| Coat of arms of Slovenia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Armiger | Republic of Slovenia |
| Adopted | 1991 |
The Slovene coat of arms is an emblem [1] that consists of a red bordered blue shield on which there is a stylised white Mount Triglav, under which there are two wavy lines representing the sea and the rivers of the country. Above Mount Triglav, there are three golden six-pointed stars representing the Counts of Celje. [2] It was designed in 1991 by Marko Pogačnik and adopted on 24 June 1991.
Historically the modern-day territory of Slovenia consisted of a number of historical lands and territories which were eventually all ruled by the Austrian House of Habsburg. Until the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the Slovene Lands did not have a coat of arms representing the whole nation, instead it had a different coat of arms for every land. Not every land however had its own coat of arms:
When the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs merged with Kingdom of Serbia, Slovenia had its first real coat of arms, which actually was a heavily modified one from the Serbian Kingdom. The coat of arms presents the Serbian shield with white cross on the left, the Croatian shield on the right and under both there is a blue shield representing Slovenes. An image of the royal Yugoslav coat of arms can be seen on the 10-Yugoslav dinar banknote of 1926. [3]
The emblem of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia was designed by Branko Simčič on the basis of the symbol of the Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation. It is in the style of socialist emblem of other communist nations. The sea and the mount Triglav motive appeared in the emblem of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, one of six constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The former emblem was rounded by wheat with linden leaves and featured a red star at the top. There was also the other emblem which presented Yugoslavia as a whole.
The tender for the design of the new coat of arms of Slovenia was published in May 1991. It was won by Marko Pogačnik. He based his design on the understanding of Slovenia as a macroregional entity and on the work by France Prešeren and Jože Plečnik. In regard, to Prešeren, the coat of arms depicts the description of nature given by the poet in his epic-lyric poem The Baptism on the Savica . In regard to Plečnik, the coat of arms follows the coat of arms of Slovenia, carved upon the design by the architect in 1934 at the column of the Virgin Mary, which stands in front of the parish church in Bled. [4]
Pogačnik's design was proclaimed the new official coat of arms of Slovenia with the constitutional amendment C 100 and became valid on 24 June 1991.
The designer, Marko Pogačnik, has described the coat of arms as a cosmogram, which creates an energetic field protecting the country and stimulating its inner potentials. [5]
According to Pogačnik, the Triglav symbolises the male principle. There are two white bending lines below it, representing the Triglav Lakes Valley and the Slovene sea and rivers in general, or the female principle. Above Triglav, there are three golden, six-pointed stars, forming a triangle and symbolising democracy. The stars are taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of Celje. [6]
As a work of arts, published in the official journal Official Gazette , the national coat of arms of Slovenia qualifies as an official work and is per Article 9 of the Slovene Copyright and Related Rights Act not protected by the copyrights. [7] Its usage is regulated by the Act Regulating the Coat-of-Arms, Flag and Anthem of the Republic of Slovenia and the Flag of the Slovene Nation, published in the Official Gazette in 1994. [8]
The coat of arms of the Republic of Slovenia has been criticized by the herald Aleksander Hribovšek as heraldically lacking in a number of views. For example, he has stated that it has no official blazon, and its form of shield is not heraldically recognised. Mount Triglav and the sea are represented incorrectly, and he criticised the choice of Triglav as a symbol. [9]
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in southern Central Europe. Slovenia is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short coastline within the Adriatic Sea to the southwest. Slovenia is mostly mountainous and forested, covers 20,271 square kilometres (7,827 sq mi), and has a population of 2.1 million. Slovenes constitute over 80% of the country's population. Slovene, a South Slavic language, is the official language. Slovenia has a predominantly temperate continental climate, with the exception of the Slovene Littoral and the Julian Alps. A sub-mediterranean climate reaches to the northern extensions of the Dinaric Alps that traverse the country in a northwest–southeast direction. The Julian Alps in the northwest have an alpine climate. Toward the northeastern Pannonian Basin, a continental climate is more pronounced. Ljubljana, the capital and largest city of Slovenia, is geographically situated near the centre of the country.
Carniola is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and to a lesser degree with Inner Carniola. In 1991, 47% of the population of Slovenia lived within the borders of the former Duchy of Carniola.
Triglav, with an elevation of 2,863.65 metres (9,395.2 ft), is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the highest peak of the Julian Alps. The mountain is the pre-eminent symbol of the Slovene nation, appearing on the coat of arms and flag of Slovenia. It is the centrepiece of Triglav National Park, Slovenia's only national park. Triglav was also the highest peak in Yugoslavia before Slovenia's independence in 1991.
The national flag of Slovenia 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 centred in the white and blue bands. The coat of arms is a shield with the image of Mount Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak, in white against a blue background at the centre; beneath it are two wavy blue lines representing the Adriatic Sea and local rivers, and above it are 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.
The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians, are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their native language. They are closely related to other South Slavic ethnic groups, as well as more distantly to West Slavs.
The coat of arms of the Republic 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 (chequy) that consists of 13 red and 12 white fields. It is also informally known in Croatian as šahovnica. The five smaller shields represent five different historical regions within Croatia.
The Counts of Celje or the Counts of Cilli were the most influential late medieval noble dynasty on the territory of present-day Slovenia. Risen as vassals of the Habsburg dukes of Styria in the early 14th century, they ruled the County of Cilli as immediate counts (Reichsgrafen) from 1341. They soon acquired a large number of feudal possessions also in today's Croatia and Bosnia. They rose to Princes of the Holy Roman Empire in 1436. The dynasty reached its peak with Ulrich II of Cilli, but with his death in 1456 they also died out, and after a war of succession, the Habsburgs inherited their domains.
The Duchy of Carniola was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire, established under Habsburg rule on the territory of the former East Frankish March of Carniola in 1364. A hereditary land of the Habsburg monarchy, it became a constituent land of the Austrian Empire in 1804 and part of the Kingdom of Illyria until 1849. A separate crown land from 1849, it was incorporated into the Cisleithanian territories of Austria-Hungary from 1867 until the state's dissolution in 1918. Its capital was German: Laibach, today Ljubljana.
Goriška is a historical region in western Slovenia on the border with Italy. It comprises the northern part of the wider traditional region of the Slovenian Littoral (Primorska). The name Goriška is an adjective referring to the city of Gorizia, its historical and cultural centre.
Inner Carniola is a traditional region of Slovenia, the southwestern part of the larger Carniola region. It comprises the Hrušica karst plateau up to Postojna Gate, bordering the Slovenian Littoral in the west. Its administrative and economic center of the region is Postojna, and other minor centers include Vrhnika, Logatec, Cerknica, Pivka, and Ilirska Bistrica.
Ulrich II, or Ulrich of Celje, was the last Princely Count of Celje. At the time of his death, he was captain general and de facto regent of Hungary, ban (governor) of Slavonia, Croatia and Dalmatia and feudal lord of vast areas in present-day Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Austria, and Slovakia. He was also a claimant to the Bosnian throne. He was killed by agents of the Hunyadi clan under unknown circumstances, which plunged Hungary into civil unrest that was resolved a year later by the sudden death of king Ladislas the Posthumous and the election of Matthias Corvinus, the son of John Hunyadi and Ulrich's son-in-law, as king. Ulrich's possessions in the Holy Roman Empire were inherited by Emperor Frederick III, while his possessions in Hungary were reverted to the crown.
Socialist-style emblems usually follow a unique style consisting of communist symbolism. Although commonly referred to as coats of arms, most are not actually traditional heraldic achievements. Many communist governments purposely diverged from heraldic tradition in order to distance themselves from the monarchies that they usually replaced, with coats of arms being seen as symbols of the monarchs.
The National symbols of Slovenia are the symbols used in Slovenia and abroad to represent the nation and its people.
Congress Square is one of the central squares in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. In the late 1930s, the square was renovated by the prominent Slovene architect Jože Plečnik. Since August 2021, it has been inscribed as part of Plečnik's legacy on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Dupeljne is a small settlement in the hills north of Lukovica pri Domžalah in the eastern part of the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia.
The National Assembly Building, officially the Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, also colloquially the Parliament in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, is a modernist palace housing the legislature of Slovenia. Built between 1954 and 1959 upon plans by the architect Vinko Glanz, it is a three-story building with an area of 2,200 m2 (24,000 sq ft). It is located at Republic Square in the center of Ljubljana. Annual visitor numbers are around 13,000.
The national anthem of Slovenia is based on "Zdravljica", a carmen figuratum poem by the 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet France Prešeren, inspired by the ideals of Liberté, égalité, fraternité, and set to music by Stanko Premrl. As the country's national anthem, it is one of the state symbols of Slovenia.
The emblem of Yugoslavia featured six torches, surrounded by wheat with a red star at its top, and burning together in one flame; this represented the brotherhood and unity of the six federal republics forming Yugoslavia: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. The date imprinted was 29 November 1943, the day the Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ) met in Jajce on its second meeting and formed the basis for post-war organisation of the country, establishing a federal republic. This day was celebrated as Republic Day after the establishment of the republic. The emblem of Yugoslavia, along with those of its constituent republics, are an example of socialist heraldry.
The triglavka or Triglav cap or the partizanka or Partizan cap is a side cap that was a part of the Yugoslav Partisan uniform in Croatia, Slovenia and western Bosnia. There, it was the most characteristic part of Partisan clothing. Despite its common name in Slovenia, the cap's design was not inspired by Mount Triglav, but was a copy of a cap design used by soldiers of the Spanish Republican faction. The first Yugoslav models were made in the second half of 1941 in Zagreb by the Communist Party activist Dobrila Jurić for Vladimir Popović and Otmar Kreačić, former fighters in the International Brigades, and organizers of the Croatian Liberation Front. In occupied Yugoslavia, the cap originated in use among Croatian Partisans in western Yugoslavia, but quickly spread through the Partisan movement, particularly among Slovene Partisans.
Šentvid is a part of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Until 1974 an independent village in Upper Carniola, it is today the centre of the Šentvid District, one of the districts of the Municipality of Ljubljana.
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