The Croatian coat of arms 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 silver (white) fields. It's commonly known as šahovnica ("chessboard", from šah, "chess" in Croatian). The smaller shields represent parts of Croatia. Croatian coat of arms This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... A modern coat of arms is derived from the medi val practice of painting designs onto the shield and outer clothing of knights to enable them to be identified in battle, and later in tournaments. ...

History

Coat of arms of Austria-Hungary from 1915, featuring the traditional Croatian shield, as well as the traditional shields of Dalmatia and Slavonia

Coat of arms of the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Coat of arms of the former SR Croatia

The red and white checkerboard has been a symbol of Croatian kings since at least the 10th century, ranging in size from 3×3 to 8×8, but most commonly 5×5, like the current coat. It was traditionally conjenctured that the colours originally represented two ancient Croat tribes, Red Croats and White Croats, but there is no generally accepted proof for this theory. The oldest source confirming the coat as an official symbol is a genealogy of the Habsburgs, dated from 1512 to 1518. In 1525 it was used on a votive medal. This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ... This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... Image:Coashs. ... Image:Coashs. ... Coat of arms of the Socialist republic of Croatia during the SFRY times. ... Coat of arms of the Socialist republic of Croatia during the SFRY times. ... ( 9th century - 10th century - 11th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... Habsburg (sometimes spelled Hapsburg, but never so in official use) was one of the major ruling houses of Europe. ... Events April 11 - Battle of Ravenna. ... Events A plague of tropical fire ants devastates crops on Hispaniola. ... Events January 21 - The Swiss Anabaptist Movement was born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptized each other in the home of Manzs mother on Neustadt-Gasse, Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union. ...

Traditionally, it was used as the coat of arms of Croatia proper, i.e. the historical province of Croatia, excluding Dalmatia and Slavonia, which had their own coats of arms. The three shields of Croatia proper, Slavonia and Dalmatia were often used together to represent the whole of Croatia in Austria-Hungary. By late 19th century šahovnica had come to be considered a generally recognized symbol for Croats and Croatia and in in 1919, it was included in the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) to represent Croats. Dalmatia (Croatian Dalmacija, Italian Dalmazia, Serbian Далмација) is a region of Croatia on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, spreading between the island of Pag in the northwest and the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. ... Map of Croatia with Slavonia highlighted Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a Balkan state which existed from December 1, 1918 to mid-April 1941. ...

After the Second World War, the new Socialist Republic of Croatia became a part of the federal Second Yugoslavia. The šahovnica was included in the new socialist coat of arms which was designed in the socialist tradition, including symbols like wheat for peasants and an anvil for workers, as well as a rising sun to symbolize a new morning and a red star for communism. The šahovnica by itself was indirectly associated with the fascist Ustashe regime which had ruled Croatia during the Second World War and its use as a stand-alone symbol was considered nationalistic and discouraged.. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was a Balkan state that existed from 1945 to 1992. ... Red star on the Soviet flag The five-pointed red star is a symbol of Communism and represents the five fingers of the workers hand, as well as the five (inhabited) continents. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a popular movement. ... The Ustaše (often spelled Ustashe in English; singular Ustaša or Ustasha) was a Croatian right-wing organisation put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis Powers in 1941. ...

The current design

On 21 December 1990, the post-communist government of Croatia, passed a law prescribing the design created by the graphic designer Miroslav Šutej, under the aegis of a commission chaired by Nikša Stančić, then head of the Department of Croatian History at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb. December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Graphic design is the applied art of arranging image and text to communicate a message. ... This is the history of Croatia. ... Universitys emblem The University of Zagreb (Croatian SveučiliÅ¡te u Zagrebu) is the oldest Croatian university in continuous operation and also the oldest university in southeastern Europe. ...

The new design added the five crowning shields which represent the historical regions from which Croatia originated. They are, from left to right:

1. the oldest known Croatian coat of arms: a golden six-pointed star (representing the morning star) over a silver moon on a blue shield. It represents the capital city Zagreb and central Croatia in general.
2. an older coat of arms of the Republic of Dubrovnik: two red stripes on a dark blue shield, given to Dubrovnik by the Árpád dynasty, who were Croato-Hungarian kings in the 15th century.
3. the coat of arms of Dalmatia: three golden, crowned leopards, two over one, on a blue shield. This coat was Dalmatian since the 13th century and probably originates from the Anjou ruling dynasty.
4. the coat of arms of Istria: a golden goat with red hooves and horns, on a dark blue shield.
5. the coat of arms of Slavonia: two silver stripes on blue shield (representing the rivers Drava and Sava that mark the northern and the southern border of Slavonia), between them on a red field a black, running marten (kuna), above a six-pointed, golden star. This coat was assigned to Slavonia by king Ladislaus Jagiello in 1496.

Some of the more traditional heraldic pundits have criticized the latest design for various unorthodox solutions, such as adding a crown to the coat, varying shades of blue in its even fields, and adding the red border around the coat. The government has accepted their criticism insofar as not accepting further non-traditional designs for the county coats of arms, but the national symbol has remained intact. (*min temperature refers to cloud tops only) Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 9. ... Zagreb (pronounced ZA-greb) is the capital city of Croatia. ... The Republic of Dubrovnik, also known as the Republic of Ragusa, was a maritime city-state that was based in the city of Dubrovnik from the 14th century until 1808. ... The Árpáds (Hungarian: Árpádok, Slovak: Arpádovci, Croatian: Arpadovići) were a dynasty ruling in historic Hungary from the late 9th century to 1301 (with some interruptions, e. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Dalmatia (Croatian Dalmacija, Italian Dalmazia, Serbian Далмација) is a region of Croatia on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, spreading between the island of Pag in the northwest and the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... Angevin is the name applied to three distinct medieval dynasties which originated as counts (from 1360, dukes) of the western French province of Anjou (of which angevin is the adjectival form), but later came to rule far greater areas including England, Hungary and Poland (see Angevin Empire). ... Rovinj, on the western coast of Croatian Istria. ... Map of Croatia with Slavonia highlighted Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia. ... Drave (German: Drau, Slovenian and Croatian: Drava, Hungarian: Dráva) is a river in southern Central Europe, flowing East from Alto Adige, Italy through Carinthia, Austria, and Slovenia (145 km) then southeast, forming most of the Croatian-Hungarian border before joining the Danube near Osijek. ... Sava also Save (German Save, Hungarian Száva) is a river in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, a right side tributary of Danube at Belgrade. ... Kuna is the name of the currency used in Croatia. ... Ladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Events January 3 - Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine. ... Heraldry is the science and art of describing coats-of-arms, also referred to as achievements or armorial bearings. ... The counties of Croatia are called županije in Croatian, županija is the singular form. ...

Unlike in many countries, Croatian design more commonly uses symbolism from the the coat-of-arms, rather than from the Croatian flag. This is partly due to the geometric design of the shield which makes it appropriate for use in many graphic contexts (e.g. the insignia of Croatia Airlines), and partly due to the fact that neighbouring countries like Slovenia and Serbia and Montenegro use the same Pan-Slavic colours on their flags as Croatia. Flag ratio: 1:2 The Croatian flag (vexillological symbol: ) consists of three equal size, horizontal stripes in the pan-Slavic colours red, white and blue. ... Croatia Airlines is the flag carrier of Croatia. ... The Pan-Slavic colours, red, blue and white, are colours used on the flags of most Slavic states and peoples. ...

Trivia

• The pattern of šahovnica resembles an autochthone flower called kockavica, which is sometimes associated with the coat of arms.
• Some right-wing Croats claimed that the colour of the top left square is a mark of whether Croatia is independent or ruled by foreigners, white or red respectively. However, this is a red herring because only the short-lived Nazi puppet state "Independent State of Croatia" had the upper left square white with such an intent. Croatia is currently independent and the first square is red.

Binomial name Fritillaria meleagris Fritillaria meleagris, commonly known as Snakes head fritillary, Leper lily, and Guinea-hen flower (possibly also checkered daffodil) is a fritillary, a flower from the family Liliaceae. ... A red herring, also refered to as a kipper, is a dried, smoked, herring. ... The Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH) was a Nazi/Fascist puppet state in World War II. It was set up in April 1941 on parts of the territory of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia after its occupation. ...

External link

• Željko Heimer's explanation of the coat of arms