On 15 June 1219 according to legend, Dannebrog, the flag of Denmark and the oldest national flag in the world fell from the sky during the Battle of Lyndanisse (now Tallinn) in Estonia and turns the Danes’ luck.

The Danes were all but defeated when a lamb-skin banner depicting a white cross fell from the sky and miraculously led to a Danish victory.

The white-on-red cross emblem originates in the age of the Crusades. In the 12th century, it was also used as war flag by the Holy Roman Empire.

Used as a maritime flag since the 16th century, the Dannebrog was introduced as a regimental flag in the Danish army in 1785, and for the militia (landeværn) in 1801. From 1842, it was used as the flag of the entire army.

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