Flag of the Faroe Islands Flag of the Faroe Islands The flag of the Faroe Islands is an offset cross, representing Christianity. It is similar in design to other Nordic flags – a tradition set by the "Dannebrog" of Denmark, of which the Faroe Islands are an autonomous country. The flag is called Merkið, which means "the banner" or "the mark". It resembles the flags of neighbouring Norway and Iceland. The design of the flag incorporates a red Nordic cross, which is offset to the left. The red cross is fimbriated azure and is set on a white field. The flag design closely resembles that
Faroe Islands "sýslur" (similar to the British "shire": Norðoyar, Eysturoy, Streymoy, Vágar, Sandoy, and Suðuroy). Although today "sýsla" technically means "police district", the term is still commonly used to indicate a geographical region. In earlier times, each "sýsla" had its own assembly, the so-called "várting" ("spring assembly"). The Faroe Islands have been under Norwegian/Danish control since 1388. The 1814 Treaty of Kiel terminated the Danish-Norwegian union, and Norway came under the rule of the King of Sweden, while the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland remained Danish possessions. From ancient times the Faroe Islands had a parliament ("Løgting"), which was abolished in 1816,