Flag of Tornedalen
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The Tornedalen flag ( Swedish : Tornedalsflaggan ; Finnish : Meänmaan lippu ; Meänkieli : Meänmaan flaku ) is a symbol with official status for the cross-border region of Tornedalen .
The flag was officially hoisted for the first time on July 15, 2007 at the former customs stations of the municipalities of Övertorneå in Sweden and Ylitornio in Finland , both of which are located on the Torneälven river . The founding member and chairman of the Tornedalener Vereinigung Meänmaa-Tinkerit (today only Meänmaa ) and author Bengt Pohjanen introduced the flag, which was designed by Herbert Wirlöf (also a founding member), as a unifying symbol for the multilingual region. Since then, the flag has spread rapidly in the European region and has gained recognition among the local population on both sides of the border.
The proportions of the flag correspond with a ratio of 7:11 to the flag of Estonia . The colors in the tricolor are based on those of the flag of Sweden and Finland and stand for the "bright yellow sun" (yellow), the "white of winter" and the "snow-white river" (white) and the "blue of the sky in summer" (blue). In contrast to the Scandinavian cross flags , which are otherwise widespread in the Nordic countries , the cross was dispensed with, as the Tornedalener were not crusaders in their own opinion .
The flag day was set on July 15, the anniversary of the first official flagging.
See also
Web links
- Premiärhissning för den Tornedalska fanan Norrbotten Kuriren about the "first hoisting of the flag of Tornedalen" (Swedish)
- Historisk ögonblick för Tornedalen Norrländska Socialdemokrats on the "historic moment for Tornedalen" (Swedish)