FLAG OF SLOVAKIA: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The flag of Slovakia is one of the national symbols of the Slovak Republic, a member country of the European Union. The history of the flag begins with the delimitation of this territory, although several years passed for the model to be created. Her relationship with Czechoslovakia was marking milestones that would give meaning to what would become Slovakia.

Each of the parts that make up the flag have an added value. These stand out from 1993, with the independence of Slovakia, after the fall of the communist regime and the separation of Czechoslovakia. The flag is made up of three equal horizontal stripes.

The first is white, the second blue and the third red. These colors are known as Pan-Slavs, which are also shared by Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia and the Czech Republic. On the left side of the flag is the coat of arms of Slovakia, which features a white cross on a blue mountain and a red background.

This symbol maintains the three colors of the flag and always accompanies it to distinguish it from other flags. Since Slovakia is a member of the European Union, its flag always shares space with that of the European Union.

History

The flag of Bohemia and Czechoslovakia was used until 1920. It consisted of only two stripes of white and red, respectively. It was later modified to include a blue stripe in the middle of the previous ones, for the sake of the Pan-Slavic brotherhood.

Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia, so the flag of the independent country is very recent. Czechoslovakia was made up of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

His flag had the same three colors: white, blue and red. However, the color red was in a triangle on the left side, and the blue and red were divided into equal stripes on the rest of the flag. This is still the current flag of the Czech Republic.

Use of the flag in history

There are records of the first use of the Slovak flag after the revolutions of 1848, but the first official use of the emblem was made in the State of Slovakia. This was a puppet country of Nazi Germany that existed between 1939 and 1945.

Although before 1920 the flag was accepted by the people, with the union of Slovaks and Czechs the style of the flag was changed.

This emblem, which was identical to the Russian one, was kept during the Slovak Socialist Republic, a member of Czechoslovakia. For the country, the Czech design was maintained; the current flag was formed after its independence and was adopted on September 3, 1992.

Meaning

Originally there was the flag of Bohemia and Czechoslovakia, which was only white and red. In 1848 the blue stripe was added, and its aim was to symbolize the brotherhood of Slavic countries. The meaning of the colors is as a whole: the Slavic countries and their unity.

The current flag is made up of three equal stripes: white, blue and red. Among the Slavic colors blue predominated, representing the brotherhood of the nations of this social group; instead, the other two colors were adopted from other countries like Russia. The Russian flag had served as an inspiration for many others, such as that of the Netherlands.

In short, the meaning of the colors is restricted to sharing the Pan-Slavic colors. In this way, although the country has become independent, it maintains close ties with its neighbors.

In 1992, the year in which the independence of the Slovak Republic was achieved, the shield representing the character of the country was added, reflected in its mountains. These are a simulation of the terrain, with a double silver cross on it, which has a religious significance.

In addition, for its realization they decided to place the shield on the left side. This in order to be closer to the mast.

Slovakia coat of arms

The coat of arms of Slovakia is one of the country's patriotic symbols. It is a completely red field that remains as the background of three mountain peaks.

In the middle one there is a double white silver cross; this is concave at its ends and gets a little wider at its horizontal lines.

The cross refers to the religious beliefs of the people, who leaned towards Christianity. Its origin is inspired by three important figures.

It is about three saints: Saint Benedict, Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius. All of them were apostles of Slovakia, for which he is paid tribute in this way, although they are venerated throughout Europe.

However, the cross also has other meanings. This is also considered by many to be a representation of the cross carried by two missionary brothers to Slovakia during the Byzantine Empire.

For their part, originally the three mountains referred to three specific lands, of which two are part of the territory of Hungary and only one of Slovakia: Faltra.

The other two are Tatra and Matra. In the same way, the mountains were green, but since they did not correspond to the Pan-Slavic colors, it was decided to change the tone to blue.

Shield formation

Throughout history the shield has undergone several modifications. The first shield that emerged was in 1190, when King Belo III was in command. It then changed in the 16th century with the Hungarian Empire.

Much later, in 1960, it was again modified by that of Czechoslovakia. This was transformed again in 1990 with the fall of the communist regime. Finally, in 1993 independent Slovakia fixed its coat of arms as it is currently composed.

Comparison with the flag of the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic shared its flag with Slovakia for a long time, specifically until 1992, when it officially became independent. However, they still have many things in common.

Currently both flags have the same three colors: white, blue and red, which correspond to Pan-Slavicism. This term refers to a cultural movement in the 19th century, which was born in principle by the shared national customs that they had.

Its main objective was to be able to create a kind of cooperation between the countries of the Slavic region. Its objective was defense against powerful countries, such as the Ottoman, Austrian and Hungarian empires.

For this reason, there are many countries that use these colors. Some of these are Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Croatia.

Relationship with the flag of the European Union

In 2004 the Slovak Republic joined the European Union (EU). In this body, the Member States decided to use a flag as a symbol of their loyalty to Europe.

However, this flag was designed much earlier, in 1955. It was accepted by the European Parliament in 1983, which is why it was used in 1985 by heads of state, the EU government and its entire community.

The flag is entirely of a Pan-Slavic color: blue. In addition, it contains in its center 12 yellow stars that form a circle. They do not refer to members of the union, as is commonly believed.

Rather, it corresponds to the number twelve being seen as a symbol of exactness, perfection and unity. For this reason it is that, despite the variations that the EU has had, the same stars are still maintained.

Use of the European Union flag in Slovakia

After the Lisbon Treaty, the flag became a symbol that did not necessarily have to be raised by its members. Despite this, many countries signed a document in which they would do so out of loyalty.

For this reason, the European Parliament promoted that the flag be used frequently in public events that were held.

Slovakia being one of its members, in most of its acts there is always more than one flagpole: one for the flag of its republic and another for the flag of Europe.

References

1. Brožek, A. (1999). Several unpublished proposals for the design of the Czechoslovak national flag. Proc. XVII International Congress of Vexillology. 143-147. Recovered from internationalcongressesofvexillology-proceedingsandreports.yolasite.com.
2. Brožek, A. (2011). Did the United States Influence the Czechoslovak National Flag ?. In Proceedings of the 24th International Congress of Vexillology. 1. 73-82. Recovered from charlessp.hypermart.net.
3. Brunn, S. (2000). Stamps as iconography: Celebrating the independence of new European and Central Asian states. GeoJournal. 52: 315–323. Recovered from link.springer.com.
4. Goldsack, G. (2005). Flags of the world. Bath, UK: Parragon Publishing.
5. Smith, W. (2013). Flag of Slovakia. Encyclopædia Britannica. Recovered from britannica.com.