D IS FOR DANNEBROG
High on the top of the Great Trades Hall in the centre of Tallinn,
perched at the very tip of its grand gothic gable, an elaborate
weathervane spins into the wind. A silhouette of a Viking longship,
maybe ... and is that a Danish flag?
There it is again, hanging from a pulpit in the Toomkirik, the Dome Church, the oldest church in mainland Estonia, dating from the 13th century. Another Danish flag. As we walk around the ancient streets of the capital, we see it almost everywhere we go.
What's going on?
Our guide Maarika explains the legend of the Dannebrog, the Danish national flag, which has its origins in Estonia exactly 800 years ago.
2019 is the anniversary of the Battle of Lindanise, near Tallinn, in June 1219. The Danish forces were close to losing the battle, when a flag suddenly
fell down from the sky. A white cross against a red field. The Danes took it as a sign of good omen, won the battle and adopted the flag as their national symbol.
The word "Dannebrog" means "the cloth of the Danes" and if the legend is true it makes it the oldest national flag in the world.