Iceland: flag, capital and map

Inspired by a blue-and-white banner popularised from 1897 and later designed by the historian Matthías Þórðarson in 1906, Iceland’s flag received the Danish king’s approval in 1915, on condition that a red cross be added to echo Denmark’s own colours.

It became the flag of the republic on 17 June 1944, the day of independence, when it was also given a deeper shade of blue; blue now stands for the Atlantic Ocean, white for the island’s ice and snow, and red for the fire of its volcanoes.