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Vrhovine (Municipality, Lika-Senj County, Croatia)

Last modified: 2014-03-08 by ivan sache
Keywords: vrhovine | pines: 3 (green) | hellebore | flower (white) |
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[Municipality flag]

Flag of Vrhovine - Image by Željko Heimer, 2 January 2011


See also:


Presentation of Vrhovine

Vrhovine is is located some 30 km north of Gospić, covering the high regions of Mala Kapela mountain range between Otočac and the Plitvice Lakes. It has nearly 3,000 inhabitants.

Željko Heimer, 7 September 2003


Flag of Vrhovine

The symbols of Vrhovine (municipal website) are prescribed by Decision Odluka o grbu i zastavi Općine Vrhovine, adopted on 26 January 2010 by the Municipality Assembly and published on 31 August 2010 in the County official gazette Županijski glasnik Ličko-senjske županije, No. 14.
The Decision has a reference to the official report issued on 12 November 2009 by the Croatian State Archives, a document that each unit of local administration has to provide to the central authorities when applying for the symbols' approval. I guess that the report here was simply the confirmation that there is no record in the Archives of any symbol used by the Municipality in history. The Decision also has a caveat that it shall be published in the County official gazette only after approval of the symbols by the central authorities.

The flag is in proportions 1:2, light blue with the coat of arms, bordered yellow, in the middle.

Željko Heimer, 22 January 2011


Coat of arms of Vrhovine

[Municipality arms]

Coat of arms of Vrhovine - Image by Željko Heimer, 2 January 2011

The coat of arms is "Azure between two pine trees vert trunked argent on a pile inverted argent a pine tree vert trunked sable and in chief a hellebore flower argent".
I assume that the pile recalls the name of the municipality (vrh means "peak", "summit"), and that the trees and flowers represent the evergreen local flora of the highlands of central Croatia. The hellebore is presumably the black hellebore (Christmas rose, in Croatian, kukurijek božićnjak, in Latin, Helleborus niger), in spite of its name bearing bright white flowers, representing resistance to harsh conditions, keeping its white petals often long into the winter.

Željko Heimer, 2 January 2011


Ceremonial flag of Vrhovine

[Ceremonial flag]

Ceremonial flag of Vrhovine - Image by Željko Heimer, 2 January 2011

The ceremonial flag is a light blue gonfalon with three triangularly ending tails with golden tassels, all bordered golden, with the coat of arms in its centre, the name of the municipality above and branches of oak and fir below.

Željko Heimer, 2 January 2011


Table flag of Vrhovine

The table flag is prescribed as a vertical version of the flag, of 20 x 10 cm in size, with the inscription "VRHOVINE" along the bottom.

Željko Heimer, 2 January 2011


Rejected symbols of Vrhovine

The first symbols of Vrhovine were prescribed by Decision Odluka o grbu i zastavi Općine Vrhovine, adopted on 19 March 2003 by the Municipality Assembly and published on 28 March 2003 in Županijski glasnik Ličko-senjske županije, No. 5.
The symbols were not approved by the Ministry of Justice and Administration.

The flag is in proportions 1:2, vertical, red with the coat of arms in the middle. The flag edges are yellow.
The table flag is equal with additional yellow inscription "VRHOVINE" in the lower part. It is prescribed also a "car and souvenir flag" of irregular shape (presumably, this means rectangular with trianuglar fly), 8 x 15 cm, diagonally divided into a red field with the squirrel and a yellow field diagonally inscribed "VRHOVINE".
There is also a ceremonial flag that is basically a banner of the arms.

The coat of arms of is "Per pale gules a squirrel or and of the second a headgear from Lika gules trimmed and with five fringes sable, in base overall a mount vert. A ribbon in the base bears the name of the municipality".

Željko Heimer, 15 December 2008