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Ploče (Town, Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Croatia)

Flag of Ploče - Image by Željko Heimer, 14 April 2013

Presentation of Ploče
Flag of Ploče
Coat of arms of Ploče
Ceremonial flag of Ploče
Proposed symbols of Ploče
- The 2009 public debate
- The 2003 public contest

See also:

Presentation of Ploče

The municipality of Ploče (10,834 inhabitants in 2001, 6,617 in the town of Ploče) is located at the mouth of the delta of river Neretva. The town was built after World War II as the main port to replace the port of Metković located further upstream. Ploče is the main port for access to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and thus has special significance.
In 1950, Ploče was renamed Kardeljevo, for Edvard Kardelj, a Slovenian revolutionary and one of the ideologists of the Tito's movement. The name was soon reverted to Ploče, since Kardelj was still alive and it was decided not to name places after people alive. However, in 1980, after Kardelj's death, the town was again renamed Kardeljevo; in 1990, with the end of the Socialist system, the original name of Ploče was eventually restored.

Željko Heimer, 15 February 2004

Flag of Ploče

The symbols of Ploče was adopted on 26 March 2013 by the Town Assembly and vaildated by the State authorities (municipal website).
The symbols were designed by the Heraldic Art d.o.o. company from Rijeka.

The flag is in proportions 1:2, dark blue with the coat of arms, bordered in golden-yellow, in the middle.

Željko Heimer, 14 April 2013

Coat of arms of Ploče

Coat of arms of Ploče - Images by Željko Heimer, 14 April 2013

The coat of arms of Ploče is "Azure an anchor or and a sun in splendour of the same issuant from the chief".
The anchor represents the port and safe anchorage; the sun stands for life energy and progress.

Željko Heimer, 14 April 2013

Ceremonial flag of Ploče

Ceremonial flag of Ploče - Images by Željko Heimer, 14 April 2013

The ceremonial flag of Ploče is a dark blue, triangularly ending gonfalon with a golden fringe along the bottom. The coat of arms is set in the middle, the name of the municipality in two lines above and branches of olive and vine below.

Željko Heimer, 14 April 2013

Proposed symbols of Ploče

The 2009 public debate

Proposed flag and arms of Ploče - Images by Željko Heimer, 11 April 2009

On 15 January 2009, the Town administration launched a public debate on the proposed symbols.
The flag proposal open to public discussion is in proportions 1:2, blue, or, alternatively, red with the coat of arms in the middle.
The selected proposed coat of arms is "Argent an eel gules winding around an anchor sable and in chief two mullets of seven gules. The seven-pointed stars were taken from the arms of the Grupković family (Plina); as a characteristic and yet unusual element, the eel symbolizes the Neretva delta, while the anchor stands for the maritime orientation of the Ploče port.

The public discussion was open until 15 April 2009. The Town Statutory Commission basically agreed with the proposed symbols, but they objected to the position of the eel around the anchor, as it looks to them as if the fish is being prepared to be grilled, so they proposed the elements to be redesigned somehow.

Željko Heimer, 11 April 2009

The 2003 public contest

A public contest for the Town symbols was prescribed by Zaključak Gradskog Poglavarstva (o raspisivanju natječaja), published on 10 June 2003 in the Town official gazette Službena stranica Grada Ploča.
The contest, Natječaj za izradu idejnog rješenja grba i zastave Grada Ploča, was published on 4 July 2003 in the Split newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija.
Zakljucčak Gradskog Poglavarstva (o odbijanju prijedloga prikupljenih u natječaju), published on 28 August 2003 in Službena stranica Grada Ploča, stated that no satisfactory material had been submitted; therefore, no symbol was adopted.

Željko Heimer, 15 February 2004