The Secret History Behind Croatia's Flag
Croatia's flag carries a checkerboard that has been the country's symbol for centuries.
The flag has three horizontal stripes in red, white and blue, the Pan-Slavic colors, and the national arms at the center. The checkerboard, the šahovnica, is made of 13 red and 12 white fields, and above it stand five smaller shields for Croatia's historic regions: Croatia proper, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria and Slavonia.
The tricolor has been in use since 1868, and the checkerboard became the center of the arms in an official sense after the election at Cetin in 1527. The current flag was adopted on December 21, 1990.
The date printed on every Croatia design in our catalog, June 25, 1991, is the day Croatia declared independence.
Thirteen red squares, twelve white ones, and a country that has kept counting them.
Looking for a gift with a story? See our heritage gift guide, or read the story behind any other country's flag on our free Flag Stories page.