Editing Flag of Denmark (section)

===Modern period ===
[[File:Otto Bache - Soldaternes hjemkomst til København i 1849.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Danish soldiers return to Copenhagen after the [[Battle of Fredericia]] (1849), a Danish victory against German insurgents in [[Duchy of Holstein|Holstein]] and [[Duchy of Schleswig|Schleswig]] in the [[First Schleswig War]] (1894 painting by [[Otto Bache]])]]
[[File:Danish West Indies, from Flags of All Nations, Series 2 (N10) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands MET DP841370.jpg|thumb|[[Cigarette card]] of 1890, depicting the [[royal standard]] of the [[Danish West Indies]]]]

Used as a maritime flag since the 16th century, the Dannebrog was introduced as a regimental flag in the Danish army in 1785, and for the militia (landeværn) in 1801. From 1842, it was used as the flag of the entire army.<ref name=Achen108>Sven Tito Achen, '' Heraldikkens femten glæder'' (1978), p. 108f.</ref>

During the first half of the 19th century, in parallel to the development of [[Romantic nationalism]] in other European countries, the military flag increasingly came to be seen as representing the nation itself. Poems of the period invoking the ''Dannebrog'' were written by B.S. Ingemann, N.F.S. Grundtvig, Oehlenschläger, Chr. Winther and H.C. Andersen.<ref name=Achen108/> By the 1830s, the military flag had become popular as an unofficial national flag, and its use by private citizens was outlawed in a circular enacted on 7 January 1834.

In the national enthusiasm sparked by the [[First Schleswig War]] from 1848 to 1850, the flag was still very widely displayed, and the prohibition of private use was repealed in a regulation of 7 July 1854 that for the first time allowed Danish citizens to display the Dannebrog (but not the swallow-tailed ''Splitflag'' variant.<ref>''[https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=58409 Cirkulærer om ophævelse af forbuddet mod flagning i kanceli cirkulære af 7. januar 1834]'' (retsinformation.dk)</ref> Special permission to use the ''Splitflag'' was given to individual institutions and private companies, especially after 1870.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} In 1886, the war ministry introduced a regulation indicating that the flag should be flown from military buildings on thirteen specified days, including royal birthdays, the date of the signing of the Constitution of 5 June 1849 and days of remembrance for military battles. In 1913, the naval ministry issued its own list of flag days. On 10 April 1915, the hoisting of any other flag on Danish soil was prohibited.<ref>''International Law Studies'', Naval War College (U.S.), 1918, [https://books.google.com/books?id=trmPvyYVRhgC&pg=PA83 p. 83].</ref> The prohibition was lifted on 24 June 2023, after a Supreme Court ruling.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-23 |title=Fra på lørdag er der fri bane til at flage med andre nationers flag i Danmark (From Saturday it's allowed to hoist other nations' flags in Denmark) |url=https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/seneste/paa-loerdag-er-der-fri-bane-til-flage-med-andre-nationers-flag-i-danmark |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=DR |language=da-DK}}</ref> From 1939 to 2012, the yearbook ''Hvem-Hvad-Hvor'' included a list of flag days. As of 2019, flag days can be viewed at the [https://www.justitsministeriet.dk/temaer/flagning/flagdage/ "Ministry of Justice (Justitsministeriet)"] as well as [http://www.danmarks-samfundet.dk "The Denmark Society (Danmarks-Samfundet)"].