The Norwegian flag was created in 1821, but didn’t become the official flag until 1898. The Norwegian flag is similar to the other Nordic flags (Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland) in its pattern. All the Nordic flags have at least one cross placed on a different colored background. Fredrik Meltzer was one of the men who on Eidsvoll in 1814 formulated Norway's consitution. He got the idea for the Norwegian flag in 1821 after having seen his son draw a blue cross in the middle of the Danish flag: The Danish flag is red with a white cross. The Norwegian flag has another cross, a blue one, on top of the white cross. The chosing of colors was related to the French revolution and the French tricolour (the French flag) - one hoped the colors would inspire Norwegian nationalism. The patriotic spirit needed an upswing after hundreds of years under foreign rule: In 1814 Norway gained independence from Denmark to which it had belonged for 400 years.