The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the

Republic of Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

( hr, Grb Republike Hrvatske) 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 A checkerboard (American English) or chequerboard (British English; see spelling differences) is a board of checkered pattern on which checkers (also known as English draughts) is played. Most commonly, it consists of 64 squares (8×8) of altern ...

(

chequy In heraldry, variations of the field are any of a number of ways that a field (or a charge) may be covered with a pattern, rather than a flat tincture or a simple division of the field. Blazoning of French adjectives Variations of the field pres ...

) 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: ''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

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

Kingdom of Croatia Kingdom of Croatia may refer to: * Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102), an independent medieval kingdom * Croatia in personal union with Hungary (1102–1526), a kingdom in personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary * Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg) (152 ...

on an

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

tower depicting the emblem of Maximilian I, Archduke of Austria in 1495.Karl-Heinz Hesmer: ''Chronik griffbereit: Flaggen und Wappen der Welt''. Wissen Media Verlag GmbH, 2008. .Ottfried Neubecker: ''Wappen – ihr Ursprung, Sinn und Wert'', It appeared on a seal from the

Cetingrad Charter The 1527 election in Cetin ( hr, Cetinski / Cetingradski sabor, meaning Parliament on Cetin(grad) or Parliament of Cetin(grad), or ) was an assembly of the Croatian Parliament in the Cetin Castle in 1527. It followed a succession crisis in the Kin ...

that confirmed the 1527 election of Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria as king of Croatia in Cetin.Robert Stallaerts: ''Historical dictionary of Croatia''. Scarecrow Press, Inc. 2010. The origin of the design has often been purported as being medieval. Historic tradition states it to be the arms of

Stephen Držislav Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

in the 10th century. A Split stone baptistry from the time of

Peter Krešimir IV Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

(r. 1058–1074/5) has engraved falcons that carry something that resembles a chequy on their wings, and the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains or is designed to contain one or more bells. Bell tower may also refer to: Architecture and towers Styles *Bell tower (wat), in Thai architecture *Bell tower (Chinese Buddhism), in Han Chinese Buddhist temp ...

of the medieval

Church of St. Lucy, Jurandvor The Church of St. Lucy ( hr, Crkva svete Lucije) in Jurandvor near Baška, Krk, Croatia is a Romanesque Catholic church from the year 1100 with two major medieval Croatian artifacts: the Baška Tablet, and a checkerboard-pattern carving on the b ...

has a checkerboard pattern carved onto it. The size of the checkerboard ranges from 3×3 to 8×8, but most commonly 5×5, like in the current design. It was traditionally conjectured that the colours originally represented

Red Croatia Red Croatia ( la, Croatia Rubea; hr, Crvena Hrvatska) is a historical term used for the southeastern parts of Roman Dalmatia and some other territories, including parts of present-day Montenegro, Albania, the Herzegovina region of Bosnia and He ...

and White Croatia, but there is no historical evidence to support this. Towards the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...

the distinction for the three crown lands ( Croatia proper,

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

) 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 Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. It was used as an unofficial coat of arms of the

adopted in 1848 and as an official coat of arms of the post-1868

Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia ( hr, Kraljevina Hrvatska i Slavonija; hu, Horvát-Szlavónország or ; de-AT, Königreich Kroatien und Slawonien) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation with ...

(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 The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

) to represent Croats. When the

Banovina of Croatia The Banovina of Croatia or Banate of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Banovina Hrvatska, Бановина Хрватска) was an autonomous province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1939 and 1941. It was formed by a merg ...

was formed, the ''šahovnica'' (chequy gules and argent) was retained as the official symbol. The

Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...

regime which had ruled Croatia during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the new Socialist Republic of Croatia became a part of the federal

Second Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...

. The ''šahovnica'' was included in the new socialist coat of arms.Jonas Frykman, Jonas Frykman Gösta Arvastson: ''Ethnologia Europaea'', Volume 26, 1995. 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 A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. I ...

for

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. 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 The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Social ...

, 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

and used briefly in 1990. According to constitutional changes which came into effect on 26 June 1990 the red star in the flag of SR Croatia was to be replaced by the "historical Croatian coat of arms with 25 red and white fields", without specifying order of fields. 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.

Current design

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

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and

graphic artist A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, p ...

Miroslav Šutej, under the aegis of a commission chaired by Nikša Stančić, then head of the Department of Croatian History at the

Faculty of Philosophy A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

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

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

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 A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 The national flag of Croatia ( hr, Zastava Hrvatske) or The Tricolour () is one of the state symbols of Croatia. It consists of three equal size, horizontal stripes in colours red, white and blue. In the middle is the coat of arms of Croatia. H ...

. 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 The Croatia national football team ( hr, Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija) represents Croatia in international Association football, football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football ...

), and partly because the

Pan-Slavic colors The pan-Slavic colours (or colors) — red, blue and white — were defined by the Prague Slavic Congress, 1848, based on the flag of Russia, which was introduced in the late 17th century. The tricolor flag of Russia was itself inspired by the ...

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.

File:Coat of arms of Illyria (yellow star).svg, "Illyrian" coat of arms
(considered oldest known symbol of Croatia) File:Coat of arms of Dubrovnik.svg, Coat of arms of Dubrovnik File:HRV Dalmatia COA langued gules.svg, Coat of arms of Dalmatia File:Coat of arms of Istria.svg, Coat of arms of

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

File:HRV Slavonia COA.svg, Coat of arms of Kingdom of Slavonia

Gallery

File:Croatian Coat of Arms 1495.JPG, First known example of Croatian chequy as depicted in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

(1495) File:Croatian coa 1527.png, Coat of arms of Croatia used in 1527 as part of a seal on the

File:Coat of Arms of Kingdom of Croatia.svg,

(1525–1868) File:Wappen Königreich Croatien.jpg, Coat of arms of Croatian

Crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

(until 1868) File:Coa Croatia Country History (with crown) (1868-1918).svg,

(1868–1918). The official version had St. Stephen's crown due to Croatia being part of Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen. File:Coa Hungary Country History Mid (1867).svg, Coat of arms of Transleithania (1868–1915) File:Domoljubna značka 1914.jpg, Patriotic badge from 1914 File:Coa Hungary Country History (1916).svg, Lesser Coat of arms of Transleithania (1915–1918) File:Austro-hungarian coat of arms 1914.svg, Common coat of arms of

(1915–1918) File:Wappen Österreich-Ungarn 1916 (Klein).png, Austria-Hungary, lesser version (1916–1918) File:Coat of arms of Croatia (State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs).svg, Coat of arms of Croatia ( State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs period) File:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.svg,

(1918–1943) File:Coat of Arms of the Banate of Croatia.svg,

(1939–1943) File:Greater coat of arms of the Banate of Croatia.svg, Banovina of Croatia greater version (1939–1943) File:Coat of arms of the Independent State of Croatia.svg,

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...

(1941–1945) File:Emblem of the State Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia.svg,

ZAVNOH The State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia (''Zemaljsko antifašističko vijeće narodnog oslobođenja Hrvatske''), commonly abbreviated ZAVNOH, was first convened on 13–14 June 1943 in Otočac and Plitvice as the ...

Federal State of Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Social ...

(1943) File:CoA of the Federal State of Croatia.svg,

(1943–1947) File:Coat of Arms of Socialist Republic of Croatia.svg,

Socialist Republic of Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Social ...

(1947–1990) File:Coat of arms of Croatia (white chequy).svg, Early coat of arms of the

(1990)

References

External links

Republic of Croatia – Ministry of Foreign Affairs & European Integration

Croatian Government website – Flag, Coat-of-Arms and National Anthem

* ttp://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/hr).html Croatia – Coat of Arms – Zeljko Heimer 2000
Croatia – Proposals for New Flag in 1990 – Flags of The World

{{National symbols of Hungary C

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

National symbols of Croatia