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Velike Lašče (Municipality, Slovenia)

Municipal flag of Velike Lašče, horizontal and vertical versions - Images by Željko Heimer, 17 October 2002

Presentation of Velike Lašče
Municipal flag of Velike Lašče
Coat of arms of Velike Lašče
Former coat of arms of Velike Lašče

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Presentation of Velike Lašče

The municipality of Velike Lašče was formed in 1995 from parts of the community of Vic-Rudnik, one of five communities that made the Civic Assembly of the Communities of Ljubljana until then.

Željko Heimer, 23 January 2002

Municipal flag of Velike Lašče

The flag and arms of Velike Lašče are prescribed by Decision Odlok o istovetnostnih simbolih Občine Velike Lašče, adopted on 19 April 2000 and published in the official Slovene gazette Uradni list Republike Slovenije, 45/2000.

The symbols were designed by Valt Jurečič of Heraldika d.o.o. and Heraldica Slovenica, who kindly provided drawings from which the images shown on this page were made.

The adoption process of the flag is described on the municipal website. Relevant extracts of the text follow.

On 5 January 2000 the Mayor of the municipality of Velike Lašče Anton Zakrajcek established the commission for visual identity of the municipality composed of: Tatjana Devjak, Vice-Mayor; Matjaz Gruden, Councillor; Vinko Gruden, Councillor; Martina Venturini, graphical art teacher; Miro Skrlj, graphical art specialist; and Anton Zakrajcek, Mayor

The first task of the commission was the production of the municipal flag. Valt Jurečič, the chairman of the Heraldika company, was appointed as professional advisor. The members of the commission decided to adopt a new coat of arms in the same time as well. Namely, the coat of arms used until then did not comply to the heraldical rules and tradition. The commission learned the basics of heraldry and the complexity of its task, to design the identity symbols of the municipality.

In the municipal magazine Trobla (Trumpet), a contest was opened for the collection of the ideas for attributes that would be included in the new coat of arms and flag. Through the committed work of Miro Skrlj and with much help of Heraldika, we came with the final proposal and the new coat of arms and flag were adopted on 19 April 2000 on the session of the Municipal Council. Both new symbols were for the first time publicly used on the ceremonial session on the municipal holiday on 10 June 2000, when the 450th anniverary of the publication of the first Slovene book was celebrated.

The flag is blue and white, in ratio 1:2,5. The flag field is blue with two vertically white stripes, the first covering the second sixth of the flag field and the second covering the fifth sixth. The middle square field is adorned with the main attribute from the coat of arms, a white open undefaced book between two goose feathers and inkpots. The width of the whole attribute should not be less the 70% of the blue field and it should not be bigger than 80% of it.

Željko Heimer, 17 October 2002

Coat of arms of Velike Lašče

Municipal coat of arms of Velike Lašče - Image by Željko Heimer, 17 October 2002

The coat of arms of Velike Lašče is:

Per fess embattled fimbriated or, in chief azure a book argent binded gules between two ink bottles of the third with ink of the second with as many feathers proper, and in base vert a tur oxen of the first.

Still from the municipal website:

The coat of arms should be artistically finalized, or to put it in other words, it should be attractive, nice, such that it would be sympathetically accepted by the citizens. The region and the municipality of Velike Lašče are rich with topics, among which the choice of the attributes might be made. Slovene heraldry provides primarly three topics for the base of the identity symbols: history and symbolic tradition, culture and nature. Actually the commission reduced them to two, culture and history.

While pondering the cultural heritage, we stopped at local Slovene artists that made the Slovene conscience and word. Trubar, Levstik and Stritar are among the most important Slovene writters. Primarly as a tribute to Trubar, a lexicographer considered as the "father of the Slovene word", we decided to choose an open undefaced book, although the works of Levstik and Stritar might have been easily pictured with some other symbols or their heroes. For instance, Levstik's hero Martin Krpan is used in the municipal symbols of Pivka. For the book it is known that, more or less it may be represented only in white. For artistical reasons the background was then chosen to be blue. The list of the culturally important people is, of course, much bigger, but the heraldry would not allow us to represent all of them.

Therefore, due to artistical and heraldical reasons, we kept only two symbols of writing, the feather and the inkpot, instead of three, since there was no more place on the shield for a third one. The book and two goose feathers represent the totality of the cultural heritage and traditional national consciousness of the local citizens. Both are given in colours that are allowed by heraldical rules.

The shield of the proposal for the coat of arms is partitioned per fess, i.e., horizontally divided in two fields. The division line is embatteled with a silver line. An embatteled division is in the shape of masonry of medieval and antique defensive architecture. Of course, it was the time when the battles were fought with bows and spears. This should recall the historical architecture of the municipality, primarly the most well-known Turjaski dvor.

In the lower field we decided to set an oxen of an ancient cattle spieces called tur. It is the symbol of the famous Krain noble family of Aursperg. The tur oxen gave its name to the Tur family who owned the Turjaski grad. Among many possible colour combinations, we eventually selected the golden (yellow) oxen with black horns, hoofs and tailpoint, on a green field.

After the opinion of the profession as well as the municipal commission, this proposal was considered as adequally representing the municipality and its citizens by its heraldical composition, by the artistical expression, by the colour expression, by the general symbolic of the communal history and presence, and by the overall expression.

Željko Heimer, 17 October 2002

Former coat of arms of Velike Lašče

Former municipal coat of arms of Velike Lašče - Image by Željko Heimer, 6 July 2005

The former coat of arms of Velike Lasce is prescribed in the municipal statutes Statut Občine Velike Lašče, adopted on 26 April 1995 and published in the official Slovene gazette Uradni list Republike Slovenije, 34/1995, as follows:

Composed of a shield with a crown with five columns and four open spaces. Beneath is the Slovene tricolour above which is rising a silver Pegasus.

Željko Heimer, 17 October 2002