Saturday, 17 April 2010
Estonia map
Estonia /ɛsˈtoʊniə/ (Estonian: Eesti), officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti Vabariik), is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by the Russian Federation (338.6 km). The territory of Estonia covers 45,227 km2 (17,462 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate.The Estonians are a Finnic people, and the Estonian language is closely related to Finnish.
Estonia is a democratic parliamentary republic and is divided into fifteen counties. The capital and largest city is Tallinn. With a population of only 1.34 million, Estonia is one of the least-populous members of the European Union.
Sweden map
Sweden (Swedish: Sverige), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige), is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and has also water borders with Denmark, Germany and Poland to the south and Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia to the east. Sweden is also connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.
At 450,295 km², Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union in terms of area, with a total population of about 9.2 million. Sweden has a low population density of 21 inhabitants per square kilometre (54 /sq mi) but a considerably higher density in the southern half of the country. About 85% of the population live in urban areas, and it is expected that these numbers will gradually rise as a part of the ongoing urbanization. Sweden's capital is Stockholm, which is also the largest city in the country (population of 1.3 million in the urban area and with 2 million in the metropolitan area).
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Malta flag
The Flag of Malta (Maltese: Bandiera ta' Malta) is a basic bi-colour, with white in the hoist and red in the fly: colours from the blazon of the arms of Malta. Tradition states that the colours of the flag were given to Malta by Count Roger of Sicily, in 1091. The banner of Count Roger was a chequered red and white flag and he gave a set from this banner.
A key stronghold during the Crusades, much of the heraldry of Malta is influenced by the colours and devices of the Knights of Malta. Their badge was the characteristic Maltese cross, and their arms were a white cross on a red field. From these colours came the red and white shield that was used during Malta's colonial period. In the upper hoist corner (in the canton of the white field) is the George Cross, outlined in red, with the motto "For Gallantry" encircling the cross.
The honour was awarded in 1943 by King George VI to the entire Maltese population, for their exceptional bravery and gallantry during World War II. In 1964, the blue canton on which the cross was originally placed was replaced by a red fimbriation. This flag was adopted upon Malta's independence, on 21 September 1964. The Maltese national flag is unique in bearing a decoration from another country, in this case the United Kingdom.
Denmark flag
Courtesy of npds02 from postcrossing forum
The national flag of Denmark, Dannebrog, is red with a white Scandinavian cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. The cross design of the Danish flag was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries; Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, as well as the non-Nordic Scottish regions of Shetland and Orkney. During the Danish-Norwegian personal union, Dannebrog ("Danish cloth") was also the flag of Norway and continued to be, with slight modifications, until Norway adopted its current flag in 1821.
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