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Muta (Municipality, Slovenia)

Flag of Muta, horizontal and vertical (putative) versions - Images by Željko Heimer, 1 June 2005

Presentation of Muta
Municipal flag of Muta
Coat of arms of Muta
Flag of Muta as shown in the official gazette

See also:

Presentation of Muta

The municipality of Muta was formed in 1995 by secession from Radlje ob Dravi. This is a rather small municipality located on a road along river Drava, between Dravograd and Maribor.

Željko Heimer, 14 January 2002

Municipal flag of Muta

The flag and arms of Muta are prescribed by Decision Odlok o grbu in zastavi Občine Muta, adopted on 31 March 1998 and published in the official local gazette Medobčinski uradni vestnik stajerske in Koroske regije, nr. 6/98, 10 April 1998, with effect on 18 April 1998. The text of the Decision is available online.

The symbols were designed by Valt Jurečič of Heraldika d.o.o. and Heraldica Slovenica, who kindly provided drawings from which the images shown on this page were made.

The flag of Muta is of a design characteristic of the Slovenian municipal flags. A cross of unusual shape is made of a combination of an horizontal division in three stripes and a vertical division in three unequal stripes, which is often known as Canadian pale. Therefore, the flag has four rectangles, one in each corner, while the main field forms an unusual wide cross. The vertical arm of the cross is square and bears some attribute from the coat of arms as a rule.
The flag overall proportions are 2:5. It can be easily shown that the corner rectangles should be 1/3 h x 3/4 h, h being the flag height.

The flag of Muta has such a red cross on a white field, with the tree trunk and the wheel from the coat of arms as the central attribute.
The Decision determines that the attribute should not be higher then 9/10 of the hoist, and not lower then 7/10.

The Decision (Article 15) prescribes only the horizontal version of the flag, allowing it to be hoisted at most 45 degrees rotated, and the vertical flag is not authorized, in spite of having been seen.

Stanič & Jakopič [j2s05] gives the following colour specifications:
- Yellow: Pantone Yellow
- Dark yellow: Pantone 116
- Green: Pantone 355
- Blue: Pantone 293
- Red: Pantone 185
- Black: Pantone Black

Željko Heimer, 7 May 2006

Coat of arms of Muta

Coat of arms of Muta - Image by Željko Heimer, 14 January 2002

The coat of arms of Muta is blazoned in the Decision as:

Gules a waggon wheel argent with nine spokes missing the tenth through which space it is pierced by a highly couped tree trunk sable growing from a triple mount vert.

It is described in these terms:

The coat of arms is in a shield of late-Gothic style of sanitet shape. It represents a silver wheel with nine spokes, and through the space of the tenth, missing spoke, it is pierced with and tied to a highly cut black trunk growing from a green triple hill in the base of the shield. From the lower part of the trunk are growing symmetrically one on each side two twigs each with a silver heraldic rose and three giolden linden leaves.

Valt pointed out that the current coat of arms of Muta is a modernized rendition of the historical one.

Željko Heimer, 14 January 2002

Flag of Muta as shown in the official gazette

Erroneous representation of the flag of Muta - Image by Željko Heimer, 14 January 2002

Although the decision determines that the attribute should not be higher then 9/10 of the hoist, and not lower then 7/10, in the attachment of the decision issued in the official gazette, the attribute is made throughout, so that the tree trunk reaches the top and bottom of the flag. I believe it is wrong. Some other minor differences might be noted on the image in the gazette, most notably the wheel is there made of four sectors instead of five.

Valt pointed out that there is no review before publication in the gazette. Therefore, what is published do not match what "should be" published.

According to Stanič & Jakopič [j2s05], a new Decision on the flag and arms was adopted on 15 May 2000.

Željko Heimer, 7 May 2006