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Troms (Norway)

Last modified: 2025-03-22 by sonny l roy
Keywords: troms | griffin |
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[Flag of Troms] image by Tomislav Šipek, 25 February 2017


See also:


Description of the flag

Adopted on 15 January 1960.

Proportions are 1:1
Mark Sensen, 18 November 1995

Gules, a griffin Or. A griffin is a monster with lion's back, and eagle's wings, head and claws. It is one of the oldest heraldic symbols, and it can be found even in old Egyptian art.
Željko Heimer, 19 November 1995

The flag of Troms was adopted in 1960, the design being based on the seals of a prominent Medieval family - often referred to as the Bjarkoy family. Their seal featured a griffin (with some variations in additional elements). The earliest known impression of the seal serving as the basis for the modern arms and flag of Troms dates from 1303. This seal belonged to Bjarne Erlingsson and had the griffin surrounded by a border containing roses. However, the same man had previously used a seal showing a griffin grasping a bird. This seal is known from an impression dated 1288.
Jan Oskar Engene, 24 March 2005

In 2017 the government decided to abolish some counties and to merge them with other counties to form larger ones, reducing the number of counties from 19 to 11, to be implemented from 2020.":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counties_of_Norway
Finnmark and Troms will go forward as Troms og Finnmark.
Valentin Poposki, 16 January 2020

The territorial reorganization of Norway which was implemented on 2020-01-01, was partly undone by legal changes adopted on 2022-06-14 and implemented on 2024-01-01. The Troms og Finnmark merger was highly unpopular and opposed both before and after the implementation, the county council itself having requested the unmerging from the national government in 2021. As a result, it was decided by the national parliament on 2022-06-14 that the merger be reversed. On 2024-01-01, Troms and Finnmark counties were re-established and their original arms were readopted; since their flags had actually been banners of arms, they were automatically readopted as well.

Sources:
[1] Counties of Norway at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counties_of_Norway
[2] Troms og Finnmark at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troms_og_Finnmark
[3] Troms county website: https://www.tromsfylke.no
[4] Finnmark county website: https://www.ffk.no

Tomislav Todorovic, 19 April 2024