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Flags of the World

Page created: 1st October 2000 Last updated: 2nd January 2020
The FAME is a site devoted to the systematic and scientific study of flags and coats of arms. Such symbols often bear strong political and other messages. Inclusion of those symbols here does not mean that the author supports or approves of the ideas they may stand for.	This site is harvested for the NSK digital archives.

Map of the Coast and Gorski Kotar County. Legend: M.-D. = Malinska - Dubašnica

Coast and Gorski kotar County, the - Cities

Primorsko-goranska županija - gradovi

1. Rijeka
   • Rijeka, 2016
   • Rijeka, 1998
   • Rijeka, 1996 proposal
   • Rijeka, 1967 – 1998
   • Sušak, ca. 1936 – 1948
   • Rijeka, 1924 – 1945
   • Rijeka, ca. 1900 – 1924
   • Rijeka, 1870 – ca. 1900
   • Rijeka, 1835 – 1848
   • Rijeka, ca. 1813 – 1835 and 1858 – 1870
2. Bakar
   • Bakar, late 19th c.
3. Cres
   • Cres, since the 14th century
4. Crikvenica
   • Crikvenica, Sexcentenary Flag
   • Crikvenica, proposal 1995
   • Crikvenica, 1978 – 1990
5. Čabar
6. Delnice
7. Kastav
   • Kastav, 1995 – 2003
8. Kraljevica
9. Krk
10. Mali Lošinj
11. Novi Vinodolski
12. Opatija
    • Opatija, 1995
13. Rab
    • Rab, variant
    • Rab, proposal
14. Vrbovsko

Since 1993 the Croatian legislation allows the units of local self-government (counties, cities and communities) to have their coat of arms and flag, however these may be legally used only after they are approved by a central state authority. The a flag of a city or community should be of a one colour field with the coat of arms in the centre or offset towards hoist. Some exceptions from this rule are tolerated for the cities with traditional flag established before these rules were made. The coat of arms must follow also a set of rules to be approved. Some cities and communities use unapproved designs nevertheless. See more on the approval dates. Prior to 1993 the coats of arms and flag were not regulated by state legislation.
The official bazon (heraldic descripton) of the coats of arms and descriptions of the flags are according to the approval text of the central state authority, other description according to other city documents.
In the reform of 1997 seven communities were given the city status (Bakar, Cres, Delnice, Kastav, Kraljevica, Mali Lošinj, Vrbovsko)

• Coast and Gorski kotar County, the
• Croatia - Counties
• Croatia
• City of Fiume/Rijeka, 1918 - 1924 and Italian provinces in the eastern Adriatic 1918 - 1943 on Independent City of Rijeka 1918 - 1924 and on Province of Carnaro during the Italian rule 1925 - 1943

Rijeka

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The coat of arms of the city of Rijeka is basically the same as the coat of arms granted on 6^th June 1659 by Croatian king and Austrian emperor Leopold I. In an oval shield Gules a double-headed eagle Sable both heads looking to sinister with rised wings beaked and membered Or and langued Gules standing with its dexter on a cliff and its sinister holding a vase proper from which is pouring water filling the space around the cliff. The flag adopted finally in 1998 is blue with yellow bordered coat of arms in the middle. The traditional flag of Rijeka is red over yellow over blue tricolour based on the colours of the coat of arms described elsewhere is still sometimes used unofficially, especially by the citizens (football fans, during carnival etc.). It was actually first adopted as the civic flag in 1998, but the Ministry of administration rejected it, even it is a historical flag, it is nowadays used by irredentist "Free Fiume Community Association in Exile" and therefore not appropriate, according to the Ministry. The Ministry also suggested removal of the Austrian imperial crown above the eagle and omitting of the motto "Indeficienter" (inexhaustible).
The coat of arms is reference to Rijeka (literary meaning "river") and the short swift water-rich river Rječina after which the city is named.
During the history Rijeka (known also by the Italian name Fiume) had special status in Austria-Hungary, and after the World War it was proclaimed free city. More on flags used see on other pages here.

Rijeka, 2016

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The city assembly adopted the tricolour flag of dark carmine, golden-yellow and ultramarine with the coat of arms in the centre on 14 July 2016. Eventually the Minsitry of Administration rejected the request for change of the official city flag, finding "no heraldic/vexillological basis for change of the 1999 flag", as the proposed tricolour is "simply one of numerous flags use during the history by the city without historical continuity". Also, the Minstry states that "only the state flag may be tricolour" and it is "of interest of the Republic of Croatia that the state flag remains unique".
The city anticipating the rejection hoisted the historical flag, with all the elements of the original coat of arms - the imperial crown and the ribbon with motto; on the occasion of cerelbration of the Rijeka Coat of Arma and Flag Day, first celebrated on 6 June 2018, commemoraing the original armorial patent granting the city arms in 1659.

Rijeka, 1998

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The coat of arms adopted initially in 1998 was more faithfully to the 17th century original. There was the Austrian imperial crown with two blue ribbons hanging horizontally from it above the eagle, and a ribbon with inscription "INDEFICIENTER" (inexhaustible, referring to the abundance of the river water) below the shield.
The flag adopted initially in 1998 was red (dark carmine) over yellow (dark goldish yellow) over blue (ultramarine) with the coat of arms in the middle.

Rijeka, 1996 proposal

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The design that the commission headed by Prof. Petar Strčić proposed to the city assembly on 26 February 1996 after a public competition for new symbols of Rijeka was in a concave shield, quartered, chequy gules and argent, argent a muller of six or, argent and blue and overall a vase or from which golden water issues through the third quarter. The flag was quartered white and blue with the coat of arms in the centre. The design was adopted by minimal majority in the city assembly, but the decision was never published and eventually superseded by the 1998 design.

Rijeka, 1967 – 1998

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The coat of arms adopted in 1967 is variation of the historical coat of arms of Rijeka in accordance to the style of the period. The Habsburg eagle was removed and only was retained a stylized vase from which is pouring water into the sea. The shape of the shield was made to remind to a silhouette of a ship. The flag adopted at the same time is blue with two white triangles next to the hoist representing the flow and the delta of the Rječina river. This flag was hoisted often in Rijeka during Yugoslavia regularly together with the contemporary flags of Yugoslavia, Croatia, the Italian minority and the League of Communists.
This coat of arms is until today used in some occasions, e.g. by the Rijeka public transport company and in the emblem of the F.C. "Rijeka". Their fans use the blue and white flags together with the historical red-yellow-blue tricolours and as well as the current flags of the city.

Sušak, ca. 1936 – 1948

Flag unknown.

The coat of arms of Sušak is azure a tower argent issuant from a mount vert edged with rocks argent and in the base a sail-boat with white sails on wavy sea azure.

After the World War I the municipality of Sušak, being the part of Rijeka east of Riječina (Fiumara), was granted the city status in 1919 and soon became important port and industrial centre of the interwar Yugoslavia. In the World War II Sušak was first occupied and then annexd to Italy, and after its capitualtion it is held by Germans and partisans. In the World War II Sušak was first occupied and then annexed to Italy, and after its capitulation it is held by Germans and partisans, After the World War II the city municipalities of Rijeka and Sušak were formally unified in late 1947, with the first session of the united City People's Commission held on 12 February 1948. The municipality of Sušak continued to exists as the 3rd Rayon of the City Municipality of Rijeka until 1962.
The details of the adoption of city arms are not known, as it is also unclear if Mr. Mujadžić indeed designed the coat of arms, or if he only produced a particular depiction of it for the city magistrate. The city municipality issued revenue stamps depicting the coat of arms, that remained in use, with appropriate overprints of name and values, through the regimes until the unification with Rijeka.

Rijeka, 1924 – 1945

3:5~

The short-lived Free State of Rijeka was annexed by Italy on 16 March 1924. The city flag well established prior to World War I and used as the flag of the Free City were continued in use. However, the local Italian administration prefered the "beheaded" eagle with a single head, and soon inroduced it instead of the double headed eagle, with no formal approval and grant from Rome (in spite of the royal heraldic comission suggesting otherwise). Eventually, on 24 July 1941 the president of the government granted a new coat of arms with the so called "lictorial chief" (capo del littorio) added. The tricolour red-yellow-blue flag with that coat of arms, and a gonfalon of dark red with three triangularly ending tails with fringe and trinagular cut-outs at the base of the indentation, withthat coat of arms in it were, also granated. This was formally retained through the German occupation since 1943, until the Yugoslav units entered the city on 3 May 1945.
There is, so far, no indication that the flags of this design were ever actually used. It seems that every single tricolour produced used a different unique variation of the coat of arms, often without the shield background.

Rijeka, ca. 1900 – 1924

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The city tricolour established in 1870 was used with various forms of the coat of arms withou any standardized design - and by the end of the century the version without supporters was generally in predominant use.

Rijeka, 1870 – ca. 1900

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To resolve the symbolic ambiguity, a separate flag was proposed to be displayed from the city standard, based on the armorial colours: carmine red, golden-yellow, and ultramarine blue in 1849. These colours were already used as the city colour in the revolutionary cocarde in 1848. However, no such decision on the flag was made and eventually the city administration was disbanded until 1857, thus using no flag. When the city flags were allowed again, the old defaced Austrian flag was reintroduced, and the city leaders begun a struggle to approve a genuine city flag, sucseeding it only in 1870.

Rijeka, 1835 – 1848

2:3~

Eventually the city was returned to status of the corpus separatum of the Hungarian Crown in 1835 and the flag on the city standard was changed to the Hungarian tricolour with the coat of arms in it, reportedly without the supporters.

Rijeka, ca. 1813 – 1835 and 1858 – 1870

2:3~

After the Napoleonic Wars the city of Rijeka was returned to Habsburg control and was granted right to fly the red-white-red triband on the city standard defaced with the city arms granted by king Leopold I on 6 June 1659 depicting in gules a double eagle ensigned with an imperial crown facing sinister standing on a rock in a sea holding with its sinister claw a vase pouring water. The oval shield had a ribbon beneath inscribed “Indeficienter” (non-deficient, inexhaustible). By the time the supporters were usually added to this in figures of St. Vitus and Modestus, patrons of Rijeka, clad as Romans holding palm branches.

Bakar

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The coat of arms is the modernization of the historical coat of arms of Bakar, granted in 1799 by Empress Maria Theresia: tierced per fess, in the chief 5x2 chequy gules and argent, in the heart azure three towers argent embattled and with a window and doors sable issuant from as many mounts vert, and in the base or an anchor sable fouled argent in bend. (The anchor gules prescribed by the 2009 Statutes was obviously a copying error, soon rectified.) The flag is white over yellow over blue tricolour, based on the coat of arms. This unusual pattern for the Croatian civic flags was approved by the Ministry, because of the confirmed historical use of such flag in 19th century.
Prior to the armorial grant of 1799 the city used two seals, the first from the 15th century dpeicting St. Andrew and a Frankopan star, and the other of 1681 depicting Madonna with Child and St. Andrew.

Until 1997 Bakar had status of a community.

Bakar, late 19th c.

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Such flag is depicted on a water-color by Matija Mažić, in the collection of the Bakar City Museum (Nr. 7 in Oštrić, 1996 : 14) Oštrić (1996 : 11) also implies that the tricolour flag (without the coat of arms) was determined with the 1896 statutes (Štatut slobodnoga i kraljevskoga grada Bakra, 4.11.1896.)

Cres

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The coat of arms of Cres originates from XIV century, Azure a Hipopanther Or. The modern shield is based on the historical examples preserved mainly as carved in stone in several places in Cres. The hipopanther is a beast composed of horse's head, long ears, horns like oxen, long swan-like neck, griffon's (i.e. eagle's) forelegs, and horse's rear legs and lion's tail. It spits fire, as a rule. A legend told by the Cres inhabitants explain it as symbolic for themselves - tame and lovely (and ready to work hard) as young horses they become dangerous as lions and eagles when they are provoked. The flag is blue with the yellow bordered coat of arms in the centre. Both light blue and dark blue variation is recorded in use. A pale blue flag in vertical shape is also recorded in use. The ceremonial flag is a triangularly ending gonfalon with the coat of arms in the centre, the city name in two arches above and ornaments of olive branches and bunches of grapes below. The same general design is used as the table flag, omitting the grapes.

Until 1997 Cres had status of a community.

Cres, since the 14th century

The Statutes of the city of Cres claims that the traditional flag "used already seven centuries" is of alternating blue and golden stripes with the traditional coat of arms in the centre. So far no other sources may confirm this claim.

Crikvenica

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The coat of arms is blue with a house over a bridge with an embattled tower to the right and a bell-tower to the left all silver/white, from which is issuing a golden palm tree. The coat of arms pictures the old fortified city (kaštel) of Crikvenica The flag is yellow with the coat of arms in the middle.
A ceremonial flag is also used, vertical gonfalon with three triangularly ending tails, the middle of longer then the other two. The coat of arms is in the middle, the name of the city above, and golden ornaments below in the tails.

Crikvenica, Sexcentenary Flag

1:2~

In 2012 the city celebrated 600 years since the first mention of its name in an official document, in a charter of 14 August 1412 by duke Nicolas IV Frankopan, granting a monastery to the Pauline monks. The flag is a Bordeaux red gonfalon with three rectangular tails with golden fringe. In the centre is the logo of the celebration, stylized city with a tower and a belfry as in the coat of arms, over a bridge, encircled with the inscription "600 godina Crikvenice" (600 years of Crikvenica). Below the inscription is repeated in a line in Glagolitic letters ".Ⱈ. ⰃⰑⰄⰋⰐⰀ ⰜⰓⰋⰍⰂⰅⰐⰋⰜⰅ". The flag was set in the city assembly hall in place of the ceremonial flag, efectivly replacing it and it is still so used.
A rectangular version of the flag was used for outdoors display.
While the initial leter "heru" in the Glagolitic inscription should be set between two dots, indicating that the letter should be read as numeral, with numerical value of 600, as it appears in some depictions of the logo, in most of the depictions the dots are omitted, just as well as they are omitted from the flag.

Crikvenica, proposal 1995

The design considered prior to the adoption of the final designs differed in that the palm was not issuing from the city buildings, but above it. The ceremonial flag was a yellow gonfalon with three triangularly ending tails with fringe along the bottom, white laurel ornaments in the tails, the coat of arms in the centre and white inscription in the top.

Crikvenica, 1978 – 1990

No flag.

The coat of arms of Crikvenica adopted in 1978 is in a light blue shield a gray tower between two white sails ensigned with a green tree above a gray bridge with tree arches over a blue river and in base a brown ship afrontee its top in chevron inverted edged green its oar holes gules and in the chief a red five-pointed star. The ship's oar holes forms letter C for Crikvenica, the bridge is that over the Dubračina stream near which the Frankapan's tower was erected in 15th century. It is set between two "sails" representing the two other towns at the time being parts of the community, Novi Vinodolski and Selca and the trees represent the forest laying in the hinterland. The flag was not adopted.

Čabar

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The coat of arms of Čabar is Vert a bar argent in chief a fortified city of the same and in base a buck's head erased or. The flag is green with the coat of arms in the centre of it bordered golden.
The decision describes the coat of arms with wavy bar, but a straight one is used consistently. The flag as prescribed in the decision includes also golden inscription "Grad Čabar" beneath the coat of arms, but such is not used. These details might have been corrected after the Ministry suggestion, but the decision on that is not issued in the official gazette.
The ceremonial flag is a dark green gonfalon ending triangularly with golden fringe with two indentations forming three tails, with the golden name of the city above, the coat of arms in the centre and the golden fir ornaments in the tails.

Delnice

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The coat of arms of Delnice is Azure a forestry worker standing on a mount vert propped a pick proper. The man is clad in local garment - white shirt, golden rimmed black waistcoat, green trousers and with a black hat with golden ribbon. The coat of arms is a historical one, it originates from seals of 1805, shown in a shield shape by Lazsowski, althugh it was apparently not used much until modern readoption.
The flag is green with the coat of arms in the centre bordered golden.

Until 1997 Delnice had status of a community.

Kastav

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The coat of arms of Kastav is modernization of the historical one: Azure St. Helena (Empress mother of Constantine the Great) issuant from the base clad in white and cloaked gules, crowned and haloed or holding a cross of the last. The flag is red with the yellow bordered coat of arms in the centre. The ceremonial flag is dark red with the coat of arms and the inscription GRAD KASTAV in Roman Capital letters with a characteristic slanted letter S. Table flags are of the same general design in simplified form with triangular end.

Until 1997 Kastav had status of a community.

Kastav, 1995 – 2003

In 1995 the different symbols were adopted. The coat of arms was gules two towers connected with walls with city gates Voltica, rising above the belfry of the Church of St. Helena and below all two ivy branches with golden fruits. The flag was bicolour - silver over red with the coat of arms in the centre. Also a ceremonial gonfalon was prescribed, red with coat of arms and the inscribed name of the community above and three tails with ivy leaves and golden fruits.

Kraljevica

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Karljevica, or in Italian Porto Re, has a coat of arms that pictures the name meaning the Royal Port: Azure, an Anchor Or ensigned with a Royal Crown proper. The coat of arms bordered golden is set in the centre of a blue flag. The ceremonial flag is a blue gonfalon with three tails, the central one longer, with fringe along the bottom and each tail with a yellow ornament. In the centre of it is the coat of arms topped with the name of the city and with fig branches below it.

Until 1997 Kraljevica had status of a community.

Krk

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The coat of arms of the city of Krk is a historical one, in oval shield an owl standing on a green triple mount. The flag is red with the coat of arms in the middle. The red ceremonial flag is fairly simple, three tailed gonfalon with the coat of arms and name of the city inscribed above. The coat of arms is also used ornamented with an oak and an olive branch beneath the shield.

Mali Lošinj

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The coat of arms of Mali Lošinj is used since at least early 20th century Azure a three-masted sail-ship maroon with full sails or. The flag is light blue with the yellow bordered coat of arms in the centre. Beside the yellow bordered coat of arms, flags without the border around it were also recorded in use as well as several variations. Table flags are vertical with upwarfds offset coat of arms.
The flags of the shipping companies from Mali Lošinj are often found in international vexillological sources under the Italian name of the city of Lussinpiccolo.

Until 1997 Mali Losinj was a community.

Novi Vinodolski

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The coat of arms of Novi Vinodolski is: Azure a tower argent massoned and embattled with windows sable issuant from a mullet or, and it is said to be a historical one (although no support for the claim was found). The charges symbolically show the city as a fortress of the Frankopan family, one of the most important Croatian feudal families, whose emblem was a six-pointed star. The flag is azure blue with the coat of arms in the centre.

Opatija

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The coat of arms of Opatija pictures a white seagull with red beak and claws standing on top of a white tower on a cliff in blue field with blue and white waves in base. In more ceremonial occasions it is bordered in gold and with a golden ribbon bearing the city name in black below. The flag is blue with the golden outlined coat of arms in the centre. The ceremonial flag is a blue gonfalon with three trails containing ornaments of laurel and oak and the name of the city above.

Opatija, 1995

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The coat of arms was first adopted in 1995 with one difference - the bird above the tower was an eagle with its head turned towards dexter. After several months this was changed to a seagull looking towards sinister. The flag was adopted with that coat of arms bordered yellow, and a ceremonial flag with laurel and oak ornaments in tails.

Rab

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The coat of arms shows the city's patron, St. Christopher carrying Baby Jesus across a river. The city uses several historic variants depicting in blue field the white city with four belfries above waves ensigned with a crescent and a golden star and depiction of St. Christopher holding Jesus and a palm branch. The shield is set within a wreath of olive and oak topped with St. Christopher's crown, with a bicolour white and blue ribbon hanging from the crown encircling the wreath seven times and bearing the inscription Felix Arba. This is the name of the city in Latin with the title Felix given to especially meritorious cities in Roman times. The coat of arms should be put in a white oval patch, but somtimes it forms only very thin outline around the arms. Horizontal and vertical variants are used.
The designs of the coat of arms and the flags from the Statutes are not approved by the central authorities.
The other design, based on the historical pattern (Laszowski), but in accordance with the state regulations, is not used by the Rab authorities, and its status is unclear.

Rab, variant

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A variant design of the coat of arms in the flag, with notably different artisical depiction of the wreath is used as well. This is used in a ceremonial flag in form of a gonfalon with three rectangular tails edged vertically with wide yellow ribbons and all around with golden fringe, divided diagonally into white and blue with the coat of arms in the centre.

Rab, proposal

An other design, based on the historical pattern (Laszowski), but in accordance with the state regulations, is not used by the Rab authorities, and its status is unclear.

Vrbovsko

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The coat of arms of Vrbovsko is modernization of the coat of arms granted by Emperor Joseph II in 1785 per fess or an eagle displayed sable beaked, lagued and membered gules and azure a bridge on two pillars issuant from water connecting two cliffs argent. The flag is green with the coat of arms in the centre of it.
The ceremonial flag is a green gonfalon ending triangularly, bordered golden with fringe along bottom edge. In the centre is the coat of arms, above in two rows name of the city and below crossed branches of oak and fir.

Until 1997 Vrbovsko was a community.

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Flags of the World