An eagle in the bush

Well, this is NOT the flag of Värmland.... 

Värmland (sometimes Vermelandia in English) is a province in western Sweden with a somewhat romantic reputation, perhaps because both famous writer Selma Lagerlöf and famous national romanticist Erik Gustaf Geijer hailed from this area. For whatever reason, many Swedes just love the Värmland dialect, too!

At least in Sweden, the local patriotic folk song “Ack Värmeland, du sköna” is also well known. It's often regarded as the unofficial anthem of the province. And yes, it's suspiciously similar to both Israel's national anthem “Hatikvah” and the Italian “La Mantovana”, but that's another show…

This is the flag of Värmland, both the historical province (landskap) and the modern county (län). Several designs exist, all with a blue-red eagle, but the details differ. The design used at the official homepage of Värmlands län differs from the one showed here, which was used by the Värmland Regiment. Perhaps there isn't a 100% officially codified version.

On a slightly weirder note, some genealogists believe that former US president George W Bush's ancestors lived in Värmland, more specifically in the small village of Sillerud, population 1,100. The main tourist attraction in this community, which doesn't have broadband, is a 300 year old pine tree! Since these finding were presented on April Fool's Day 2006, I didn't really believed them, but they have been recycled as legit in Swedish media, so who knows…