A golden jackdaw on red: it was the flag of Moss, in Norway, because its neighbours were called ‘jackdaws of Moss’. In 2020 it changed for that of Rygge.
Every fact about the flag, each with what it means.
Normal flagFIAV symbol: the form of the flag.
CivilFIAV symbol: who may fly the flag.YesIt carries the coat of arms on the cloth.The flag in the words of vexillology and heraldry.
It is a rectangular field with a 3:5 ratio, red, with a golden jackdaw in the centre: it is an armorial flag, the coat of arms put onto cloth.
Each element and how many of the 1,390 flags in the catalogue carry it. In yellow, the rarest.
Every date in its story, at a glance.
Moss had its first seal in 1786, with a drawing of the town
In the 1930s a proper coat of arms was considered
The coat of arms and the jackdaw flag, drawn by the painter Christian Stenersen, were approved…
In 2020 the town merged with the municipality of Rygge and adopted its symbols
How it was born, how it has changed and what it means.
Moss is a town in southern Norway, on the Oslo fjord. For more than sixty years its flag was red with a golden jackdaw, because the neighbours of Moss were called ‘jackdaws of Moss’. In 2020 the town merged with the municipality of Rygge and adopted its symbols.
Moss had its first seal in 1786, with a drawing of the town. In the 19th century some birds were added around the church tower. In the 1930s a proper coat of arms was considered, and inspiration was sought in those birds.
The coat of arms and the jackdaw flag, drawn by the painter Christian Stenersen, were approved by royal resolution on 2 April 1954.
The town changed flags when it merged with Rygge.
1954-2019
Christian Stenersen’s golden jackdaw on red.
2020
The new municipality, which keeps the name Moss, adopts the flag of Rygge: a yellow spur on red.
Jackdaw
the nickname of the neighbours, ‘mossekråker’, the jackdaws of Moss.
Red and gold
the colours the old coat of arms of the town already had, which was red.
The birds on the old seal were taken for pigeons, and the neighbours did not like it. The jackdaw was chosen, more in keeping with their nickname.
The jackdaw drawing came from the town theatre, where Christian Stenersen worked as a set designer.
In Moss the convention was signed in 1814 that ended the war between Norway and Sweden and paved the way for the union of the two kingdoms.
Test what you have read about the flag of Moss.
Text based on the article “Moss, Østfold (Norway) — Flags of the World” from the Spanish Wikipedia, published under the licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
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