The current form of the

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

flag of the Slovak Republic ( sk, Vlajka Slovenskej republiky) was adopted by

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, which came into force on 3 September 1992. The flag, like many other flags of Slavic nations, uses

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 ...

(

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, and

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

). Pictured in the centre of the flag is the Slovakia's national coat of arms.

History

Slovakia's flag in its current form (but with another coat of arms on it or without any arms) can be dated back to the revolutionary year 1848. It was also used semi-officially in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

before

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 ...

, by the

Slovak Republic Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

during World War II. In 1990, the interior ministry tasked

Ladislav Čisárik Ladislav Čisárik (29 December 1953 – 3 August 2017) was a Slovakia, Slovak heraldic artist, painter, and graphic designer. In 1990, Ladislav Čisárik and Ladislav Vrtel co-designed the Coat of arms of Slovakia, the current flag of Slovakia, ...

, a painter and heraldic artist, and Ladislav Vrtel, an expert in

heraldry 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 branch ...

, with creating a new coat of arms and national flag. Čisárik and Vrtel based their designs for a modern coat of arms and flag on an existing 14th century coat of arms. However, Čisárik and Vrtel chose to enlarge the double cross three times to emphasize it as a national symbol. In addition to the national coat of arms and the national flag, the duo also designed a new presidential standard, which incorporates the double cross as well. The new flag was finally adopted (initially without Čisárik's and Vrtel's coat of arms) on 1 March 1990 as the flag of the Slovak Republic within Czechoslovakia. The coat of arms was added on 3 September 1992 and a special law describing the details of the flag followed in February 1993, after Slovakia became an independent country.

Design

Since the Slovak flag without the coat of arms is identical to the current flag of the Russian Federation, and can also be compared to the modern

flag of Slovenia The national flag of Slovenia ( sl, zastava Slovenije) features three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red, with the Coat of arms of Slovenia located in the upper hoist side of the flag centered in the white and blue bands. The c ...

, the

Constitution of Slovakia A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

added the national coat of arms to it in September 1992. It is one of 28 national flags that contain overtly Christian symbols.

Photo gallery

File:Flags of Slovakia.jpg, A line of Slovak flags on poles File:Vertical Slovak Flag Logan Square Philadelphia 30 Jul 2022.jpg, The correct vertical display of the Slovak flag (with rotated coat of arms)

Presidential standard

File:Flag of the President of Czechoslovakia (1918-1939, 1945-1960).svg, Presidential standard of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

(1918–1939)
(1945–1960) File:Flag of the President of Slovakia (1939-1945).svg, Presidential standard of

First Slovak Republic First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

(1939–1945) File:Flag_of_the_President_of_Czechoslovakia_(1960-1990).svg, Presidential standard of

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, ČSSR, formerly known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 29 March 1990, when it was renamed the Czechoslovak ...

(1960–1990) File:Flag of the President of Czechoslovakia (1990-1992).svg, Presidential standard of

Czech and Slovak Federative Republic After the Velvet Revolution in late-1989, Czechoslovakia adopted the official short-lived country name Czech and Slovak Federative Republic ( cz, Česká a Slovenská Federativní Republika, sk, Česká a Slovenská Federatívna Republika; ''� ...

(1990–1992) File:Flag of the President of Slovakia.svg, Presidential standard of

(1993–present)

Historical flags

References

External links

Slovakia Flag

Zákon NR SR o štátnych symboloch Slovenskej republiky a ich používaní

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slovakia, Flag of Flags of Slovakia Flags with crosses Flags introduced in 1992

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

National flags