Croatian heraldry is the study of

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 ...

– of

coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...

and other

achievements Achievement may refer to: *Achievement (heraldry) *Achievement (horse), a racehorse *Achievement (video gaming), a meta-goal defined outside of a game's parameters See also * Achievement test for student assessment * Achiever, a personality typ ...

– in the country 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 ...

and the area it occupies. Arms were often granted by the

Austro-Hungarian Empire 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 ...

(and their constituent countries,

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 ...

and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

) and

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

when Croatia was occupied by their forces. The study of Croatian arms started in the 17th century. Although largely unregulated, there are bodies such as the Croatian Heraldic and Vexillologic Association in Croatia.

Coat of arms of Croatia

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 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 silver (white) fields. It is commonly known as ''šahovnica'' ("chessboard", from ''šah'', "chess" in Croatian). The five smaller shields represent five different historical regions that comprise Croatia. It was adopted 21 December 1990.

Common themes

In Hungarian-inspired Croatian heraldry, a common

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqua ...

was the bloodied head of a Turk, this being a reference to various invasions of the area by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Also popular were griffins, bears, solar, lunar and stellar images, and horses. Unlike much of European heraldry, multiple colors are common in

mantling In heraldry, mantling or "lambrequin" (its name in French) is drapery tied to the Helmet (heraldry), helmet above the shield. In paper heraldry it is a depiction of the protective cloth covering (often of linen) worn by knights from their helmet ...

, most commonly blue and gold on the dexter side and red and silver on the sinister.

Municipal heraldry

Municipalities such as

Zagreb County Zagreb County ( hr, Zagrebačka županija) is a county in Northern Croatia. It surrounds, but does not contain, the nation's capital Zagreb, which is a separate territorial unit. For that reason, the county is often nicknamed "Zagreb ring" ( hr, z ...

have been granted arms, in Zagreb's case this happened in 1759, on the county's creation.Croatian Civic Heraldry
''Heraldry of the World''. Retrieved on 2009-06-16. Article 9 of the ''Law on local self-government and administration'' says:

The municipality, town and county can, with approval of the central state administration body that is competent for local self-government matters, have its coat-of-arms and its flag.

Of 2007, around 65% were using this right. (2007) Retrieved on 2009-06-16. Using the coat of arms as a charge on the

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 ...

is common. Black is discouraged as a field colour.

References

{{Croatia-stub Heraldry by country