Coat of arms of Croatia 306210 223603997 2008-07-04T21:02:12Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other {{Infobox coat of arms | name = Coat of arms of Croatia | image = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg | image_width = 200 | middle = | middle_width = | middle_caption = | lesser = | lesser_width = | lesser_caption = | armiger = | year_adopted = [[21 December]] [[1990]] | crest = | torse = | shield = | supporters = | compartment = | motto = | orders = | other_elements = | earlier_versions = | use = }} The '''[[Coat of arms]] of [[Croatia]]''' consists of one main shield and five smaller shields which form a crown over the main shield. The main coat of arms is a [[checkerboard]] (chequy) that consists of 13 red and 12 silver (white) fields. It's commonly known as '''''šahovnica''''' ("chessboard", from ''šah'', "chess" in [[Croatian language|Croatian]]). The five smaller shields represent five different historical regions that comprise Croatia. ==History== The red and white checkerboard has been a symbol of Croatian kings since at least the 10th century, ranging in size from 3×3 to 8×8, but most commonly 5×5, like the current coat. It was traditionally conjenctured that the colours originally represented two ancient Croat states, [[Red Croats|Red Croatia]] and [[White Croats|White Croatia]], but there is no generally accepted proof for this theory. The oldest source confirming the coat as an official symbol is a genealogy of the [[Habsburg]]s, dated from 1512 to 1518. In 1525 it was used on a votive medal. The oldest known example of the ''šahovnica'' in Croatia is to be found on the wings of four falcons on a baptismal font donated by king [[Petar Krešimir IV of Croatia]] (1058–1074) to the [[Archbishop of Split]]. The oldest known coat of arms of Croatia (six-pointed star over a moon), coat of arms of Dalmatia and coat of arms of Slavonia (as well as the ''šahovnica'') were all at times used as the Coat of Arms to represent the whole Croatia, especially in early heraldic period. Towards the [[Late Middle Ages]] the distinction for the three crown lands (Croatia 'proper', Dalmatia, Slavonia) was made. The ''šahovnica'' was used as the coat of arms of Croatia proper & together with the shields for Slavonia and Dalmatia was often used to represent the whole of Croatia in [[Austria-Hungary]]. An example of where the Croatian coat of arms was constituted of the ''šahovnica'' & Dalmatian (top half of coat of arms), & Slavonian (bottom half of coat of arms) crests include the: *Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia in Habsburg Empire (1848-1852) - as depicted on the roof of St Mark's Church in Zagreb; *Triune Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia (1867 - 1918). The two are the same except for the position of the ''šahovnica'' & 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 [[Ustashe]] 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 World War]], the new Socialist Republic of Croatia became a part of the federal [[SFRY|Second Yugoslavia]]. The ''šahovnica'' was included in the new socialist coat of arms with superimposed ''red star'' as a socialist ideological symbol. 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 current design== On [[21 December]] [[1990]], the post-socialist government of Croatia, passed a law prescribing the design created by the [[graphic designer]] Miroslav Šutej, under the aegis of a commission chaired by Nikša Stančić, then head of the Department of [[History of Croatia|Croatian History]] at the Faculty of Philosophy, [[University of Zagreb]]. The new design added the five crowning shields which represent the historical regions from which Croatia originated. They are, from left to right: # the oldest known Croatian coat of arms: a golden six-pointed star (representing the [[Venus (planet)|morning star]]) over a silver moon on a blue shield. # an older coat of arms of the [[Republic of Dubrovnik]]: two red stripes on a dark blue shield. The coat of arms on the flags and stone portals of Dubrovnik were painted black as a sign of grief by Dubrovnik' s citizens after the invasion by Napoleon. # the coat of arms of [[Dalmatia]]: three golden, crowned [[Leopard (heraldry)|leopards]], two over one, on a blue shield. This coat of arms originates from the Roman Emperor [[Diocletian]] who made his palace (the core of city of Split) the capital of the Western Roman Empire. His [[Diocletian's Palace|palace]], to this day, still stands in [[Split]]. # the coat of arms of [[Istria]]: a golden goat with red hooves and horns, on a dark blue shield. # the coat of arms of [[Slavonia]]: two silver stripes on blue shield (representing the rivers [[Drava]] and [[Sava (river)|Sava]] that mark the northern and the southern border of Slavonia), between them on a red field a black, running [[marten]] (kuna in Croatian - note national currency is related to the marten - [[Croatian kuna]]), above a six-pointed, golden star. This coat was to Slavonia was officially recognised by king [[Ladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary|Ladislaus Jagiello]] in 1496. Some of the more traditional [[heraldry|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, and adding the red border around the coat. The government has accepted their criticism insofar as not accepting further non-traditional designs for the [[Counties of Croatia|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 [[Flag of Croatia|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 due to the fact that neighbouring countries like [[Slovenia]] and [[Serbia]] use the same [[Pan-Slavic colours]] on their flags as Croatia. ==Trivia== * The pattern of ''šahovnica'' resembles an autochthonous flower called [[kockavica]], which is sometimes associated with the coat of arms. * Some right-wing Croats claimed that the colour of the top left square is a mark of whether Croatia is independent or ruled by foreigners, white or red respectively. However, this notion is contradicted by the coat of arms during the quisling [[Independent State of Croatia]], periods of the [[Habsburg]] rule & domination by the [[Kingdom of Hungary|Magyar monarchs]] - all with an upper left square white. In the case of Republic of Croatia the first square is red. The preferred design also varies by geography with 'upper left square white' historically preferred by Croats in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] and 'upper left square red' by those in [[Hrvatsko Zagorje]] and parts of [[Dalmatia]][http://wap.macedonia.org/myth/coat-of-arms.html][http://www.fotw.net/flags/hr_1990.html#coa]. The stand-alone 'upper left square white' design being associated with nationalists is a [[Ignoratio elenchi#Red herring|red herring]] because of its adoption by politically neutral groups and that existing on many historic buildings and cultural artifacts in Croatia and other parts of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, is the ''šahovnica'' in both its 'upper left square red' and 'upper left square white' variants; stand-alone or with other crests and predate the perceived political connotations of the modern era. The choice of 'upper left square red' or 'upper left square white' is more often dictated by heraldic laws and aesthetic requirements. * On the issue of whether the upper left square should be white or red, the following is stated on a 'vexillology and heraldry' website ("Croatia - History of the National Flag" - by Željko Heimer) <blockquote>"''What does heraldry say on that? Heraldic definition of chequered red and white does not say anything on which one goes first. However, most of books refer that if the shield stands for its own, it should have red first, mainly for aestethical purposes, making the borders of the shield more visible. If the shield stands together with others, e.g. in the trierced shield of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia, or the one of Kingdom of Yugoslavia, it is better to have the white one first, so that more metal (white) than colour (red) is against the coloured fields (red, blue) of the other two."''</blockquote> * In heraldry sources, the ''šahovnica'' is often referred to as ''chequy arms''. * The Croatian Coat of arms bears a strong resemblance with the [http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlag_van_Noord-Brabant flag of the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant]. ==Gallery== <div align="center"> <gallery> Image:Croatia, Historic Coat of Arms.svg|The ''šahovnica'' (eng. 'checkerboard' or 'chessboard') - traditional shield Image:Triune Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia (1867 - 1918).gif|Coat of arms of the Triune Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia (1867 - 1918). The official version had St Stephens crown on it, symbolising Hungarian rule over Croatia. Image:Triune Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia (1867 - 1918)unofficial.gif|The unofficial coat of arms from the Triune Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia. This version replaced St Stephen's crown, and was preferred by some. Image:Wappen Österreich-Ungarn 1916 (Klein).png|Middle Coat of arms of [[Austria-Hungary]] from 1915 Image:Kingdom of Yugoslavia CoA (big).png |Coat of arms of the former [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]] (1918-1941) Image:Coat of arms of the Independent State of Croatia.svg|Coat of arms of [[Independent State of Croatia]] (1941-1945) Image:SR Croatia coa.png|Coat of arms of former [[People's Republic of Croatia]] (1945-1963) & the former [[Socialist Republic of Croatia]] (1963-1990) Image:Coat of Arms of Croatia (1990).svg|Coat of arms adopted in 1990 and briefly used until the current coat of arms was adopted later in 1990. Image:Croatian_Coat_of_Arms.svg|Current coat of arms of the Republic of Croatia (official since 1990) </gallery> </div> == See also == * [[Coat of arms of Zagreb]] == External links == * [http://www.mfa.hr/MVP.asp?pcpid=950 Republic of Croatia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs & European Integration] * [http://www.vlada.hr/default.asp?mode=1&gl=200301290000007&jezik=2&sid= Croatian Government website - Flag, Coat-of-Arms and National Anthem] * [http://www.croatianhistory.net/etf/coat.html Croatian Coat of Arms during centuries - Darko Zubrinic, 2005] * [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3763/is_199609/ai_n8746333 Stan Granic: Evolution and use of the Croatian coat of arms, The Canadian Slavonic Papers, Sep-Dec 1996] * [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/hr-heral.html Croatia - Coat of Arms - Zeljko Heimer 2000] * [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/hr!1990.html Croatia - Proposals for New Flag in 1990 - Flags of The World] * [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/hr}.html Croatia - Political Flags - Flags of The World] * [http://mirror.veus.hr/myth/coat-of-arms.html C. 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