Stockholm was visited as a pre-cruise excursion and it was also part of the beginning of the cruise itself. So the stockholm portion is a mixture of two parts. The Pre-cruise (click here) and the cruise (click here).

The Swedish flag: It was most likely inspired by the oldest Nordic flag - Danish Danneborg. Yellow cross on a blue background reaches the edges of the flag and its shorter arm is located closer to the left side of the flag. The characteristic yellow and blue color have probably originated in the 14th century, when the Swedish coat of arms with three gold crowns on a blue background was created. The flag has been used since 1521 and it became very popular during the reign of Gustav I Vasa. At that time, the yellow cross had to be compulsorily pictured on every cocard and battalion. However, the flag in its present form has not been adopted until 1906.

Stockholm's Flag: The man in the Stockholm arms should be St. Erik (patron saint of Sweden) but when the city wanted to standardize the arms in the 1930's, the artist used a statue in an old church as a model, a statue that later on has been identified as St. Olof (patron saint of Norway - though very appreciated in Sweden too in the catholic era).

PRE-CRUISE IN STOCKHOLM

 

Cruise

 

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