Coat of arms of Croatia

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Coat of arms of Croatia
Shield
Chequy of twenty-five gules and argent

The

chequy) that consists of 13 red and 12 white fields. It is also informally known in Croatian as šahovnica
("chessboard", from šah, "chess"). The five smaller shields represent five different historical regions within Croatia.

Official description

Croatian law describes the coat of arms as follows:[1]

The coat of arms of the Republic of Croatia is the historical Croatian coat of arms in the form of a shield twice divided horizontally and vertically into twenty-five red and white (silver) fields, so that the first field in the upper left corner is red. Above the shield lies a crown with five spikes, slightly arched with its ends conjoined with upper left and right parts of the shield. Within the crown, five lesser shields with historical Croatian coats of arms, lined from left to right in the following order: the oldest known Croatian coat of arms, coats of arms of the Dubrovnik Republic, Dalmatia, Istria and Slavonia. The ratio of height of the field of the main shield to the height of the smaller shields in the crown is 1:2.5, and of the width of the field of the main shield to the width of the smaller shields in the crown is 1:1. The oldest known coat of arms of Croatia contains in a shield on a light blue field a yellow (golden) six-pointed star with a white (silver) crescent. Coat of arms of the Republic of Dubrovnik contains in a shield on a blue field two red bars. The Dalmatian arms contain in a shield on a light blue field three yellow (golden) crowned lion heads. The Istrian arms contain in a shield on a blue field a yellow (golden) goat facing left with red hooves and horns. The Slavonian arms contain on a light blue field two horizontal white (silver) bars, between bars a red field, on which sneaks a weasel to the left. In the upper light blue field is a yellow (golden) six-pointed star. The coat of arms is lined red.

History

Main article: Croatian checkerboard

The checkerboard coat of arms (šahovnica) is first attested as an official symbol of the

Cetingrad Charter that confirmed the 1527 election of Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria as king of Croatia in Cetin.[3][4][5]

The origin of the design has often been purported as being medieval. Historic tradition states it to be the arms of

Peter Krešimir IV (r. 1058–1074/5) has engraved falcons that carry something that resembles a chequy on their wings, and the bell tower of the medieval Church of St. Lucy, Jurandvor has a checkerboard pattern carved onto it.[7]

The size of the checkerboard ranges from 3×3 to 8×8,[8] but most commonly 5×5, like in the current design. It was traditionally conjectured that the colours originally represented Red Croatia and White Croatia, but there is no historical evidence to support this.

Towards the

Croatia proper, Dalmatia, Slavonia) was made. The šahovnica was used as the coat of arms of Croatia proper & together with the shields of Slavonia and Dalmatia was often used to represent the whole of Croatia in Austria-Hungary. It was used as an unofficial coat of arms of the Kingdom of Croatia adopted in 1848 and as an official coat of arms of the post-1868 Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (both unofficially known as Triune Kingdom
). The two are the same except for the position of the šahovnica and Dalmatian coat of arms which are switched around & with different crowns used above the shield – the later employing St Stephen's crown (associated with Hungarian kings).

By late 19th century šahovnica had come to be considered a generally recognized symbol for Croats and Croatia and in 1919, it was included in the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) to represent Croats. When the Banovina of Croatia was formed, the šahovnica (chequy gules and argent) was retained as the official symbol.

The Ustaše regime which had ruled Croatia during the World War II superimposed their ideological symbol, the letter "U" above or around the šahovnica (upper left square white) as the official national symbol during their rule.

After the

Second Yugoslavia. The šahovnica was included in the new socialist coat of arms.[9] It was designed in the socialist tradition, including symbols like wheat for peasants and an anvil for workers, as well as a rising sun to symbolize a new morning and a red star for communism
.

During the change to multiparty elections in Croatia (as part of the collapse of Communist rule in Eastern Europe from the late 1980s), and prior to the establishment of the current design, the šahovnica, shedding the communist symbols that were the hallmark of

Croatia in the second Yugoslavia
, reappeared as a stand-alone symbol as both the 'upper left square red' and 'upper left square white' variants. The choice of 'upper left square red' or 'upper left square white' was often dictated by heraldic laws and aesthetic requirements.

The first-field-white variant was adopted by the

SR Croatia was to be replaced by the "historical Croatian coat of arms with 25 red and white fields", without specifying order of fields.[11] The first-field-white variant was used at the official flag hoisting ceremony on 25 July and was later occasionally used on par with the first-field-red variant until 21 December 1990 when the current coat of arms was officially adopted.[11][12]

Current design

On 21 December 1990, the post-socialist government of Croatia, passed a law prescribing the design created by the

Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb
.

The new design added the five crowning shields which represent the regions of Croatia. They are, from left to right:

Considered the oldest known symbol representing Croatia:

Latin: Dux Croatiae).[15][16][17] Traditionally this coat of arms was depicted on red (gules) background such as the flag of the Triune Kingdom by Josip Jelačić. This coat of arms was also commonly associated with the Illyrian movement
.

Dubrovnik Republic since the 14th century. The original coat of arms is the old coat of arms of Árpád dynasty, granted to Dubrovnik Republic by King Louis I in 1358 as it became a vassal of the Hungarian-Croatian king.[18][19][20][21][22] The red-blue variant hails from the 1950s interpretation of the template (decorative) lines within the originally white lines of the original CoA.[23][24]

Sigismund of Luxembourg,[26] Albert II,[27] John Zápolya,[28] Ferdinand I,[29] and from then on various seals and arms of the Habsburgs. Originally the coat of arms was three lion heads on red background, turned to left.[30][31][32][33][34]

County of Istria are both derived from the March of Istria arms from 1861 by Hugo Gerard Ströhl
.

Croatian Sabor from 1497 until the late 18th century.[25][43]

Some of the more traditional heraldic pundits have criticized the latest design for various design solutions, such as adding a crown to the coat, varying shades of blue in its even fields, adding the red border around the coat, and using red and blue together. The government has accepted their criticism insofar as not accepting further non-traditional designs for the county coats of arms, but the national symbol has remained intact.

Unlike in many countries, Croatian design more commonly uses symbolism from the coat of arms, rather than from the Croatian flag. This is partly due to the geometric design of the shield which makes it appropriate for use in many graphic contexts (e.g. the insignia of Croatia Airlines or the design of the shirt for the Croatia national football team), and partly because the Pan-Slavic colors are present in many European flags.

Historical versions of the crown arms

Most coats of arms used in the crown on the modern-day coat of arms differ slightly from historically accurate versions.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ Zakon o grbu, zastavi i himni Republike Hrvatske te zastavi i lenti predsjednika Republike Hrvatske, Članak 7
  2. ISBN 978-3-577-14537-4
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 3-8105-1306-7
  4. ISBN 978-0-8108-6750-5
  5. ISBN 0-415-21695-8
    .
  6. ISBN 0-7190-6502-X
    .
  7. ISBN 9788772893426
    . Retrieved 2013-02-04.
  8. ISSN 0350-7165
    . Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  9. ISBN 87-7289-342-7
  10. ^ 20. lipanj 1990. - Prijedlog o promjeni imena i grba države [20 June 1990 - Proposal on the change of name and coat of arms of the state] (Motion picture, TV kalendar). Zagreb, Croatia: Croatian Radiotelevision. 2015-06-20. Archived from the original on 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  11. ^ a b Heimer, Željko. "Republika Hrvatska, 1990". The Flags and Arms of the Modern Era (in Croatian). Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  12. ^ "Dan udruge" (in Croatian). Udruga hrvatski policajac. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  13. ^ "Symbols of Republic of Croatia" (in Croatian). Ministry of Public Administration of Croatia. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  14. ^ "The Symbols of State". CARNet & Department of Telecommunications, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  15. ^ a b Croatian National Bank First Croatian money Archived 2017-04-02 at the Wayback Machine (in Croatian), accessed 24 July 2013
  16. ^ Croatian National Bank Croatian Frizatik (picture) Archived 2017-01-12 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 24 July 2013
  17. ^ a b Croatian Internet Portal in Switzerland Hrvatski novac u zadnjih 90 godina Archived 2013-08-23 at the Wayback Machine (in Croatian), accessed 24 July 2013
  18. ^ Vito Galzinski, Državni grbovi, page 344
  19. ISBN 953-154-369-0
  20. ^ Jakov Lukarić – Copioso ristretto degli annali di Rausa, page 155 Accessed 24 June 2013
  21. ^ Frane Čizmić, Državni grb Dubrovačke Republike, page 32
  22. ^ Maritime Museum in Dubrovnik Archived 2012-07-17 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 24 June 2013
  23. ^ Frane Čizmić, Državni grb Dubrovačke Republike, pages 22 and 32
  24. ^ Vito Galzinski, Državni grbovi, pages 346 and 347
  25. ^ a b c d Ivan Bojničić-Kninski – Grbovnica kraljevine "Slavonije", (1895) – PDF file (in Croatian), accessed 28 February 2014
  26. ^ Szilágyi Sándor: A Magyar Nemzet Története (in Hungarian)
  27. ^ Austria Forum Web Books Viewer Die osterreichisch-ungarische Monarchie in Wort und Bild, Ubersichtsband, 2. Abtheilung: Geschichtlicher Theil (page 47), (in German), accessed 1 August 2013
  28. ^ Fraknói Vilmos: WERBŐCZI ISTVÁN, 1458–1541
  29. ^ Dr. Veress Endre: IZABELLA KIRÁLYNÉ, 1519–1559
  30. ^ Konrad von Grünenberg – Beschreibung der Reise von Konstanz nach Jerusalem, page 32 [13v] (in German), accessed 24 July 2013
  31. ^ Konrad von Grünenberg – Wappenbuch (1602–1604) (in German), accessed 24 July 2013
  32. ^ Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München Wernigeroder (Schaffhausensches) Wappenbuch, accessed 24 July 2013
  33. ^ Gelre Armorial – Gelre Folio 52v, accessed 24 July 2013
  34. ^ Ulrich von Richental – Chronik des Konzils zu Konstanz Archived 2021-10-22 at the Wayback Machine (Chronicle of the Council of Constance, page 343), (in German), accessed 14 February 2014
  35. ^ Hrčak – Portal znanstvenih časopisa Republike Hrvatske Goat on the Istrian Coat of Arms, accessed 24 July 2013
  36. ^ The FAME Istria County Coat of Arms, accessed 28 July 2013
  37. ^ a b c Istarska Enciklopedija: Grb Istre
  38. ^ Pavao Ritter Vitezović (1701). Stemmatographia sive armorum Illyricorum delineatio, descriptio et restitutio.
  39. ^ Slovenska heraldika – Grb Istre Archived 2014-03-06 at the Wayback Machine (in Slovenian)
  40. ^ Koza u grbu Istre: prilog poznavanju povijesne pozadine grba i istarskog kozarstva – Jagoda Vondraček-Mesar (in Croatian)
  41. ^ Matica Hrvatska HRVATSKA NOVČARSKA BAŠTINA (in Croatian), accessed 24 July 2013
  42. ^ Matica Hrvatska Hrvatski grb u mijenama hrvatske povijesti (in Croatian), accessed 24 July 2013
  43. ISBN 9789532972306
    .

External links
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