Flag of Bornholm

{{Short description|The unofficial flag(s) of the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea.}}

File:Flag of Denmark Bornholm.svg]]

File:Flag Denmark Bornholmsflaget.svg

File:Bornholm, Flagge (2012-07-10), by Klugschnacker in Wikipedia.JPG

The flag of Bornholm is the unofficial flag of the Danish island Bornholm. It was designed in the mid-1970s by local painter Bent Kaas, and is the flag of Bornholm most commonly used on the island.{{cite news |title=Tag til Bornholm og skift konen ud |url=http://www.harteg.dk/bornholmsflag/?Artikler:Tag_til_Bornholm_og_skift_konen_ud |accessdate=23 July 2019 |work=Bornholmeren |date=1972-06-26}}{{cite news |last1=Harteg |first1=Peter Andreas |title=DET BORNHOLMSKE FLAGS OPHAV |url=http://www.harteg.dk/bornholmsflag/?Artikler:Det_bornholmske_flags_ophav |accessdate=23 July 2019 |work=Bornholms Tidende |date=2006-10-17}} It is the Danish flag, but with a green Nordic cross in the centre instead of white.{{cite news |last1=Kirkegaard |first1=Bjarne H. |title="Det er nu lovligt at flage med bornholmske flag" |url=http://www.harteg.dk/bornholmsflag/?Artikler:Det_er_nu_lovligt_at_flage_med_bornholmske_flag |accessdate=23 July 2019 |work=Bornholms Tidende |date=2005-06-01}} The green is said to symbolize the natural greenery of the island.{{cite news |last1=Ludvigsen |first1=Jacob |title=Rødt/grønt eller rødt/hvidt/grønt |url=http://www.harteg.dk/bornholmsflag/?Artikler:Tag_til_Bornholm_og_skift_konen_ud |accessdate=23 July 2019 |work=Østbornholm |date=1981-08-19}} The other variant resembles Norway's flag, except replacing the blue inner cross with green.

The flag has no historical foundation. Its uses are primarily: in a tourism context on various products (which are not normally produced on Bornholm); by military units while on exercise in Denmark and on foreign missions; and by mainly German sailors visiting Bornholm. Despite its appreciation the flag is not officially recognized, though many people still use it, for example on vehicles.

While there is no official flag for Bornholm, the Bornholm Municipality, the former County of Bornholm, as well as the now defunct Danish regiment - the Bornholms Værn - had a coat of arms. It showed a depiction of a golden sea serpent, which can also be called a griffin, or a cockatrice against a red background.

The Bornholmer Party, which has advocated for both secession from Denmark, and the elevation of Bornholm to an autonomous region similar to the Faroe Islands, has called for the flag to be made the official flag of either the independent or autonomous Bornholm entity.