Flag of Slovenia

The flag of Slovenia is a red, white, and blue tricolor with the national emblem. The ratio of width to length of the flag is one to two. The colors of the flag are arranged in the following order (from top to bottom): white, blue, red. Each color occupies one third of the flag's width. The central point of the coat of arms on the flag should cover the point that is 1/4 of the flag's length and the point of intersection of white and blue colors. The coat of arms with its upper half with stars enters the white field, and the second half enters the blue field. The height of the coat of arms should be 1/3 of the flag's width or equal to the width of one of the three colors of the flag.

Meaning of the Slovenian flag

• White symbolizes peace and honesty, as well as the defining feature of the Slovenian landscape - the snowy peaks of the Alps;
• blue reflects the rivers and the Adriatic Sea, which are important waterways and maritime heritage of the country;
• red symbolizes strength and valor. This color is also associated with the red crescent and the red color of the coat of arms of the Duchy of Carniola. The red color reflects the historical struggle of the Slovenian people for national sovereignty and independence.

What does the coat of arms of Slovenia look like?

The coat of arms of Slovenia has the form of a shield with a white image of Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia and one of the symbols of Slovenian nationality, on a blue background. Below the Triglav are two wavy blue lines symbolizing Slovenian seas and rivers. Above the Triglav are three golden six-pointed stars in the form of a triangle pointing downward, taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of Celje. They were the most important noble family on the territory of modern Slovenia. The author of the coat of arms is the sculptor Marko Pogačnik, who won a public competition for the selection of a new Slovenian coat of arms in 1991. The coat of arms has a red outline on the left and right sides, so that all three colors of the Slovenian tricolor are present:

• white - mountain;
• blue - wavy line;
• red - contour.

The golden color of the three stars also preserves the memory of the historical flag of the Land of Carniola, which is considered to be the predecessor of the tricolor.

The history of the Slovenian flag

On April 7, 1848, a group of students led by the liberal nationalist activist and poet Lovro Toman raised the first Slovenian flag in Ljubljana. The Austrian authorities adopted it as the official flag of Carniola, despite strong opposition from Germany. The Austrian government generally suppressed non-German emblems throughout the empire, but this regional recognition was an exception.

Fearing that flags with more than three colors could provoke an uprising, the Austrian central government ordered that regional flags and the empire flag be limited to two colors each. Therefore, the Slovenian people were very happy when the Carniolan tricolor-white, blue, and red-was officially adopted as the symbol of the United Slovenia. At some point in the second half of the nineteenth century, the Slovenian tricolor supplanted all other national symbols in importance.

Even after Slovenia became part of Yugoslavia with a flag with blue at the top, the flag with its bright colors was still easily recognizable. Although it was banned and its users were punished by the fascist government, it was used by the Slovenes of the Julian March, who were conquered by Italy in the interwar period. The coat of arms of Slovenia, designed by Marko Poganik, was officially adopted after the country declared its freedom from Yugoslavia. On June 27, 1991, after many months of discussions about the coat of arms of the new republic, the flag was chosen.