This week we tell you the story of the Slovenian flag. Or better said the historical development, origin, and flag proposals for the Slovenian flag. Learn everything about the Slovenian flag here.
Flags of the countries are a sort of insignia and a form of country’s symbolism.
As you can see in the photo above, the Slovenian flag consists of three colors, which are white, blue, and red. The three colors are placed horizontally. The proportion of the Slovenian flag is 1:2.
In the middle of the white and blue horizontal lines, the Slovene coat of arms is located. The coat of arms is a shield with the image of Triglav, Slovenia’s highest peak, in white against a blue background at the center; beneath it are two wavy blue lines representing the Slovenian part of the Adriatic Sea and Slovenian rivers (such as Soča, Sava, and Drava), and above it is three six-pointed golden stars arranged in an inverted triangle which are taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of Celje, the great Slovene dynastic house of the late 14th and early 15th centuries that lived in the city of Celje.
The colors of the Slovenian flag are considered to be Pan-Slavic, however, they are actually from the medical coat of arms of the Carniola.
The last change to the current Slovenian flag design was in 1991.
Slovenian Flag Through History
First rise of the Slovenian flag
The white-blue-red Slovene flag was raised for the first time on April 7, 1848, in Ljubljana, the capital city of Slovenia. The Slovenian flag was raised for the first time by Slovenian activist and poet Lovro Toman in response to the German flag which was raised on the top of Ljubljana castle.
In addition, Austrian authorities saw all tricolors on the Slovenian flag as nationalist and potentially revolutionary symbols, so Austrian and German provinces were only allowed to use bicolors. Raising of the Slovenian flag in Ljubljana was somewhat seen as a major achievement in 1848 and it quickly became the symbol of United Slovenia.
In the second half of the 19th century, the Slovenian flag with its tricolor became an all-Slovene symbol, with which the Slovenian population was represented.
Slovenian flag during Yugoslavia
Slovenian flag was recognized and associated with the country also during the country’s incorporation into Yugoslavia. Keep in mind, at the time all the countries under Yugoslavia had the same flag and had to use the flag of the kingdom.
During the interwar period, the Slovenian flag was also used by the Slovenes of the so-called Julian March, which was annexed to Italy, where the Slovenian flag was prohibited and heavily persecuted by the fascist regime.
Slovenian flags during and after WWII
During the World War II, the Slovenian national colors were used both by the Partisan Resistance Movement (usually with a red star in the middle) and by the Slovenian Home Guard, the voluntary anti-Communist militia, which was sponsored and supported by the Nazi German occupation forces.
In the year of 1945, a red star was officially placed on the flag of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, a constituent of Socialist Yugoslavia.
Flag of independent Slovenia
After Slovenia fought and won the war for its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, the red star in the middle of the flag was officially removed from the Slovenian flag. The new coat of arms, which is still placed on the Slovenian flag we use today was designed by Marko Pogačnik. The Slovenian flag was officially adopted on 27 June 1991, following a long and controversial dispute about the coat of arms of the new Republic of Slovenia and its emergence from under Yugoslavia.
New Slovenian flag proposals
In 2003, a campaign was started and set out to change the Slovenian flag. The aim of the campaign to change the Slovenian flag was to enhance Slovenian recognition on an international scale and to differentiate it from Russia and Slovakia, which have similar flags to the Slovenian flag. Among the proposals for the change were also changes to the symbolism, removing the coat of arms, change of the colors, and so on. The new proposed colors were white, light blue, and green. During the campaign a new eleven-striped design won, however, the Slovenian public was against it and there were no need changes added to the Slovenian flag afterward.
Now that you know everything about the Slovenian flag, you can start learning Slovene with us!
THE SLOVENIA BOOK top 52 destinations
This new edition of THE Slovenia Book is packed with tips and advice from our experienced foreign journalists who reside in the country. It doesn’t matter what type of trip you are going on, THE Slovenia Book is a great companion on any visit to Slovenia and is the perfect souvenir to take home with you.
We updated the format of the best seller, changed the pictures, updated the interviews, and checked all the data.
