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Idrija (Municipality, Slovenia)

Municipal flag of Idrija, horizontal and vertical versions - Images by Željko Heimer, 22 January 2006

Presentation of Idrija
Municipal flag of Idrija
Coat of arms of Idrija

See also:

Presentation of Idrija

Idrija (11,979 inhabitants) is a town located in the Goriška (Mountainous) region of Slovenia, with the second oldest mercury mine in Europe and traditional lace production.

Željko Heimer, 9 August 2002

Municipal flag of Idrija

According to Banderas municipales de Eslovenia [drn96i], published in Banderas [ban] #58 (March 1996), it seems that Idrija adopted a flag and coat of arms (based on some older coat of arms) on 13 July 1979. These flag and arms are prescribed by a Decision published in the offical gazette of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia Uradni list SRS 22/1979, 13 July 1979.
More recent municipal statutes (Statut Občine Idrija, adopted on 21 June 1995, and published in the official Slovene gazette Uradni list Republike Slovenije, 50/95; Statut Občine Idrija, adopted on 14 December 2000, and published in the official Slovene gazette Uradni list Republike Slovenije, 1/2000, prescribe the coat of arms and flags, most probably reiterating the 1979 decision.
The statutes provide that a further Decision with details on the layout and usage of the coat of arms and the flag shall be made.

The flag is horizontally divided red-yellow-white, with overall proportions 1:2. The flag colours are described as "cinnabar red over golden yellow over quicksilver white".

Željko Heimer, 9 August 2002

Coat of arms of Idrija

Coat of arms of Idrija - Image by Željko Heimer, 9 August 2002

The aforementioned article in Banderas reports that between the XVIIIth and XIXth centuries the town of Idrija used arms blazoned as "Per pale, azure a fess argent, or the alchemical symbol for mercury argent".
More recently, maybe in the late XIXth century, the town adopted a new coat of arms showing the Roman god Mercury on a silver shield. Mercury is portrayed running with wings on heels and a winged helmet and holding a golden caduceus. He is wearing a green tunic and a red mantle.
Banderas mentions a mural crown above the shield, but the 1995 and 2000 statutes do not mention it.
Stanič & Jakopič [j2s05] write that the coat of arms showing the Roman god was chosen in the XVIth century by the citizens of Idria and was confirmed by the Emperor.

Željko Heimer, 22 January 2006