest dailies in Estonian " Eesti Päevaleht" (<www.epl.ee>) initiated a discussion about the possibility of changing the historical Estonian national tricolour of blue-black-white to Scandinavian cross with same colours. The newspaper has opened a voting page and discussion site on the Internet.
Teet Koitjdrv, 7 December 2001

I join an article and the propositional flag that come from Pascal Vagnat' website:
"Flag with cross and Estlande - The Republic of Estonia suffers from a lack of image, being often confused(merged) with his(her) Baltic neighbours. Next to all the projects thrown (launched) by the government to increase the fame of the country, represents that radical of the former (ancient) leader of secret services, Erik-Niiles Krose, for whom it is necessary to change the name of the country and to endow it with a new flag, because according to him, the former (ancient) emblems would play in his disfavour. He proposes that the country is called " Estlande ", who would evoke prosperous countries as Finland or Ireland. According to Kaarel Taraïd, director of the governmental press relations department, " A flag decorated with a cross instead of three bands(strips) of colour would show at once that we belong to the community of the countries of the North, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. " This proposition is successful: 20 % of the population of the country wants to live in a country called " Estlande " endowed with a flag with Scandinavian cross. Already numerous supporters(supports) chanted this new name by shaking the flag with cross during the last contest of basketball Estonie-Lettonie.
To read: Smirnov, Alexeï, " Lives Estlande and Scandinavian cross ", Novyé Izvestia's article, appeared in international Mail (courier), on Thursday , February 28, 2002."
Arnaud Leroy, 2 April 2002

There seems not to be an Estonian Consulate in New York City, but there has been a town house in Manhattan for at least fifty years called Estonia House, which has managed the cultural affairs of the Estonian expatriate community, including during the time when Estonia was part of the Soviet Union. I questioned several people about the possible new flag, and they all said they have no new information, although they read the Estonian papers online daily. They added that they were strongly against any change ("What's wrong with our flag?"); moreover, they thought that a large majority of Estonians were also against any such change.
Lewis A. Nowitz, 3 April 2002

[This] proposal has had limited support during the 2010's as well; it was not necessarily meant to officially replace the current national flag, but to become an unofficial alternative [2, 3]. The shade of blue has been the same as in the current flag.
Tomislav Todorovic, 23 January 2022


Alternate proposal

[Northern Cross design for Estonia]
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 23 January 2022

Another version has also been promoted in the same period, in which black and white colors have swapped places, possibly in order to make all three colors more distinctive.
Tomislav Todorovic, 23 January 2022

[Northern Cross design for Estonia]
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 27 January 2022

Another version which tried to keep the colors in the same order as in the current national flag displays a blue cross, bordered black, on white field. Very few photos of this flag are available online, but the design appears in several online articles which discuss the possible flag change.
Tomislav Todorovic, 27 January 2022

[Northern Cross design for Estonia]
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 27 January 2022

A proposal different from others displays black Scandinavian cross over blue-white bicolor field. While no photos of it can currently be found, it appears in online articles along with other versions as the illustration of the discussions on the flag change issue. This design is actually the simplification of some flag proposals from the early 1920's.
Tomislav Todorovic, 27 January 2022