# Coat of arms of Croatia

The coat of arms of the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Grb Republike Hrvatske) 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 white fields. It is also informally known in Croatian as šahovnica ("chessboard", from šah, "chess"). The five smaller shields represent five different historical regions within Croatia. The checkerboard as a heraldic symbol of Croatia was introduced in the late 15th century, and officially since 1527 election in Cetin, replacing the original coat of arms of the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia.

## Official description

Croatian law describes the coat of arms as follows:
The coat of arms of the Republic of Croatia is the historical Croatian coat of arms in the form of a shield twice divided horizontally and vertically into twenty-five red and white (silver) fields, so that the first field in the upper left corner is red. Above the shield lies a crown with five spikes, slightly arched with its ends conjoined with upper left and right parts of the shield. Within the crown, five lesser shields with historical Croatian coats of arms, lined from left to right in the following order: the oldest known Croatian coat of arms, coats of arms of the Dubrovnik Republic, Dalmatia, Istria and Slavonia. The ratio of height of the field of the main shield to the height of the smaller shields in the crown is 1:2.5, and of the width of the field of the main shield to the width of the smaller shields in the crown is 1:1. The oldest known coat of arms of Croatia contains in a shield on a light blue field a yellow (golden) six-pointed star with a white (silver) crescent. Coat of arms of the Republic of Dubrovnik contains in a shield on a blue field two red bars. The Dalmatian arms contain in a shield on a light blue field three yellow (golden) crowned lion heads. The Istrian arms contain in a shield on a blue field a yellow (golden) goat facing left with red hooves and horns. The Slavonian arms contain on a light blue field two horizontal white (silver) bars, between bars a red field, on which sneaks a marten to the left. In the upper light blue field is a yellow (golden) six-pointed star. The coat of arms is lined red.
However, after recent academic publications, some of the information should be changed.

## History

The current coat of arms of Croatia was not the first coat of arms of Croatia, dating only since the late 15th century. The first coat of arms of Croatia showcased three leopards or lions heads, which since the late 15th century began to be associated as the coat of arms of Dalmatia. In that period, due to the Ladislaus of Naples selling of Dalmatia to Republic of Venice and Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, began disintegration of the Croatian lands because of which emerged separate coat of arms for Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia (but all of them representing in general the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia).
Since the 15th century in various armorials existed also other rare variations, for example with three human heads instead, another with three running dogs (because in the German language the Slavs are also called Winden which reminds of "windhund"), and an arm brandishing a sword (originally of Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić, and later usually associated with the coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina). Sometimes the coat of arms of the Frankopan family, who at the time were one of the most powerful Croatian noble families, was also identified as the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Croatia.

### Croatian checkerboard

The size of the checkerboard ranges from 3×3 to 8×8, but most commonly 5×5, like in the current design. Throughout history, its initial field was mostly in white color and ending in red color, but existed also other examples, as until the 19th century didn't have official standardization and description.

#### Meaning

Since the 19th century national revival in Croatia, the oldest Croatian coat of arms with three leopard/lion heads was appropriated by the Italian-Dalmatianist irredentist Autonomist Party, making the checkerboard coat of arms the preferred Croatian national symbol. As such, it sparked the need to find and prove its old age, and consequently fabrications of an early medieval origin. One tradition states it to be the arms of Stephen Držislav in the 10th century. A Split stone baptistry from the time of Peter Krešimir IV (r. 1058–1074/5) has engraved falcons that carry something that resembles a chequy on their wings, and the bell tower of the medieval Church of St. Lucy, Jurandvor has a checkerboard pattern carved onto it. It was traditionally conjectured that the colours originally represented Red Croatia and White Croatia, but there is no historical evidence to support this as well.
Recently modern scholars are arguing that the Croatian checkerboard CoA was probably created under the influence of the Habsburg dynasty, replacing the first CoA with leopard/lion heads (becoming attributed to the Dalmatia, meanwhile in Venetian Dalmatia was replaced by the Lion of Saint Mark), which chekcerboard with red-white fields stylistically to the trend of the time denotes the walls and forts as Antemurale Christianitatis.

#### Use

The checkerboard coat of arms (šahovnica) is first attested as a decorative symbol of the Kingdom of Croatia on an Innsbruck tower depicting the emblem of Maximilian I, Archduke of Austria in 1495, and Chiesa dei Domenicani in Bolzano, Italy also from the late 15th century. There's possible analogies dating to 1426 of Swedish nobleman Heindrik Kristiernsson who served Ivan VI Frankopan, and 1491 of Senj nobleman Ludovik Perović at the Co-Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, Senj. It officially appeared on a seal from the Cetingrad Charter that confirmed the 1527 election of Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria as new king of Croatia.
Towards the Late Middle Ages the distinction for the three crown lands (Croatia proper, Dalmatia, Slavonia) was made. The šahovnica was used as the coat of arms of Croatia proper & together with the shields of Slavonia and Dalmatia was often used to represent the whole of Croatia in Austria-Hungary. It was used as an unofficial coat of arms of the Kingdom of Croatia adopted in 1848 and as an official coat of arms of the post-1868 Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (both unofficially known as the Triune Kingdom). The two are the same except for the position of the šahovnica and Dalmatian coat of arms which are switched around & with different crowns used above the shield – the later employing St Stephen's crown (associated with Hungarian kings).
By late 19th century šahovnica had come to be considered a generally recognized symbol for Croats and Croatia and 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. When the Banovina of Croatia was formed, the šahovnica (chequy gules and argent) was retained as the official symbol.
The Ustaše regime which had ruled Croatia during the World War II superimposed their ideological symbol, the letter "U" above or around the šahovnica (upper left square white) as the official national symbol during their rule.
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. It 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.
During the change to multiparty elections in Croatia (as part of the collapse of Communist rule in Eastern Europe from the late 1980s), and prior to the establishment of the current design, the šahovnica, shedding the communist symbols that were the hallmark of Croatia in the second Yugoslavia, reappeared as a stand-alone symbol as both the 'upper left square red' and 'upper left square white' variants. The choice of 'upper left square red' or 'upper left square white' was often dictated by heraldic laws and aesthetic requirements.
The first-field-white variant was adopted by the Republic of Croatia and used briefly in 1990. According to constitutional changes which came into effect on 26 June 1990 the red star in the flag of SR Croatia was to be replaced by the "historical Croatian coat of arms with 25 red and white fields", without specifying order of fields. The first-field-white variant was used at the official flag hoisting ceremony on 25 July and was later occasionally used on par with the first-field-red variant until 21 December 1990 when the current coat of arms was officially adopted.

## Current design

On 21 December 1990, the post-socialist government of Croatia, passed a law prescribing the design created by the painter and graphic artist 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. The new design added the five crowning shields which represent Croatian historical coat of arms, out of which four regions of Croatia. They are, from left to right:
Some of the more traditional heraldic pundits have criticized the latest design for various design solutions, such as adding a crown to the coat, varying shades of blue in its even fields, adding the red border around the coat, and using red and blue together. 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.
Unlike in many countries, Croatian design more commonly uses symbolism from 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 or the design of the shirt for the Croatia national football team), and partly because the Pan-Slavic colors are present in many European flags.

### Historical versions of the crown arms

Most coats of arms used in the crown on the modern-day coat of arms differ slightly from historically accurate versions.
* "Illyrian" coat of arms (misconsidered oldest known symbol of Croatia)
* Coat of arms of Dubrovnik
* Coat of arms of Dalmatia
* Coat of arms of Istria
* Coat of arms of Kingdom of Slavonia

## Gallery

* First known example of Croatian chequy as depicted in Innsbruck, Austria (1495)
* Coat of arms of Croatia as depicted in St. Sebaldus Church, Nuremberg (1514)
* Coat of arms of Croatia used in 1527 as part of a seal on the Cetingrad Charter
* Kingdom of Croatia (1525–1868)
* Coat of arms of Croatian Crown land (until 1868)
* Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (1868–1918). The official version had St. Stephen's crown due to Croatia being part of Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen.
* Coat of arms of Transleithania (1868–1915)
* Patriotic badge from 1914
* Lesser Coat of arms of Transleithania (1915–1918)
* Common coat of arms of Austria-Hungary (1915–1918)
* Austria-Hungary, lesser version (1916–1918)
* Coat of arms of Croatia (State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs period)
* Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941)
* Banovina of Croatia (1939–1941)
* Independent State of Croatia (1941–1945)
* ZAVNOH & Federal State of Croatia (1943)
* ZAVNOH & Federal State of Croatia (1943–1947)
* Socialist Republic of Croatia (1947–1990)
* Early coat of arms of the Republic of Croatia (1990)
* Historical Croatian coats of arms depicted in Church of the Mother of God of Sljeme, Queen of Croats