July13, 2004;20 years ago(2004-07-13) March1, 2024;9 months ago(2024-03-01)
Design
A red field surrounded by a golden border; charged with the coat of arms at the centre. The coat of arms in the flag occupies 2⁄3 of its height. The width of the golden border is 1⁄20 the width of the hoist side
The flag of Montenegro is red, with the coat of arms in the middle, and golden borders. The ratio of the flag is 1:2.[1] The coat of arms takes up 2⁄3 of the flag's height. The middle point of the coat of arms matches the middle point of the flag. The width of the border is 1⁄20 of the flag's height. Two versions of the Montenegrin flag are in use, horizontal, mostly used outdoors; and vertical, mostly used indoors.
Use of flag
The flag is permanently hoisted on:
the Parliament of Montenegro;
buildings which are official premises of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the High Court, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme State Attorney and the Human Rights Ombudsman;
the residence of the President of Montenegro.
The flag is also hoisted on:
the statehood day of Montenegro and in days of other state holidays of Montenegro, on buildings in which are seated state bodies and other bodies of government
buildings of the representations of Montenegro abroad;
aircraft, ships and other vessels according to special regulations;
voting sites during elections and referendums;
mourning days determined by the Government, half-masted.
The flag may also be hoisted during international meetings, political, scientific, cultural, artistic, sporting and other manifestations in which Montenegro is represented, according to the rules of such events.
According to international tradition, when the flag is hoisted together with one or more flags of other states or international organizations on Montenegrin soil, the flag takes the place of honour. The place of honour is considered the center of a circle, the top of a semicircle, the first place in a row, column or a group of flags, the central position between the flags and the left side as seen from the front from the flags of other states or international organizations.
The flag is hoisted, lowered and carried with the usual honors (standing up, saluting etc.) The flag can not be hoisted so as to touch the ground, nor should be used as a table cloth, curtain or similar.[3]
The historical war flags were the krstaš-barjak, plain flags with crosses in the center.
The Montenegrin war flag used in the Battle of Vučji Do (1876) was red with a white cross pattée in the center and a white border. This flag was used as the military stag during the Montenegrin-Ottoman wars. The same flag was used in Cetinje in 1878,[4] upon the recognition of independence by the Ottoman Empireat San Stefano.
According to the 1905 constitution, the national flag was a tricolour of red-bluish-white,[5] which were the colours of the Montenegrin folk costume.
Flags as the state symbols were introduced only in the time of Petar II Petrović-Njegoš. Before him, the principal Montenegrin flag had been the alaj-barjak (regimental colors) with a single symbol on it – the cross (krst). The first written description of a Montenegrin flag dates from the time of Šćepan Mali: it was white, with a red frame and a golden cross on top of the spear. The next comes from 1838: pale-yellow with the small red cross, and in 1876 the flag was described as red with a white cross. At the time of Prince Danilo, the cross on the alaj-barjak was replaced by the two-headed eagle with the initials DI (Danilo I) on its breast, with the lion passant underneath. Prince/King Nikola used many different flags in his time. The first of the variants was the same as Danilo's, differing only in the initials – NI (Nikola I). Around 1910, two new variants appeared: one tricolor (red, blue and white) with the two-headed eagle bearing the initials NI on its breast and the lion passant on the sinister, the other with the two-headed eagle above the initials NI.[6]
Increased Montenegrin nationalism saw FR Yugoslavia replaced in 2003 by the looser State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, which failed to prevent a 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum precipitating the dissolution of the union.[1] During this period, in 2004 the Assembly of the Republic of Montenegro passed the "Law on State Symbols and the Day of the Statehood of Montenegro" including a new, distinctive flag, based on an old royal banner.[1] It was promulgated in the official gazette on 12 July 2004 and came into force the following day, which was proclaimed Statehood Day.[7] The July law gave the government 60 days to produce a comprehensive specification; in fact this was finalized on 16 September 2004 and published the next day.[2] In the interim, some flag manufacturers had interpreted the July law's zlatnim obrubom "gold border" as a fringe rather than a bordure; the latter interpretation was confirmed by the September specification.[8] On the day of proclaiming independence flag of 2004 became Montenegro's national flag.[1]
The flag is mandated by Article 4 of the Constitution of Montenegro adopted in 2007. The provisions relating to the flag in the 2004 Law on State Symbols were affected by subsequent amendments in 2011 and 2019.[9] An updated flag protocol was published in 2020.[10]
↑ Grbovi, zastave i himne u istoriji Crne Gore. p.66. У члану 39. стоји: "Народне су боје: црвена плаветна и бијела". Ова уставна одредба може се сматрати првим законским утемељењем црногорске државне (народне) заставе. Претхо- дним планом (38) прописан је државни грб ...
↑ "Montenegro". June 2006. Different versions of the national flag of Montenegro were seen during the period between the adoption of the law (12 July 2004) and the release of the official etalon of the flag and arms (15 September 2004). The flags used in the first days after the flag was adopted had a golden fringe instead of the golden border. It has passed quite some time that the initially made fringed flag has been used up and the flags with proper golden border were introduced into usage. The borderless fringed flag are still to be seen in use occasionally.
The flag of Serbia, also known as the Tricolour, is a tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands, red on the top, blue in the middle, and white on the bottom, with the lesser coat of arms left of center. The same tricolour, in altering variations, has been used since the 19th century as the flag of the state of Serbia and the Serb people. The current form of the flag was adopted in 2004 and slightly redesigned in 2010.
"Bože pravde" is the national anthem of Serbia, as defined by the Article 7 of the Constitution of Serbia. "Bože pravde" was adopted in 1882 and had been the national anthem of the Kingdom of Serbia until 1919 when Serbia became a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was re-adopted as the national anthem at first by the parliamentary recommendation in 2004 and then constitutionally sanctioned in 2006, after Serbia restored its independence.
The coat of arms of the Republic of Serbia consists of two main heraldic symbols which represent the identity of the Serbian state and Serbian people across the centuries: the Serbian eagle and the Serbian cross. The coat of arms also features the Serbian historical crown; while unusual for republics, it is not unprecedented, as can be seen in coat of arms of numerous European countries with republican form of government. However, Serbia's coat of arms still retains strong monarchist elements absent from the other republics, including the mantle and pavillon found in the greater coat of arms of some modern and many historical monarchies.
The Serbian cross, also known as the Firesteels, is one of the national symbols of Serbia. It is present on the coat of arms and flag of Serbia. The cross is based on a tetragrammic cross emblem of the Palaiologos dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, with the difference in Serbian use being that the cross is usually white on a carmine red background, rather than gold on a red background. The Serbian cross was adopted from the Eastern Roman Empire and the Byzantine cross in the 10th century.
Nicholas, Prince of Montenegro is a French-born architect and the Head of the House of Petrović-Njegoš, which reigned over Montenegro from 1696 to 1766 and again from 1782 to 1918.
The coat of arms of Serbia and Montenegro consisted of a shield with the Serbian eagle and the shield with a quartering the Serbian cross and the Montenegrin lion of Saint Mark. This emblem had served as the national symbol of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.
The coat of arms of Montenegro was officially adopted by the law passed in the Parliament on 12 July 2004. It is now the central motif of the flag of Montenegro, as well as the coat of arms of the Armed Forces of Montenegro. It was constitutionally sanctioned by the Constitution proclaimed on 2 October 2007.
Savez Izviđača Crne Gore is the national Scouting organization of Montenegro. A referendum on independence was held in Republic of Montenegro on May 21, 2006, voting to leave its state union with Serbia by a narrow margin. Montenegro became the world's 192nd recognized sovereign state, which then split the Savez Izviđača Srbije i Crne Gore, as happened with Czechoslovakia in 1993, meaning that Savez Izviđača Crne Gore had to reapply for World Organization of the Scout Movement membership in 2008.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Montenegro face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Montenegro, but households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.
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 flag of Serbia and Montenegro was originally adopted on 27 April 1992 as the flag of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and was used until 2006. After the country was renamed to the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in February 2003, it remained in use as the national flag until the country's dissolution in June 2006.
A referendum on state symbols was held in the Republic of Serbia on 31 May 1992. The referendum decided the flag, the national anthem and the coat of arms. Although the referendum failed due to low turnout, the National Assembly recommended that the red star be removed from the Serbian flag on 21 June.
Montenegro has recognised same-sex unions since 15 July 2020. In July 2020, the Parliament of Montenegro passed a bill by 42 votes to 5 to recognise life partnerships offering several, but not all, of the rights and benefits of marriage. The bill was signed into law on 3 July by President Milo Đukanović, took effect on 15 July 2020 and became fully operational one year later. The first life partnership was registered on 25 July 2021.
Statehood Day is a holiday that occurs every year on 13 July in Montenegro to commemorate the day in 1878 on which the Berlin Congress recognized the Principality of Montenegro as the twenty-seventh independent state in the world. The date is also celebrated to commemorate the 1941 uprising against Italian occupation.
The flag of Yugoslavia was the official flag of the Yugoslav state from 1918 to 1992. The flag's design and symbolism are derived from the Pan-Slavic movement, which ultimately led to the unification of the South Slavs and the creation of a united south-Slavic state in 1918.
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-style emblems.
The krstaš-barjak refers to various war flags with crosses in the centre, part of Montenegrin tradition, originating from medieval military flags. The krstaš-barjak is known that Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan adopted the Byzantine cross flag. According to Serbian epic poetry, during the Ottoman period, hajduks had war flags with crosses (krstaš-barjak) or icons of saints. The krstaš-barjak is mentioned in poems of the Kosovo Cycle; knight Boško Jugović bears it at the battle of Kosovo (1389). It was used as the general rebel flag during the Serbian Revolution (1804–17), and as the secondary flag of the supreme commander. It was later adopted as a military flag by the Principality of Montenegro (1852–1910) and Kingdom of Montenegro (1910–1918). The Montenegrin war flag used in the Battle of Vučji Do (1876) was red with a white cross pattée in the center and a white border, and tradition holds that it was adopted from the war flag of Kosovo which found itself in Montenegro after surviving knights brought it there. In Peroj, it is held that their ancestors had a war flag used at Kosovo in their possession.
In late December 2019, a wave of protests started against the controversial, newly adopted "Law on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Legal Status of Religious Communities" which effectively transferred ownership of church buildings and estates built before 1918 from the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro to the Montenegrin state. The Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, which owned 66 mainly medieval monasteries, dozens of churches and other real estate there, insisted the state wanted to impound its assets, while Pro-Western Montenegro's president Milo Đukanović, accused the Serbian church of promoting pro-Serb policies that are aimed at "undermining Montenegrin statehood".
Events of 2020 in Montenegro.
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