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Norway - Pennant on land

image by Jan Oskar Engene

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image by Helge Jacobsen, 12 July 2009

In Norway there are two kinds of streamers. One is with stripes, red-white-dark blue-white-red. This is the common type, and is usually hoisted near cabins used for holidays. In some areas they are also hoisted near the common houses, where people live their daily lives. This struck me a couple of years ago, when I visited an area near Aalesund, where many houses had those streamers hoisted outside their houses. In my area (Bergen), streamers are dominantly used for cabins. Usually common Norwegian flags are hoisted outside our domestic homes. There are some exceptions, though. Everyone can chose what they want.
In addition to the mostly used streamer, the one with stripes, there is one type of streamer, called "korsvimpel", i.e. "cross streamer". I do knot know wheter this is made as a standard product these days, but they can frequently be seen in the area near Bergen. According to Jahn Christian Olsen, who used to be the owner of the now non-existing flag factory in Bergen, this streamer also was named "Bergensvimpelen" ("The Bergen streamer"), as it exclusively was produced by his factory those days (about 10 or 15 years ago).
This cross streamer usually is treated like the Norwegian flag, being hoisted in the morning and lowered in the evening, just like an ordinary Norwegian flag. Also the cross streamers are usually hoisted near cabins, although they sometimes are hoisted near the ordinary homes of people. When I was a young boy (about 1954-64?), many children flew Norwegian cross streamers (rather short ones) from their bicykles(!). I have not seen that for many years. And one of the big warehouses in the city of Bergen (Sundt& Co) used to fly 6 cross streamers, about two stores tall. Nowadays they still often fly Norwegian streamers, but in these days they are not cross streamers, sadly enough. I suppose that is because the cross streamers do not seem to be in ordinary production, after the flag factory in Bergen was shut down.
The streamers are inofficial flags, and there are no standard proportions, though they seem to look approximately like the ones I have enclosed.
Helge Jacobsen, 12 July 2009

Referring to my e-mail posted earlier today, I found out that Oslo Flaggfabrikk still sell the Norwegian cross pennant for bikes. I have not seen this in use for years. But that might be because I do not have any young boys in the house (only young ladies, not very occupied by flags or bicykles!).
As this pennant is sold in Oslo (and possible other places?), this is a proof that the Norwegian pennant is still existing also outside the Bergen ares. But I have never seen the Norwegian cross pennant hoisted outside the Bergen area. Of course, that might happen, but I do not think this is particularly common outside the Bergen area......except to the bicycle flag. I suppose this is also used on motorbikes (I do not know much about bikes or bikers in Norway, not even in Bergen, my home town).
The conclusion is that it seems a bit unfair to name the Norwegian cross pennant as the "Bergen pannant". And there are some streamers still sold which are not "only" stripes in the national colours.
If you want to see the bicykle pennant, please use this link to the bicykle pennant sold by Oslo Flaggfabrikk:
http://www.flagg.no/shop/popup_image.php?pID=316&osCsid=8f3d22f5a84c51d79d0690de54a7798c
Helge Jacobsen, 12 July 2009

The Norwegian pennant on land is the same as that of the naval Commander of a Detachment:
It is flown whenever the national flag or state flag is not flown (for example, when a house is unoccupied), in accordance with the Scandinavian tradition that a flagpole should never be without a flag.
Miles Li, 12 May 2012

Yes, we mentioned these a while back, and I believe Jan Oskar contributed quite a lot about them, even distinguishing between the Bergen version and the Oslo version. But wouldn't you say they were in a longer ratio than the Commander pennant?
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 12 May 2012
[Mentioned text written by Helge Jacobsen, see above. Ed.]

We have illustrations of the national pennants of both Norway and Sweden in the DoV and they are quite considerably longer (in proportion) than the naval version of the Norwegian one.
Christopher Southworth, 12 May 2012