Last modified: 2017-04-16 by ivan sache
Keywords: vodnjan | dignano |
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![[Town flag]](../images/h/hr-pn-vo.gif)
Flag of Vodnjan - Image by Željko Heimer, 6 September 2013
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The Town of Vodnjan (Italian, Dignano; 5,651 inahbitants in 2001, 3,406 in the town of Vodnjan) is located in southern central Istria, without access to the sea. However, it was once a rather important place, before the port of Pula was heavily built by Austria-Hungary
The Croatian name has a distinct clearly recognizable root, voda, meaning "water"; presumably the town had good acess to water of some kind. I believe that Dignano is an "italianization" of the name using the "sounds-like" principle, which is used very much in Istria otherwise. Whether the Italian name has some meaning, I could not say, also I am unaware which of the two is older.
The municipal website gives a story on the name of the place. The Ancient Romans defeated the Istrians and settled here in the 2nd century BC. About this time the territory of Vodnjan was given for keeping to some Attinivs, so the place was known soon as "Vicus Attinianum", which probably gave Adignani and, later, Dignano. The local Croatian folk provided the Croatian transcription with expressions of direction "in Dignano"... "va Dinjane", "va Vodnjane", and finally Vodnjan.
Željko Heimer, 29 February 2004
The symbols of Vodnjan are described in the Town Statutes Statut Grada Vodnjana - Citta di Dignano, adopted on 8 May 2008 by the Town Council and published in the Town official gazette Službene novine Grada Vodnjana, No. 3 (text). This is repeated in the current Town Statutes Statut Grada Vodnjana - Citta di Dignano, adopted on 1 July 2009 and published in the Town official gazette Službene novine Grada Vodnjana, No. 2 (text).
The symbols were designed by the Heraldic Art d.o.o. company, from Rijeka.
The flag (photo) is in proportions 1:2, yellow with the coat of arms in the middle.
Željko Heimer & Marko Vitez, 23 August 2016
![[Town coat of arms]](../images/h/hr)pn-vo.gif)
Coat of arms of Vodnjan - Image by Željko Heimer, 6 September 2013
The coat of arms is "Argent a cross gules", in shape very similar to the coat of arms of Pula.
Željko Heimer, 27 February 2004
![[Flag]](../images/h/hr-pn_vo.gif)
![[Flag]](../images/h/hr-pn_vo1.gif)
Ceremonial flag of Vodnjan, left, current, right, until 2003 - Images by Željko Heimer, 23 August 2016
The ceremonial flag (photo) is an orange gonfalon with the coat of arms in the middle, topped with a mural crown and surrounded with an olive and an oak branch tied with a light blue ribbon. The name of the municipality is inscribed in two arched lines below in Croatian and Italian: "GRAD VODNJAN / CITTÀ DI DIGNANO".
Before 2003, the flag (photo, Nacional, 14 July 1999) was yellow and the inscription reflected the status of the munocipality: "OPĆINA VODNJAN / COMUNE DI DIGNANO".
Željko Heimer & Marko Vitez, 23 August 2016
![[Town coat of arms]](../images/h/hr-pn_vo2.gif)
Table flag of Vodnjan - Image by Željko Heimer, 4 November 2007
The table flag is a rectangular variation of the ceremonial flag differing in some minor artistic details: the size of the coat of arms, the distance of the crown from the shield, the coloring of the branches and balls on the ribbon etc. The differences are probably due to the production techniques.
Željko Heimer, 4 November 2007
