Flag of Slovenia
Three horizontal stripes of white, blue and red, with Slovenia's coat of arms near the left, sitting across the white and blue stripes. The shield shows a white mountain, wavy blue lines and three gold stars.
At a glance
- Adopted
- June 27, 1991adopted when Slovenia left Yugoslavia in June 1991; confirmed by the national symbols law in 1994
- Shape (height : width)
- 1:2
- Capital
- Ljubljana
- Continent
- Europe
- Colours
- white
- blue
- red
- gold
What it means
- White, blue and red: the colours of the old Duchy of Carniola; people often call them Pan-Slavic colours, but historians trace them to Carniola
- White mountain: Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia
- Two wavy blue lines: the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia's rivers
- Three gold stars: taken from the arms of the Counts of Celje, a powerful Slovene noble family of the 1300s and 1400s
Where it came from
The white, blue and red colours come from the old coat of arms of the Duchy of Carniola, a medieval land in today's Slovenia. The coat of arms on the flag was designed by the artist Marko Pogacnik when Slovenia became independent in 1991.
History
The white-blue-red tricolour was first raised in Ljubljana on 7 April 1848, during a year of revolutions in Europe. Unusually, the Austrian Empire later accepted it as the flag of Carniola.
From 1945, when Slovenia was a republic inside Yugoslavia, a red star sat in the middle of the flag. When Slovenia declared independence in June 1991, the star was removed and the new coat of arms was added.
Fun facts
- Triglav means "three heads", and the mountain on the flag really has three peaks.
- The flag is twice as long as it is tall, which is longer than most flags.
- The tricolour first flew in Ljubljana on 7 April 1848, raised by students led by Lovro Toman.
- The stars have six points, not five like on most flags.
Easy to mix up with
Slovakia
RussiaQuestions
What does the flag of Slovenia look like?
Three horizontal stripes of white, blue and red, with Slovenia's coat of arms near the left, sitting across the white and blue stripes. The shield shows a white mountain, wavy blue lines and three gold stars.
What do the colours and symbols on the flag of Slovenia mean?
White, blue and red: the colours of the old Duchy of Carniola; people often call them Pan-Slavic colours, but historians trace them to Carniola; White mountain: Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia; Two wavy blue lines: the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia's rivers; Three gold stars: taken from the arms of the Counts of Celje, a powerful Slovene noble family of the 1300s and 1400s.
When was the flag of Slovenia adopted?
The current flag of Slovenia was adopted on June 27, 1991. (adopted when Slovenia left Yugoslavia in June 1991; confirmed by the national symbols law in 1994)
What colours are on the flag of Slovenia?
The flag of Slovenia uses white, blue, red and gold.
Which flag is easy to mix up with the flag of Slovenia?
It is easy to mix up with the flag of Slovakia. Slovakia has the same stripes, but its shield shows a white double cross on blue hills
Famous landmarks in Slovenia
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Sources
- en.wikipedia.org
- crwflags.com
- Flag picture: flagcdn.com (Wikimedia Commons)