![[Flag of Serbia]](../images/c/cs-sr.gif)
Last modified: 2006-08-19 by ivan sache
Keywords: serbia | cross (yellow) | ocila | firesteel | mourning flag | coat of arms: serbia | star (red) | eagle: double-headed (white) | president of the republic | chairman of the parliament |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
Flag of Serbia - Image by Željko Heimer, 17 August 2004
See also:
The status of the union between Montenegro and Serbia was decided by a
referendum on Montenegrin Independence on May 21, 2006. 55.54% of
voters voted for independence of Montenegro, narrowly passing the 55%
threshold needed to validate the referendum under rules set by the
European Union, as reported by 99.80% of the 1,100 polling stations.
Serbia, the member-states of the European Union, and the permanent
members of the United Nations Security Council have all signalled they
will likely recognize Montenegro's independence, removing any obvious
obstacles from Montenegro's path towards becoming the world's newest
sovereign state. Predrag Popović, a leader of one of the unionist
parties demanding a full recount, said the day after the election that
his bloc would lodge a complaint with the head of the election
commission, Slovak diplomat Frantisek Lipka.
According to the electoral commission, the 55% threshold was passed by
only 2,300 votes (55.5% in favour).
On June 3, 2006, the Parliament of Montenegro declared the independence of Montenegro, formally confirming the result of the referendum on independence. On June 5 Serbia was declared the successor of Yugoslavia and the State Union by the National Assembly of Serbia. Montenegro has begun the process of seeking international recognition as well as a seat at international organizations.
Matthew Chew, 7 June 2006
The website of the Serbian Parliament relates the first hoisting ceremony of the new flag as follows:
The new state flag of Serbia was ceremonially raised on the flagpole of the Serbian Assembly building at 14, Kralja Milana street, to the accompaniment of the Serbian anthem, Boze pravde (O God of Justice). The flag-raising ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Assembly, Predrag Marković, heads of deputies' groups, as well as several hundred members of the public.The Serbian anthem was performed by the Guards Orchestra of the Army of Serbia and Montenegro, after which Mr Marković unveiled a plaque mounted on the parliament building, bearing the inscription "National Assembly" surmounted by a large coat of arms of Serbia.
Answering questions as to why the plaque did not contain the country's name, Mr Marković said: "Wherever you see a Serbian coat of arms like this, there is the home of the state of Serbia. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has kept alive the memory of the insignia that have today been restored."
Deputies of the Serbian Assembly had earlier this month adopted a reccommendation on the national symbols of Serbia, restoring old national insignia - the coat of arms of the Obrenović dynasty, dating back to 1882, and Boze pravde, the old national anthem, and introducing the state flag, as well as personal flags for the Chairman of the Assembly and the President of Serbia.
Kristian Söderberg, 1 September 2004
The government of Serbia adopted a "Conclusion" regarding the use of the newly adopted national symbols.
Based on Articles 29 and 30 Paragraph 4 of the Law on the Government of the Republic of Serbia (official gazette nr. 5/91 and 45/93), the Government of the Republic of Serbia issues the Conclusion on the use of the coat of arms, the flag and the anthem of the Republic of Serbia
I.
1. It is recommended to the Parliament, the President of the Republic, the ministries, special organisations, government services, the Constitutional court, the courts, public attorneys, public ombudsman of the Republic, offence prosecuting institutions, the National bank of Serbia, the Joint administrative direction of the state institutions (henceforward: the state institutions) and to the institutions of the autonomous regions, municipalities, cities and the city of Belgrade (henceforward: the regional and local institutions), as well as to the public services and other legal persons that are established by the Republic of Serbia (henceforward: public services) to use the coat of arms, the flag and the anthem of the Republic of Serbia in accordance with this Conclusion.
II.
1. The coat of arms, the flag and the anthem of the Republic of Serbia are used in the contents and the shape determined in the Recommendation on use of the coat of arms, the flag and the anthem of the Republic of Serbia (official gazette, nr. 93/04)
III.
1. The greater coat of arms of the Republic of Serbia shall be used:
- on the buildings of the Parliament, the President of the Republic,
the Government, the Constitutional court, the Supreme court, the
public attorney of the Republic and the National bank of Serbia;
- in the official premises of the President of the Republic, the
chairman of the Parliament, the prime minister, the chairman of the
Constitutional court, the public attorney of the Republic and the
governor of the National bank of Serbia;
- as part of the seals of the Parliament, the President of the
Republic, of the Government, the Constitutional court, the Supreme
court, the public attorney of the republic and the National bank of
Serbia;
- on the official invitation letters, greeting cards and similar
used by the President of the Republic.
2. The lesser coat of arms of the Republic of Serbia shall be used:
- on the buildings of the other state institutions, the regional and
local institution and the public services, as well as in their
official premises;
- as part of the seals, in accordance with the law determining the
seals of the state and other institutions.
The lesser coat of arms of the Republic of Serbia may be used:
- during the celebrations, the festivities and the other cultural,
sporting and similar manifestations of importance for the Republic of
Serbia;
- as part of forms of the public document, when that is determined
by the law and on the law based regulations;
- as part of the insignia on the uniforms of the officials of
the state institutions, when that is prescribed by the law and in the
law based regulations;
- on the official invitation letters, greeting cards and similar
used by the chairman and the vice-chairmen of the Parliament, the
prime minister, the ministers, the chairman of the Constitutional
court, the chairman of the Supreme court of Serbia, the public
attorney of the Republic and the governor of the National bank of
Serbia;
- in other cases, if its use is not in contradiction with this
Conclusion.
3. The greater and the lesser of the Republic of Serbia [...]
IV.
1. The state flag of the Republic of Serbia shall be permanently hoisted
on the main entrance to the buildings of the state institutions,
except of the Parliament, and in their official premises.
The state flag of the Republic of Serbia shall be permanently hoisted
- on the main entrance to the Parliament building during the
sessions and on the state holidays of the Republic of Serbia;
- on the main entrance to the regional and local institutions and
the public services on the state holidays of the Republic of Serbia.
If there are premises of several state institutions in the same
building, only one flag is hoisted.
2. The state flag of the Republic of Serbia shall be hoisted on the voting sites on the election day of the elections for the state institutions.
3. In the days of mourning all the state institutions, the regional and local institutions and the public services shall hoist the state flag of the Republic of Serbia half-masted.
4. The state flag of the Republic of Serbia may be hoisted:
- during the celebrations and the other manifestations that officially
mark the events of importance to the Republic of Serbia;
- [...]
5. The President of the Republic and the chairman of the Parliament shall use, instead of the state flag, the standards.
6. The national flag of the Republic of Serbia shall be permanently
hoisted on the entrance to the Parliament and the entrances into the
buildings of the regional and local institutions and if there are
premises of several regional and local institutions and public
services in the same building, only one flag is hoisted.
The national flag of the Republic of Serbia shall be hoisted on the voting
sites on the election day for the regional and local elections.
7. The national flag of the Republic of Serbia may be hoisted:
- during the celebrations, the festivities and the other cultural,
sporting and similar manifestations;
- in other cases, if its use is not in contradiction with this
Conclusion.
8. The state and the national flags of the Republic of Serbia are not
to be used so to touch the ground, nor as floor mats, covers,
curtains, draping, nor covering vehicles or other objects, nor as
ornamentation for the conference tables and speaking boots, except in
the form of the table flags.
The state and the national flags of the Republic of Serbia are not to
be used if damaged or by its appearance otherwise unsuitable for the
use, but are retreated from the usage.
V. [National anthem]
VI.
1. For everything not recommended specifically in this Conclusion, are applied the rules of the Law on the use of the flag, the anthem and the coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (official gazette, nr. 66/93 and 24/94).
VII.
1. This Conclusion shall be published in the official gazette Službeni glasnik Republike Srbije.
The Government of the Republic of Serbia
Željko Heimer, 8 September 2004
The People's Assembly of Serbia (Narodna Skupstina Republike Srbije) adopted on 17 August a recommendation on the use of the state symbols, following the proposals made by a working group in November 2001 (see below). Legally, a recommendation is just a guideline, which does not require anyone to obey it, but it was adopted as such in order to avoid the procedure that is otherwise required by the Constitution to organize a referendum on the issue.
The legislation was adopted during an extraordinary session of the Parliament under urgent procedure, by agreement of caucus heads and petition of 187 members, from the government coalition and the Radical Party. The Socialist Party of Serbia voted against the new state symbols, with caucus leader Ivica Dacić describing the coat of arms as "monarchist".
An article in the bimonthly political magazine Srpska Rec (undated, probably from December 2001) explains how the working group presented their proposal for the new symbols of Serbia on 23 November 2001. The working group decided to propose the readoption of the 1882 symbols - the plain tricolour as the national flag, the tricolour with coat of arms as the state flag, the coat of arms from the Obrenović dynasty period and the anthem Bože pravde, also from 1882.
Željko Heimer & Ivan Sarajčić, 17 August 2004
Here is an unofficial translation from the recommendation:
Based on the article 73 line 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of
Serbia,
The Parliament of the Republic of Serbia, on a session of the Ninth
extraordinary convention in the year 2004, held on 17 august 2004
issues the
Recommendation on the use of the coat of arms, the flag and the anthem of the Republic of Serbia
Until the final establishment of the state symbols of Serbia, in accordance to the Article 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, it shall be used:Coat of arms
The coat of arms of the Republic of Serbia as determined by the Law on the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Serbia of 16 June 1882, used in two stages - the greater coat of arms and as the lesser coat of arms.
The greater coat of arms is a red shield in that is set between two golden lilies in base a two headed silver eagle armed, langued and membered golden, with a red shield on its breasts containing a silver cross between four firesteels of the same turned towards the vertical bar of the cross. The shield is crowned with a golden crown and in front of a mantle with golden embroideries and golden fringe, with a golden cord with tassels, with hermelin inside and crowned with a golden crown.
The lesser coat of arms is a red shield in that is set between two golden lilies in base a two headed silver eagle armed, langued and membered golden, with a red shield on its breasts containing a silver cross between four firesteels of the same turned towards the vertical bar of the cross. The shield is crowned with a golden crown.Flag
The flag of the Republic of Serbia exists and is used as the national flag and the state flag, both in ratio 3:2 (length to width).
The national flag is a horizontal tricolour flag of equally wide stripes, top to bottom: red, blue and white.
The state flag is is a horizontal tricolour flag of equally wide stripes, top to bottom: red, blue and white and overall with its centre off-set towards the hoist for 1/7 of the total flag length is set the lesser coat of arms of the Republic of Serbia.
The President of the Republic of Serbia and the Chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia own and use standards of square shape, so:
- the standard of the President of the Republic is a horizontal tricolour flag within a white border with interchanging row of blue and red triangles with their bases inwards and with a red deltoid in each corner, their stripes of the same heights, top to bottom: red, blue and white and over all these stripes the greater coat of arms of the Republic of Serbia;
- the Standard of the Chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia is a horizontal tricolour flag with equally sized stripes, top to bottom: red, blue and white, and over all these stripes the greater coat of arms of the Republic of Serbia.Anthem
[...]The recommendation shall be published in the official gazette of the Republic of Serbia Službeni glasnik Republike Srbije RS nr. 44.
In Belgrade, 17 August 2004
Parliament of the Republic of Serbia
Chairman
Predrag Marković
Željko Heimer, 25 August 2004
The national flag of Serbia is horizontally divided red-blue-white, in proportion 2:3.
Željko Heimer, 17 August 2004
![[Coat of arms of Serbia]](../images/c/cs)sr.gif)
![[Greater coat of arms of Serbia]](../images/c/cs)sr1.gif)
Lesser (left) and greater right coats of arms of Serbia - Images by Željko Heimer, 27 August 2004
The lesser coat of arms of Serbia is:
Gules, two fleur-de-lys or below a double-headed eagle argent, beaked, membered and tongued or, bearing an escutcheon: gules, a cross argent between four firesteels or addorsed. Crowned with a royal crown proper.
The greater coat of arms adds the heraldic mantle topped with a crown.
Sources:
Željko Heimer, 27 August 2004
Očila is the term that describes
the four C-shaped elements on the coat of arms. Another word in Serbian for
the same thing is ognjila, but I do not think that this is
ever used for those elements in this sense.
Ocila is called in English a firesteel, a cup or plate used
for holding fire in religious service (or most usually beneath
icons), providing the fragrant smoke. Similar device is also known in
Western European heraldry, then most usualy with opening above, often
with fire bursting from it.
The meaning and use of this symbol is said to date back to the XIIIth century during
the life of St. Sava, a Serbian prince, monk, and a patron of the Serbian
Orthodox Church [est. 1219].
During that time of transition in Serbian maedieval history, the
state was pressured by the Vatican to convert into Catholicism. Since
the state did not have its own independent ecclesiastic
establishment, St. Sava called for establishment of Serbian
independent Archiepiscopat, and as well called on all Serbs to unite
against the pressure from The Vatican.
St. Sava said, 'Only Unity Saves the Serbs', in Serbian, Samo
Sloga Srbina Spasava. Every word in that sentence begins with the letter S; in Cyrillic
alphabet letter S is С, and there comes the explanation
why there are four C's in the Serbian coat of arms. The Serbian coat of arms represents a reminder for a need for Serbian people to unite
with the cause to preserve their heritage and nationhood.
David Adizes, 23 November 1999
Before the XIIth century, an almost identical cross with four C- or rather B-shaped firesteels was used by the Byzantine Paleologue Emperors, the letters standing for the Emperor's motto: Βασιλευς Βασιλεων Βασιλευων Βασιλευσιν, that is, "King of Kings, ruling over Kings".
Santiago Dotor, 25 November 1999
In the Orthodox Church, the cross that has been seen by Constantine the Great (270/288-337) is a very important symbol. Before the battle at Saxa
Rubra (Milvian Bridge) he is said to have seen in the sky a very bright
cross ("bright as many stars"). The message that he's been heard was: In
hoc signo vinces. There is a difference between this cross of victory
(Constantine won the battle) and the cross of crucifixion. In addition, it
is also a representation of the bright cross they believe that will appear in
the sky at the end of the World (Matthew 24:30).
There are several different ways to represent brightness of that
cross. One of them is with diagonal rays, the second is with the Greek letters IS HS
NI KA (Jesus Christ is victor). The third way is with four firesteels. The cross with four firesteels is an old Byzantine/Orthodox symbol and should not be connected to the Paleologues (the last ruling family). It has nothing to do with four Β (Greek or Serbian Cyrillic alphabet).
Zoran Nikolić, 14 July 2004
![[State flag of Serbia]](../images/c/cs-sr1.gif)
State flag of Serbia - Image by Željko Heimer, 17 August 2004
The state flag is similar to the national flag, with the national coat of arms shifted to the hoist.
Željko Heimer, 17 August 2004
![[State flag of Serbia]](../images/c/cs-sr2.gif)
State flag of Serbia in proportion 1:2 - Image by Milan Heldrih, 9 January 2005
A state flag in proportion 1:2 is hoisted at least over the presidential residence in Belgrade and also in front of hotel Hajat. In both cases they are hoisted without the national flag of Serbia and Montenegor (as one would have assumed that the ratio might have been made so that the two would be of the same size, but no). Such 1:2 flags are not prescribed by the new Serbian regulations, but the regulation is vague and may be followed more or less strictly.
Željko Heimer, 9 January 2005
![[State flag of Serbia]](../images/c/cs-sr3.gif)
Vertical state flag of Serbia - Image by Željko Heimer, 31 May 2005
As I was informed by Milan Heldrih from Zemun, Serbia, the new state
flag of Serbia is used aslo in a vertical variant. As far as I am
aware, the verical variant is not prescribed anywhere, but apparently
it is used nevertheless in somewhat unexpected design.
Namely, the vertical flag is the tricolour red-blue-white from
observer's left to right, with the coat of arms set in the canton, so
that its vertical axis matches the edge between the red and the blue
fields and moved towards the top, approximately to 1/3 of the length.
Milan noticed also several variations, including the ratio variations
from the usual 2:3 (matching the horizontal flag), 1:2 (matching the
flag of Serbia and Montenegro) and even as long as 1:5 for vertical banner-like hoisting.
The flag seems to be mass produced (and used) in Serbia, and
it probably not solely by one manufacturer, as the variants may prove.
Milan repoirts that the flag is used amnong other places on the state
TV headquarters (1:5 variant), the Customs Office (1:2), buildings of
some municipal courts in New Belgrade and some less official places
such as the Zepter Bank, Hotel Beograd Interkontinental, a bakery shop in
Lazarevac etc. As table flags these are used in the government
buildings, as shown in various newspapers on the photos on the working
desk of Vojislav Koštunica, the Prime Minister, and Boris Tadić, the
President.
Željko Heimer, 31 May 2005
![[Flag of the President]](../images/c/cs-sr_p.gif)
Standard of the President of Serbia - Image by Željko Heimer, 17 August 2004
![[Flag of the Chairman]](../images/c/cs-sr_s.gif)
Standard of the Chairman of the Parliament of Serbia - Image by Željko Heimer, 17 August 2004
A plain black flag is frequently used as mourning flag in Serbia, especially in Eastern Serbia. It is displayed in front of the house of a deceased person for 40 days after the death.
Ivan Sarajčić, 20 May 2000