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County of Scania (Sweden)

Skånes län

Last modified: 2021-08-25 by christopher oehler
Keywords: scania | skane | region skane | griffin (yellow) | kristianstad | malmohus | österlen |
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[flag of Scania county] image by Jan Oskar Engene

See also:

Description

About the flag

On 1 January 1997 the counties of Kristianstad and Malmöhus merged into a single county that took a new name: the County of Skåne. The new County of Skåne adopted another coat of arms based on the griffin head. This time, the field is red and the crowned griffin is all gold (that is, including beak and tongue). The colours of the county arms and flag are now the same as those of the provincial arms and flag, only in reverse.

Source:
· Jan Raneke: "Skåne - Halland - Blekinge: Landskapens vapenbilder", Ale: Historisk tidskrift för Skåne, Halland och Blekinge, No. 4, 1988, pp. 1-44
Jan Oskar Engene, 19 January 2000

Blazon

Official Blazon in Swedish

Not yet presented.

Blazon in English

Not yet presented.

The Region of Scania

[Region of Scania] by Jan Oskar Engene
The flag is a banner of the arms;
arms adopted on 9 February 1999.

"Region Skåne" is a new regional organization that has been operating on a trial basis since 1 January 1999. The regional organization, headed by an elected Regional Assembly, was delegated greater responsibilities than the traditional county councils. The Regional Assembly of the Scania Region adopted arms and flag on 9 February 1999: On a field of blue a yellow crowned griffin head issuing from the bottom edge. The arms and flag were prepared by the heraldist Christer Bökwall.

In a controversial decision, the council of the Scania Region also decided to fly the better-known red and yellow Scandinavian cross flag of Scania.

Source: Documents supplied by the Region of Scania (Regionen Skåne).
Jan Oskar Engene, 19 January 2000

From the flag rules, issued by the Administrative Management of Region Scania and dated, 21 June 1999, we can see the relative status accorded to the region's armorial flag and the Scanian cross flag:

- The armorial flag of Region Scania shall be hoisted day and night, except on Swedish flag flying days, or when the Regional Assembly is in session, or in case of international visits;
- The Swedish flag only is to be used on official Swedish flag flying days;
- On days on which the Regional Assembly is in session, the following flags shall be used: 1. Flag of Sweden, 2. Flag of the European Union, 3. Flag of Scania (cross), 4. Flag of Region Scania (armorial);
- In case of international visits: Flag of Sweden and of foreign country/countries.

These rules apply to the buildings of the region in Kristianstad and in Lund. As we can see, the cross flag is only used as one of four flags during the sessions of the Regional Assembly.
Jan Oskar Engene, 4 July 2000

Flag Variant

[Region of Scania]
image by Tomislav Šipek, 16 March 2016

Here is flag of Skåne Region.
Source: http://www.kristianstadsbladet.se/om/henrik+fritzon/
Tomislav Šipek, 16 March 2016

Hanö

[Region of Österlen] image by Mikael Parkvall, 23 September 2018

I recently visited the small island of Hanö, off the coast of Sweden (56°00'37.0"N 14°50'45.0"E). The local flag was seen a couple of times (the exact proportions and colours guessed). Some language versions of Wikipedia display another flag (for instance the English one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han%C3%B6). This, however, I did *not* see on the island. I don’t know anything about the history of the flag, but the similarities with that of England are obvious, and possibly might be related to the fact that Hanö was a British naval base during the Napoleanic wars – there is still a British cemetery on the island.
Mikael Parkvall, 23 September 2018

Österlen

[Region of Österlen] image by Mikael Parkvall, 26 June 2018

The flag of Österlen is nowadays a rather common sight. The flag has its own Wikipedia page: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96sterlens_flagga, where it simply says that the flag has an unknown history, that’s it’s becoming increasingly popular, and suggests that it is designed to be a mixture of the flags of Scania and Bornholm.

Österlen (not an administrative area) is the south-easternmost part of Scania (in turn the southernmost province of Sweden).
Mikael Parkvall, 26 June 2018

Historical Information

See also:

Former counties in Scania

Until 1997, the territory of the province of Scania was divided into two counties for state administrative purposes. Both counties acquired names associated with the town in which the county governor (landshövding) resided. Thus, the two counties in Scania were known as the County of Kristianstad (Kristianstads län), situated in the northeast of the province, and the County of Malmöhus (Malmöhus län), situated in Scania's southwest.
Jan Oskar Engene, 19 January 2000

This division, into Malmöhus and Kristianstads län, was made about the year 1720.
Svante Wendel, 11 February 2001

The County of Kristianstad

[former County of Kristianstad] illustration by Jan Oskar Engene
The flag was a banner of the arms;
arms granted on 24 November 1939, based on earlier use.

The arms of the County of Kristianstad consisted of a red erased griffin head, beak and tongue blue, crowned with a blue crown and with five plumes in red, silver, red, silver and red, extending from the crown, all on a gold shield. In other words, the arms - and the flag - of the County of Kristianstad were taken from the crest of the arms of the city of Malmö, while the colours - griffin head in red on a gold field - were those of the province of Skåne. The image attached here shows these arms in banner form, though it is unknown to me whether the County of Kristianstad actually used a flag like this.

Sources:
· Nevéus, Clara and de Wærn, Bror Jacques: Ny svensk vapenbok, 1992 [nev92];
· Scheffer, C G U: Svensk vapenbok för landskap, län och städer, 1967 [sch67]
Jan Oskar Engene, 19 January 2000

The County of Malmöhus

[former County of Malmöhus] illustration by Jan Oskar Engene

The flag was a banner of the arms;
arms granted on 24 November 1939, based on earlier use.

The arms of the County of Malmöhus transferred the arms of the town of Malmö more directly, that is, the griffin head red on silver was retained, but the crown, beak and tongue, was made gold. To difference the arms of the county more pronouncedly, a chief was introduced: Three gold crowns on blue, an explicit reference to the Kingdom of Sweden and its sovereignty. The image here shows these arms in banner form, though it is unknown to me whether the County of Malmöhus actually used a flag like this.

Sources:
· Nevéus, Clara and de Wærn, Bror Jacques: Ny svensk vapenbok, 1992 [nev92];
· Scheffer, C G U: Svensk vapenbok för landskap, län och städer, 1967 [sch67]
Jan Oskar Engene, 19 January 2000

Municipalities (Kommuner)

The following communes are in this county (lan). The codes following the name are assigned by Sweden for statistical purposes.