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Posavina Canton (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Posavski kanton

Flag of Posavina Canton - Image by Željko Heimer, 10 June 2004

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Flag of Posavina Canton

The symbols of Posavina Canton are prescribed by Amendment to the Canton Constitution Amandman na Ustav Županije posavske, adopted by the Canton Assembly on 12 April 2000 and published on 12 April 2000 in the Canton official gazette Narodne novine Županije posavske, No. 3, with effect on the day of publication.

The flag is prescribed in Article 1 of the Amendment, as follows (text translated by Željko Heimer and edited by Chris Southworth).

Article 1. Article 9 of the Constitution of the Posavina Canton is (hereby) changed and now reads:
"The flag of the Posavina Canton is composed of three colours: red, white and green, with the coat of arms of the Posavina Canton in the middle. The ratio of the width to length is 1:2. The colours of the flag are set horizontally, in this order from the top: red, white and green. The red and the white colour each occupy 42 percent of the field, with the green occupying (the remaining) 16 percent of the flag. The coat of arms of the Posavina Canton is set in the middle of the flag. The central point of the coat of arms matches the point in which the diagonals of the flag intersect."

The verso page of the gazette contains images of the symbols. In the image of the flag, the coat of arms is not set in the middle of the flag but is offset somewhat towards the top, though not in the middle of the red and white stripes together, either.
The red stripe represent Croats, while the green stripe represent Bosniaks.

Željko Heimer & Jos Poels, 10 June 2004

Coat of arms of Posavina Canton

Coat of arms of Posavina Canton - Image by Željko Heimer, 10 June 2004

The coat of arms is prescribed in Article 2 of the Amendment, as follows (text translated by Željko Heimer and edited by Chris Southworth).

Article 2. Article 8 of the Constitution of the Posavina Canton is (hereby) changed and now reads:
"The coat of arms of the Posavina Canton is in the shape of a stylised shield bordered with a golden line, (it is) divided into three fields of different sizes with two parallel, slanted golden lines set from lower left to upper right side of the field. The upper part of the field is divided into red and white squares, so that the first square, in left upper corner, is red. The middle field is white with two golden fleurs-de-lis set equidistantly. The lower field is blue with four symmetrically set wavy white lines."

The description ("blazon") of the coat of arms is not heraldical, especially regarding the left-right issue, nor it is precise; one would have trouble drawing the wavy lines in diagonal would we only follow the "blazon".
The checky field represent Croats, while the fleurs-de-lis represent Bosniaks. The blue and white waves represent river Sava, Posavina meaning "the region by the Sava".

Željko Heimer & Jos Poels, 10 June 2004

Symbols of Posavina Canton, 1996-2000

Flag and arms of Posavina Canton, 1996-2000 - Images by Željko Heimer, 27 September 2000

The first symbols of Posavina Canton are prescribed in the Canton Constitution, adopted on 10 April 1996 by the Canton Assembly and published the same day in Narodne novine Županije posavske, No. 1, as follows.

I. Canton foundations.
Article 8. The coat of arms of the Canton is the historical Croatian coat of arms in the shape of a stylised shield divided horizontally and vertically into twenty-five red and white fields/squares, so that the first field in the upper left corner of the stylised shield is a red one. Above the stylised shield is set a triple wattle horizontally atop the shield above the three central fields. The ratio of the triple wattle to the height of a square field is 1:1, and the ratio of the length of the triple wattle to the length of the square field is 3:1.
Article 9. The flag of the Canton consists of three colours: red, white and blue, with the coat of arms of the Canton in the middle. The ratio of the width to the length of the flag is 1:2. The colours of the flag are arranged horizontally, ordered so from the top: red, white and blue. Each of the colours takes one third of the width of the flag. The coat of arms of the Canton is set in the middle of the flag, and the lower end of the coat of arms (as high as one square field) enters into the blue field of the flag. The central point of the coat of arms matches the point into which the diagonals of the flag intersect.

The canton indeed continue to use the symbols of the former Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia (1993-1995), as did other cantons mostly Croat populated.

Željko Heimer & Jos Poels, 26 July 2004