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Hvar, Croatia

Split-Dalmatia County

image by Željko Heimer, 13 April 2023

Presentation of Hvar
Flag of Hvar
Coat of arms of Hvar
Table flag of Hvar
Flags as developed in 1993

See also:

Presentation of Hvar

The Town of Hvar (4,138 inhabitants in 2001, 3,672 in the town of Hvar) is the main town on the island of the same name, located about 40 km due south of Split.
The place was settled in mists of time to become the Greek colony of Pharos in 385 BC. It was later ruled by Rome and Byzantium, then, since the 7th century, by Neretva rulers of Croatian origin and so on. In the medieval times it was one of the main centers of Croatian literacy as well as culture (for instance, the arsenals were made into a theatre once the military issues were no longer important).

Željko Heimer, 29 July 2006

Flag of Hvar

The symbols of Hvar are described in the Town Statutes Statut Grada Hvara, adopted on 5 November 2001 by the Town Assembly and published in the Town official gazette Službeni glasnik Grada Hvara.
The symbols were selected in a public contest prescribed by Decision Odluka o raspisivanju natječaja za idejno rješenje heraldičkog znakovlja Grada Hvara, adopted on 17 May 1993 and published on 16 August 1993 in Službeni glasnik Opčine Hvar, No. 2 (text).

The flag is in proportions 1:2, blue with the coat of arms, bordered white, in the middle.
The ceremonial flag is the same, made of silk and with a golden fringe.

When celebrating the feast of St. Stephen the Pope, municipal flags are hoisted from a number of windows on the town square (photo, photo). The practice of displaying municipal flags from private windows is not particularly common in Croatia, especially since those flags, usually not easily obtained, are usually protected by local regulations restricting their use to the municipal administration. I am not aware of such a local restriction in Hvar, though, and the municipality might encourage such an use for the celebration.

Željko Heimer, 14 May 2014

Since 2018 the flag has been blue with a coat of arms in the middle bordered in yellow.

Tomislav Šipek, 13 April 2023

Coat of arms of Hvar

Earlier version (1993-2018)

image by Željko Heimer, 29 July 2006

The coat of arms is described in the Town Statutes as fllows:

Per fess azure St. Stephen the Pope sitting on a throne or and or on a base azure the Town of Hvar argent: embatteled walls edged with two towers each topped with a blue flag opened in the middle between a church and the arsenal and behind it a castle on a rock.

This is the historical coat of arms of the town. Laszowski [lsv39] already showed the same coat of arms, with minor differences: the man is represented as a king, with a fleur-de-lis sceptre, the Hungarian St. Stephen's crown, halo and orb, and the town is somewhat differently rendered. The flag on the fortresses are drawn and blazoned as tribars of blue-white-blue.

The coat of arms was originally prescribed by Decision Odluka o grbu Grada Hvara, adopted on 16 December 1993 and published on 28 December 1993 in Službeni glasnik Opčine Hvar, No. 3 (text). The Decision describes the coat of arms basically of the same design as the current one, only outlined with a golden double wattle ornament. Regarding the flag, it is only mentioned that the coat of arms is allowed to be used on the flag.

Željko Heimer, 29 August 2009

Version in use since 2018

image by Željko Heimer, 13 April 2023

Since 2018, the town of Hvar has been using a very similar design.
The coat of arms of Hvar is divided, above in blue St. Stephen the Pope sits on a golden throne, down in the golden sea above the silver city with two towers with blue flags. A similar-looking city coat of arms appears on city seals at least since the 19th century.

Tomislav Šipek, 13 April 2023

Ceremonial and table flags of Hvar

image by Željko Heimer, 13 April 2023, 30 December 2014

The ceremonial flag is in the form of a dark blue gonfalon with a triangular end with a coat of arms in the middle, the name of the town in one line above and crossed olive and vine branches below.

The table flag of Hvar (photo) is a vertical version, in proportions 3:5, of the town flag, with the coat of arms properly rotated, above a white inscription of the town name.

Željko Heimer & Marko Vitez, 30 December 2014

Flags as developed in 1993

images by Željko Heimer, 13 April 2023

Table flag (1993)

images by Željko Heimer, 13 April 2023