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Croatian Flag

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Croatian Flag

Learn about the history of the Croatian flag, its meaning and its evolution: this resource reviews all of the elements of the Croatian flag, and what they have represent through the ages. We'll also review the individual symbols of the flag, and what they mean.

Important!

Croatian Flag History

Progression of the flag since its early beginnings

12th Century: Ancient Croatian Flag

This design, featuring a 6-point star over a crescent moon, is believed to be the earliest Croatian flag or crest. It features the symbols that were made famous by the Illyrian crest. This design is wrongly mistaken as a symbol of Islam, which it is not - as the Islamic star features 5 points representing the "Five Pillars." The star is called "Danica," and the cresent, "Leljiva."

1848-1852: Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia & Dalmatia flag

The blue, white and red stripe design continued in usage, and included a coat of arms, featuring the banners of the three regions: Croatia (red and white checkerboard), the southwestern coastal region of Dalmatia (three crowned leopard heads) and the eastern region of Croatia known as Slavonia; topped with a Hungarian crown.

1852-1860: Kingdom of Croatia flag

In 1852, the original tri-color design (blue, white and red) was forbidden under the Habsburg Empire, as Croatia's flag was forced as a "red and white" stripe design, and Slavonia as a "blue and white" stripe design. The blue, white and red stripe flag was later re-instated around the year 1860.

1867-1918: Triune Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia & Slavonia flag

After 1869's Croatian/Hungarian agreement, the crest now depicts a St. Stephen's crown. The crest was modified to switch the positions of the Croatian and Dalmatian crests, and featured a more basic shield design.

1939-1941: Banovina of Croatia flag

The Banovina of Croatia was a province in Yugoslavia, which covers much of present-day Croatia, as well as areas of present-day Bosnia & Serbia, with its capital at Zagreb.

This separate flag featured the same distinct red, white and blue stripes, and the "chequy" or red-and-white checkerboard crest within the middle, sans its crown.

1941-1945: Independent State of Croatia flag

After Yugoslavia was attacked by Axis forces in April of 1941, Croatia was established as a Nazi puppet-state known as the "Independent State of Croatia." Its flag looked like the classic Bavonia flag, but with a "U" symbol representing the Croatian Ustasa, a separatist movement that headed a nation-wide ethnic cleansing and holocaust of non-ethnic Croatians, anti-facists and Orthodox practitioners.

1943-1990: SFR Yugoslavia flag

The former Socialist Federal Republic, Yugoslavia, adopted this flag for all of the components of its socialist state: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. This flag featured the traditional blue, white and red Slavic flag colors, with a yellow-outlined red star at the center.

1990-Present: Croatian flag

Ten months after Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia on December 22, 1990, this flag was created to represent the country. The crest houses the traditional red and white checker pattern, and the area where the Hungarian and St. Stephen crowns once stood is now a 5-point row of shield designs representing ancient Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia. Yugoslavia collapsed entirely, about 2 years after Croatia's independence.

Important!

Croatian Flag Components

What each facet of the flag represents

Flag Colors & Influence of Pan-Slavism

Blue, White and Red Bands

The red and blue colors of the Croatian flag were inspired by the Slavic flag concept (pictured on the right), a flag devised in 1848 representing opposition to the oppression that Slavic people had been suffering from Austrian and Russian rule. This 19th century movement was known as "Pan-Slavism," and had support through the Balkans, and also in Poland.

Other Slavic nations still use the blue, white and red stripes: including Serbia, Slovenia and Slovakia. The Czech Republic uses these colors, except with two stripes and a triangle.

Note how the modern day Croatian flag has inverted the blue and red stripes; as the red stripe is the top-most, and the blue stripe is the bottom-most.

About the Red & White Checkerboard Pattern

The distinct red-and-white checkerboard or chequy pattern (or sahovnica meaning "chessboard") is synonymous with Croatia - you'll see it not only within the crest on the national flag, but in anything else that represents Croatia or Croatian pride. The country's crest contains 13 red and 12 white checkers within its pattern.

This pattern is the symbol of Croatian kings, dating back to the 10th century. A legend exists that tells of a Croatian king who was once captured by Venetians. He played chess with the Venetian official for a chance to gain freedom; won the game, and later adopted the red and white checkerboard as the symbol of his country.

The red and white checkerboard pattern was first seen representing Croatia in 1491, and was officially used in 1527 when Ferdinand of Habsburgh was declared king.

5-Point Crown

The crown design above the Croatian crest are ancient coat-of-arms designs.
From left to right, they represent 5 regions:

Ancient Croatia: A gold 6-point star (morning star) over a crescent on a blue shield - thought of as an ancient Illyrian symbol and possibly the most ancient flag used by Croatians.

Republic of Dubrovnik: This region was once a republic in southern Dalmatia, specifically from 1358-1808. Two red stripes on a dark blue colored shield represent its coat-of-arms. Today, "Dubrovnik" represents the famous and ancient walled city.

Dalmatia: There is no "border" outlining exactly where Dalmatia lies, but it is generally a term outlining the central to southwestern coast of Croatia. Its shield is represented by three golden crowned leopards on a light blue background.

Istria: The peninsula on the northwestern end of Croatia, which has heavy Italian influence. Its crest is a golden goat with red horns.

Slavonia: This is the name for a region that encompasses much of eastern Croatia. Its coat include two silver stripes representing the north & south border. The furry creature in the middle is a marten (called "Kuna" in Croatian, which is also the name of the country's currency), with a 6-point gold star above it.