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image by Željko Heimer, 13 November 2002
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The oldest settlement in the region of the city of Zagreb
predates the Roman era, but they are located mainly along the
Sava River. The first settlements on the southern slopes of the Medvednica
Mountain were made on the hill of Gradec (also
named Gric) with the arrival of Croats in the 7th
century.
At least since the 9th century, there are traces of the first
settlements on the nearby hill latter known as Kaptol
(the Capitol of Zagreb). There the Croato-Hungarian king
Ladislaus I (Ladislav I) established a diocese in around
1094, as is known a document from 1134 named Felitian's charter (Felicijanova
povelja), in which the Esztregon (Ostrogon) bishop Felitian
recounts on the first Zagreb bishop Duh. This is also
the oldest preserved mention of the name Zagreb.
Beneath Kaptol, south of it, a settlement of foreign
(initially Italian) merchants was created in 12th century under
the name Vicus Latinorum (Latin Street, in Croatian Vlaška
ulica, still bearing the same name) under the auspices of
the bishops of the Zagreb's Kaptol.
The merchant's city of Zagreb on the hill of Gradec was
granted the privileges of the Royal and Free City by the Golden
Bull issued by the Croato-Hungarian king Bela IV in
1242, for the services rendered in his retreat from the Tatars
hordes.
Also on the north side of Kaptol, a settlement was
granted free community status in 1344 under the name Nova Ves
(i.e. New Village), under the diocesan auspices.
Gric and Kaptol used seals since early Middle
age (14th and 15th cenrtuy) and at least for Gric is confirmed in
sources that it used red city flag in about the same time. The
Zagreb bishop Alben (Ivan) mentions in a
document of 1422 that from a belfry of the Church of St. Marcus a
"bloody flag" (vexillum cruentum) was hoisted,
so it must have been red, but regarding to its details we may
only speculate. [Leksikon], [Laszowski, 1896]
These seals were base for coats of arms, in Gric
preserved since 1499, in Kaptol after 1478 when it was
organized a "civil" municipality (the preserved coat of
arms is from 16th century). The other two "rural"
communities have no reported symbols until 19th century.
In 18th century both Gric and Kaptol maintained
military units that were eqipped with flags (some preserved in
the City Museum and the Croatian History Museum). Kapton
also had, since 17th century, flags representing its clergy (in
the Croatian History Museum).
These four communities were united in 1850 into the "Free
and Royal Capital City of Zagreb". It began growing into a
modern capital including more and more surrounding villages in
the plains towards the Sava River and beyond. The oldest parts of
the city built on the hills are today referred to as the Upper
Town (Gornji Grad).
After the World War II the city of Zagreb was administratively
divided into communities with several administrative changes over
the next years, so in 1964 Zagreb was composed of 14 communities
as basic units of local self-government. Some of these
communities adopted coats of arms (emblems) but no flag were
reported.
After Croatia attained independence in 1991, the territorial
structure of the state was changed in 1993, and the 14
communities were united into a single capital city with the
status of a county. For a short period after 1995 Zagreb gets
sepcial status within the Zagreb County, but since 1997 it is
again independant unit with the status of a county. Today, it is
divided into 17 city quarters (gradska cetvrt), although
there is no indication that these shall adopt any symbols soon.
Sources:
- Bilic, I., Ivankovic, H., ur. Zagrebacki leksikon 2, M-Ž,
Leksikografski zavod Miroslav Krleža, Zagreb, 2006. (refered
in the text as [Leksikon])
- Laszowski, E. Prilog k hrvatskoj sfragistici, in Viestnik
Hrvatskog arheološkog društva, 1895., pp. 120-136.
- Laszowski, E. Zastava grada Zagreba, in Prosvjeta, 1896. p.
223.
- Horvat, R. Prošlost grada Zagreba, Zagreb, 1942. p
410-412.
- Grad Zagreb <www.zagreb.hr>
10 October 2002.
- Gulin, A. Srednjovjekovni pecati Zagrebackog kaptola, in
Starine JAZU, vol. 58, Zagreb, 1980.
- Borošak Marijanovic, J. Zastave kroz stoljeca, Hrvatski
povijesni muzej, Zagreb, 1996.
- Peic Caldarovic, D. Heraldicki Zagreb, Hrvatski povijesni
muzej, Zagreb, 2004. (available on line at <www.hgzd.hr>)
- Cimbur, P. Natjecanje za grb, Školska knjiga, Zagreb,
1985.
- *, Univerzijada '87, Zagreb, Jugoslavija, Izvršni komitet
Univerzijade, Zagreb, 1988.
- Premerl, N. Vodic Muzeja grada Zagreba, MGZ, Zagreb, 2002.
- Muzej grada Zagreba, permanent exhibition, visited 2007.
- Bejdic, M., Državni arhiv Hrvatske, personal
communication, 2007.
- Heimer, Ž. The Flags of Zagreb, XXII International
Congress of Vexillology, FlagBerlin 2007 Legislation and
official proceedings: - Zapisnik IX. skupštine Zagreba, 3.
kolovoz 1896., Državni arhiv u Zagrebu - Zapisnik
skupštine gr. zastupstva, 4. kolovoz 1902., Državni
arhiv u Zagrebu - Zapisnik 10. sjednice IO GNO-a, 14.03.1947,
Državni arhiv u Zagrebu - Zapisnik 12. sjednice IO GNO-a,
28.03.1947, Državni arhiv u Zagrebu - Statut grada Zagreba,
29.08.1955, Sl. glasnik Narodnog odbora grada Zagreba, 13/57,
15.08.1957. - Statut grada Zagreba, 26.06.1964, Sl. glasnik grada
Zagreba, 14/64, 12.07.1964. - Statut grada Zagreba, 08.05.1968,
Sl. glasnik grada Zagreba, 8/68, 15.05.1968. - Ispravak Statuta
grada Zagreba, 27.12.1968, Sl. glasnik grada Zagreba, 22/68 -
Statut grada Zagreba (procišceni tekst), Sl. glasnik grada
Zagreba, 6/71, 20.04.1971. - Statut grada Zagreba, 30.06.1975,
Sl. glasnik grada Zagreba, 12/75, 10.07.1975. - Statut Grada
Zagreba (procišceni tekst), Sl. glasnik grada Zagreba, 8/88,
03.03.1988. - Privremeni statut Grada Zagreba, 15.04.1993, Sl.
glasnik Grada Zagreba, 9/93, 26.04.1993. - Statut Grada Zagreba,
14.12.1999, Sl. glasnik Grada Zagreba, 19/99, 14.12.1999. -
Statut Grada Zagreba (procišceni tekst), 19.12.2001, Sl.
glasnik Grada Zagreba, 20/01, 24.12.2001. - Statutarna odluka o
izmjenama i dopunama Statuta Grada Zagreba, 27.10.2005, Sl.
glasnik Grada Zagreba, 18/05, 27.10.2005. - Pravilnik o postupku
za utvrdivanje grba i zastave jedinice lokalne samouprave,
Narodne novine, br. 80/94, 26/95, Zagreb, 1994. - Pravilnik o
postupku davanja odobrenja grba i zastave jedinici lokalne
samouprave, Narodne novine, br. 94/98, Zagreb, 1998.
Legislation and official proceedings:
- Zapisnik IX. skupštine Zagreba, 3. kolovoz 1896.,
Državni arhiv u Zagrebu
- Zapisnik skupštine gr. zastupstva, 4. kolovoz 1902.,
Državni arhiv u Zagrebu
- Zapisnik 10. sjednice IO GNO-a, 14.03.1947, Državni arhiv
u Zagrebu
- Zapisnik 12. sjednice IO GNO-a, 28.03.1947, Državni arhiv
u Zagrebu
- Statut grada Zagreba, 29.08.1955, Sl. glasnik Narodnog odbora
grada Zagreba, 13/57, 15.08.1957.
- Statut grada Zagreba, 26.06.1964, Sl. glasnik grada Zagreba,
14/64, 12.07.1964.
- Statut grada Zagreba, 08.05.1968, Sl. glasnik grada Zagreba,
8/68, 15.05.1968.
- Ispravak Statuta grada Zagreba, 27.12.1968, Sl. glasnik grada
Zagreba, 22/68
- Statut grada Zagreba (procišceni tekst), Sl. glasnik grada
Zagreba, 6/71, 20.04.1971.
- Statut grada Zagreba, 30.06.1975, Sl. glasnik grada Zagreba,
12/75, 10.07.1975.
- Statut Grada Zagreba (procišceni tekst), Sl. glasnik grada
Zagreba, 8/88, 03.03.1988.
- Privremeni statut Grada Zagreba, 15.04.1993, Sl. glasnik Grada
Zagreba, 9/93, 26.04.1993.
- Statut Grada Zagreba, 14.12.1999, Sl. glasnik Grada Zagreba,
19/99, 14.12.1999.
- Statut Grada Zagreba (procišceni tekst), 19.12.2001, Sl.
glasnik Grada Zagreba, 20/01, 24.12.2001.
- Statutarna odluka o izmjenama i dopunama Statuta Grada Zagreba,
27.10.2005, Sl. glasnik Grada Zagreba, 18/05, 27.10.2005.
- Pravilnik o postupku za utvrdivanje grba i zastave jedinice
lokalne samouprave, Narodne novine, br. 80/94, 26/95, Zagreb,
1994.
- Pravilnik o postupku davanja odobrenja grba i zastave jedinici
lokalne samouprave, Narodne novine, br. 94/98, Zagreb, 1998.
Željko Heimer, 10 September 2007
The symbols were designed by the Heraldic Art d.o.o.
company from Rijeka.
Željko Heimer, 4 November 2007
See also: Zagreb - Historical Flags
Since 1997, the city of Zagreb is not part of the Zagreb
County, but has special status equal to other counties (although
it is still named "City of Zagreb" and not "County
of City of Zagreb" or whatever, and it does not have the
roman numeral as other counties have. So, the city of Zagreb is
the 21st county of Croatia, although it is not named a county).
This unusual status is reflected in flags as well - Zagreb uses
monocoloured flags as prescribed for any other city in Croatia
even if it has status of a county and one would expect a bicolour
flag.
Željko Heimer, 12 November 2006
zg-zg.gif)
Coat of Arms
image by Željko Heimer, 13 November 2002
The flag is blue with white outlined coat of arms of Zagreb -
a castle on ground with three towers and opened doors followed by
a crescent and a star. The arms originated at circa 13th
century (they are on a stone capitell with a year 1269 (if I
recall correctly), held by a lion rampart.
On images used today it is mostly uncoloured, i.e. just the
outline like in the flag, but the colours used were blue
background, green ground, white castle, with red doors, white
crescent and golden star. Sometimes it was pictured with a red
background, as one can see on the roof of St. Marko's church in
the old town next to the Croatian Parliament (Sabor).
The flag is blue, that is traditionally the colour of Zagreb
(trams and buses are blue, phone boots also, etc.). The castle
with open doors represents that Zagreb was declared a royal free
market place, open to merchants and visitors, in 1292 by the
Croato-Hungarian king Bela IV which hid himself there from the
Tatars attacking from east over all his land up till Zagreb. The
crescent and star are ancient symbols used on the oldest coat of
arms of Croatia (see the first arms in the crown of Croatian
state's arms). The windows on the castle are of the type used for
shooting from them, symbolizing, that tough open, it is ready for
defence if necessary.
The flag is used in a few variations, without the determined
proportions, most often they are 1:2. It is much more often to
see it with the arms rotated 90 degrees, and hanged verically,
and sometimes there is no white outline of the shield of arms.
Željko Heimer, 18 March 1996
I started to notice during this summer or maybe a month or two
before that the flags infront of the civic office buildings
(there are quite a number of those in Zagreb) are being slowly
changed. The Previous old blue flags with white silhueted Coat of
Arms are by now all (or mostly) replaced with new blue flag with
the coat of arms in full colours.
On the official site of Zagreb at <www.zagreb.hr>
there are images of the Coat of Arms and the flag, and there is
also link to the full text of the current Statute, text including
the 1999 Statute and amendments of 2001 (which I don't kown if
include any amendemns regarding the symbols): Statut Grada
Zagreba, Službeni glasnik Grada Zagreba 19/99 Statutarna
odluka o izmjenama i dopunama Statuta Grada Zagreba,
Službeni glasnik Grada Zagreba 19/01 Statut Grada Zagreba
(procišceni tekst), 19. 12. 2001
The article 8 determines the design of the Coat of Arms and the
flag: "In blue field on a green hill a silver city with
three towers and opened golden doors, in chief dexter a golden
six-pointed star and in chief sinister a silver crescent. [...]
The flag in ratio 1:2 is blue with the coat of arms in the middle
bordered yellow."
Articles 9 and 10 determine the basic usage princilpes of the
Coat of Arms and the flag, and articles 14 and 15 calls for the
decision of the City Assembly about the details of the design
layout and construction details etc. The statutes are signed by
the chairman of the statutory commission, Dr. Dembitz.
I don't think that the 1999 Statutes actually introduced this
particular design, but for now this is the best I have.
I belive that Janko showed this flag few years ago, possibly
before 1999, but as I have noticed, it has been put in the public
use only in 2002. Probably due to financial reasons, the flags
were replaced only when the old ones (bought I believe in early
1990's, so dozen years old) became quite unsuitable for futher
hoisting.
Željko Heimer, 13 November 2002
Following a visit to the Museum of the CIty of Zagreb (Muzej
grada Zagreba - <www.mgz.hr>),
I may add some details on the history of the Coat of Arms and the
flag of Zagreb.
In XIXth century the usual background colour was red until 3rd
August 1896 it was finally decided that it shold be blue:
"Azure three tower argent on a massoned wall also argent
with opened gates or, in dexter a mullet or and in siniter a
crescent argent. Above the shield a massoned crown or."
During the socialist period the crown was often replaced with a
five-pointed star.
The flag was determined on 2nd June 1902 to be blue with the coat
of arms in the middle, following the proposal by Branko
Šenoa and Ivan pl. Bojnicic. Such flag was first
manufactured in 1916 on for the crowning celebration of King
Charles I in Budapest (and is preserved in the Zagreb Municipal
Museum as well as the aquarel of the proposal).
Following the 15th April 1993 temporary Statutes, around 1997,
the city of Zagreb adopted the new modernized artistic redention
of the coat of arms based on the 1896 model, and finally
prescribed the blue flag with these arms proper in the middle. As
the current legislation regarding Coat of Arms require those
cities that have historical Coat of Arms to adopt them in the
same form as the historical examples, but only the shield,
without any additional elements, the modern Coat of Arms of
Zagreb does not include the crown.
Željko Heimer, 23 July 2006
The coat of arms of Zagreb is based on the arms of Gric
community from XIIIth century, picturing a three-towered city
with opened doors on a hill, followed by a star and a crescent.
Until the end of 18th century it was used with the red
background. After the unification into the modern city in 1850,
in 1896 the new blue coat of arms was adopted. (more on that when
we come to it) The city of Zagreb adopted in 1999 a new
modernized artistic redention of the coat of arms based on the
1896 model, and finally prescribed the blue flag with these arms
proper in the middle. As the current legislation [Pravilnik,
1994, 1998] regarding coats of arms require those cities that
have historical coats of arms to adopt them in the same form as
the historical examples, but only the shield, without any
additional elements, the modern coat of arms of Zagreb does not
include the crown. Also, the modern legislation require the city
flags to have entire coat of arms in it, including the shield, so
the long tradition of the banner of arms of Zagreb was changed.
The design is adopted with the adoption of the 1999 Statutes
[Statut, 1999] on 14 December 1999. The design is performed by
Mladen Stojic of Heraldik-art d.o.o. Rijeka. The design was
approved for use by the Central state office for administration
on 4 May 2000. [Bejdic]
Željko Heimer, 10 September 2007
image by Željko Heimer, 10 September 2007
zg-zgv.gif)
image by Željko Heimer, 10 September 2007
image by Željko Heimer, 10 September 2007
image by Željko Heimer, 10 September 2007
The city flags are manufactured and used with the coat of arms
shown in white only, and there are several variations of the
actual design, some showing outlined elements, others with white
filled elements, some with and some without the shield. It seems
that most of the manufacturers still have such flags in their
stocks. A difference in the background colour is also noticable
ranging from very dark blue to very light blue colour of the city
trams. It may happen that these shall gradually be replaced with
the official pattern, as they wear out. [and it already happens,
as I notice these being gradually replaced on some points in the
city.]
The flag as prescribed by the Statutes of 1999 is used today as a
rule only by the institutions of the city administrations,
although even there one may still find other variations. Most of
the city companies hoist such variations on their seats as well.
Some examples are shown above, other may be around (including
variations showing coats of arms appearing on the other flags to
be shown in this series).
Željko Heimer, 10 September 2007