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Ribnica (Municipality, Slovenia)

Flag of Ribnica, horizontal and vertical versions - Images by Željko Heimer, 6 October 2002

Presentation of Ribnica
Municipal flag of Ribnica
Coat of arms of Ribnica

See also:

Presentation of Ribnica

Ribnica had municipality status before 1990.

Željko Heimer, 10 March 2000

Municipal flag of Ribnica

The coat of arms and flag of Ribnica are shown in Banderas municipales de Eslovenia, published in Banderas [ban] #58 (March 1996), claiming source Skupščinski Dolenski List, XV/11 str. 1. art. 6, with the Decision of 20 April 1978.

The flag is rectangular, in ratio 1:2, horizontally divided blue-green with the coat of arms in the middle.

The same description of the coat of arms and flag is given in four later documents, that is, the new Statutes of the Community:

(1) Statut Občine Ribnica, adopted on 19 December 1991 and published in the official Slovene gazette Uradni list Republike Slovenije, nr. 5, 31 January 1992, p. 371;
(2) Statut Občine Ribnica, adopted on 29 June 1995 and published in the official Slovene gazette Uradni list Republike Slovenije, nr. 44, 28 July 1995, p. 3483;
(3) Zacasni statutarni akt Občine Ribnica, adopted on 2 February 1995 and published in the official Slovene gazette Uradni list Republike Slovenije, 11/95;
(4) Statut Občine Ribnica, adopted on 6 April 2000 and published in the official Slovene gazette Uradni list Republike Slovenije, 37/2000.

Each of these texts describes the coat of arms and the flag in nearly the same words.
I believe that the flag is not older then 1978. From the municipal website, it seems that the current design of the coat of arms is as shown above, set on the flag within a white border. It seems also that the vertical flag has the blue stripe on the viewer's right, just opposite to what would be expected.

Željko Heimer, 6 October 2002

Coat of arms of Ribnica

Coat of arms of Ribnica - Image by Željko Heimer, 20 May 2006

The coat of arms can be blazoned as:
Gules on a bend sinistre argent a fish azure.

As the coat of arms of Ribnica is ancient, following the heraldical tradition the shape of the shield and artistic details of the representation are not fixed, and are left to the artist.

Coat of arms of Ribnica, as shown by Stanič - Image by Željko Heimer, 20 May 2006

Stanič [stj05] shows a different version of the coat of arms, which seems to be similar to the version used on the car licence plates.

The choice of a fish for the symbol of Ribnica was a natural one (riba means fish in Slovene). Such a coat of arms is shown already in Valvasor's collection from the XVIIth century.

According to the municipal website, the coat of arms recalls the legend of the naming of the town.
Once upon a time, the valley of Ribnica was a large lake, rich in all kinds of fishes. Among others, there was one beautiful goldfish there. In the nearby mountain Velika gora lived also a mighty giant, who slept the day, and went fishing in the lake by night. The goldfish shining in the night helped him fishing. In Suha krajina ("Drylands") there was no wtter, and people living there went to the lake to get water. Once taking the water, they also caught the goldfish, and they threw it away amidst some rocks, where the fish turned to stone. When the giant woke up and could not find the fish, he went searching for it. Unable to find it, he went in rage, throwing into the lake anything he got his hands by - trees and stones. These stones made numerous openings at the bottom of the lake, though which all the water leaked out. Numerous fishes were left dry and people came to take them with wagons from everywhere. And, therefore, the place was named after the fishes.

Željko Heimer, 20 May 2006