KOSOVO FLAG: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The Kosovo flag is the national flag of this eastern European republic. It is a dark blue cloth that has in its central part the silhouette of the map of Kosovo in gold. In the upper part, there are six white five-pointed stars representing the different ethnic groups that inhabit the country.

This national symbol was composed in 2007, while the territory was still in control of a mission of the United Nations Organization. For its creation symbols that were related to ethnic Albanians or Serbs were excluded. The chosen design was later modified to enter into force after independence.

Kosovo flag. (Cradel (current version), earlier version by Ningyou).

Historically, Kosovo has had flags of the different empires and countries to which it has belonged, from the Bulgarian Empire, through the many Serbian states to Yugoslavia. The end of the Kosovo War left the Kosovar territory in dispute and under the administration of the United Nations, which waved its flag.

Although there are different interpretations, the stars on the flag would represent the six main peoples that inhabit Kosovo. These would be the Albanians, Goranis, Bosniaks, Roma, Turks and Serbs.

History of the flag

The Kosovar state is of recent creation and has not yet been fully recognized by the international community. However, since prehistoric times the territory has been populated by different peoples. Tribes that made up the Dardan Kingdom occupied much of the territory, until it was later conquered by Rome.

In time the Roman province of Dardania was formed, which included the east of Kosovo, while the west was in the province of Prevalitana. After the division of the empire, present-day Kosovo was part of the Byzantine Empire. Later, the reality changed as a result of the Slavic migrations.

Bulgarian empire

Since the 9th century, the Kosovar territory became part of the Bulgarian Empire in the reign of Khan Presian in 836. In this period, which lasted for a century and a half, Christianization came to the area. The Bulgarian imperial rule was interrupted by different uprisings: first that of Peter Delyan, between 1040 and 1041 and later that of Georgi Voiteh, in 1972.

The Second Bulgarian Empire restored its power also over Kosovo from the 13th century. However, the power was extremely weakened. This state maintained a flag that consisted of a light brown cloth with a horizontal figure with three vertical lines in terracotta color. This symbol appeared on a map by Guillem Soler.

Flag of the Second Bulgarian Empire. (Samhanin).

Kingdom of Serbia

Subsequently, the territory that Kosovo now occupies was once again under the power of the Byzantines. At that time, principalities began to be established, located to the north and east of present-day Kosovo.

Serbian rule expanded until in 1216 the monarch Stefan Prvovenčani managed to have his troops occupy all of Kosovo. The Serbian Kingdom was the first great state of this people.

The flag of the Serbian Kingdom, in the first place, consisted of a bicolor cloth with two horizontal stripes of equal size. The upper one would have been red while the lower one blue. This would have been the flag of King Vladislaus I and was documented in 1281. This is the oldest reference to the colors of the Serbian flag.

Flag of the Serbian Kingdom. (1281). (Nikola Smolenski).

Later, a flag was designed on a map by Angelino Ducert in 1339 of the geographic location of Serbia. This would have been a light yellow cloth on which a terracotta-colored double-headed eagle was imposed.

Flag of the Serbian Kingdom. (1339). (Samhanin).

Serbian empire

The Nemanjic dynasty was one of the most notable during Serbian rule, as they remained at the forefront of power between 1160 and 1355. Kosovo was a territory made up of Serbs and Albanians. Although ethnic differences could be noticeable, the fluidity between them at the family and social level made it not a major issue at the time.

By 1346, Kosovo became part of the Serbian Empire. However, already by 1355 with the fall of the Nemanjic, the power of the Serbian state had diminished enormously, having created different feudal territories.

Two battles sealed the fate of the Serbian Empire. The first of these took place in 1389 and is traditionally called the First Battle of Kosovo. Although the Serbian army was defeated, the death of the Ottoman Sultan Murad I implied a change in the perception of the military movement. The Serbian states came under the tutelage of the Ottomans until in 1459 they finally joined this empire.

The second battle took place in 1448. This time it was the Hungarians who tried to fight the Ottomans, without success.

Flag of the Serbian Empire

The flag of the Serbian Empire also included the eagle, although with a different form. When King Stefan Dušan was crowned emperor, different symbols emerged to identify his investiture as monarch and the country. The flag was again a light yellow cloth with a more stylized red eagle.

Flag of the Serbian Empire. (B1mbo).

Ottoman empire

The domination of the Ottoman Empire implied profound social changes, especially in the religious part, as Islam spread in the region. The first political-territorial entity that held the name of Kosovo was the Vilayet de Kosovo. Ottoman annexation spanned half a millennium, the longest period in this area of ​​Eastern Europe.

Economically and socially, being a Muslim enjoyed a preferential status, which is why a large part of the Albanian ethnic group converted to this religion, unlike the Serbian.

The Albanian population was growing after an important migration from this territory. However, it was not until the 19th century that the Albanians formed a political unit called the Prizren League.

Albanian nationalism

The Albanian nationalist movement was growing during the Ottoman rule. Wars against the Serbs and Slavs in general weakened Byzantine power. The Prizren League attempted to form an Albanian vilayet within the empire and by 1881 a government was formed. However, external attacks caused the Albanian troops to split and the league to disband.

Later the Peja League was founded and was defeated by Ottoman forces. The political change pressured by the Young Turks party received the support of the Albanians, who rose up against the empire demanding political representation and a parliament. Faced with the rejection of the Ottoman government, in 1910 an insurrection took place that was appeased with the intervention of the Sultan.

However, another rebellion occurred in 1912. That was one of the causes for neighboring countries such as Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria to step forward to start the First Balkan War by confronting the Ottoman Empire.

The result was that that same year, Kosovo was divided into four counties. Three of them became part of the Kingdom of Serbia, while Metohija del Norte became Montenegrin.

Ottoman Flag

The Ottoman Empire had different symbols that identified it for many centuries. At first, the color that represented it was predominantly green, representing Islam. Over time, red and the crescent were imposed as national symbols.

However, it was not until 1844 with the reforms called Tanzimat that a national flag was established for the entire state. This consisted of a red cloth with a white crescent and star on it.

Flag of the Ottoman Empire (1844-1920). (By Kerem Ozca (en.wikipedia.org), via Wikimedia Commons).

Kingdom of Serbia

After the First Balkan War, Kosovo became a majority part of the Kingdom of Serbia, founded in 1882 by King Milan I. This country already used a flag with Pan-Slavic colors.

These were constituted in a tricolor of horizontal stripes of red, blue and white. In the central part the royal coat of arms was included, with the white double-headed eagle framed in a large cape.

Flag of the Kingdom of Serbia. (1882-1918). (Guilherme Paula).

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The end of World War I implied a change of political status in Serbia. In 1918 Serbia joined with Vojvodina and the Kingdom of Montenegro and later unified with the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

In Kosovo this change implied an increase in the Serbian population. The Kosovar territory became constituted by a large part of the Serbian ethnic group, leaving Albanians relegated from positions of power.

King Alexander I changed the name of the country to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929, a name that accompanied this territory throughout the 20th century. The flag of this new country was the same of the kingdom of previous name. The tricolor consisted of three equal horizontal stripes of blue, white and red.

Flag of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918-1929) and of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1929-1941). (By Fibonacci, via Wikimedia Commons).

Italian occupation

Kosovo was a disputed territory in World War II. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis Powers in 1941. However, most of the Kosovar territory was disincorporated from the rest of Yugoslavia and annexed to Italian Albania.

Fascist Italy had occupied Albania since 1939 and in 1941 managed to unify different territories where the Albanian ethnic group was the majority, among which were found most of Kosovo and Serb and Montenegrin fractions. The rest of the territory of Kosovo was administered by Germany and Bulgaria. Ethnic conflicts began to be the order of the day.

The flag of Italian Albania kept the background red and the double-headed eagle in black. However, it incorporated fascist aesthetics by being surrounded by two fascians. The attempt at an Albanian state with all its parts was not taken into account by many sympathizers, who saw it as an Italian expansionist cause.

Flag of the Kingdom of Albania. (1939-1943). (F lanker).

German occupation

Italy's armistice with the Allied Powers left the Kingdom of Albania at the mercy of a German invasion. This included the territory of Kosovo and finally in 1943 the Independent State of Albania was formed, of Nazi orbit. They imposed as rulers members of the armed Balli Kombëtar movement, which had previously faced Italian occupation.

The flag of the Independent State of Albania removed the fascist symbols. With a more elongated structure, he imposed the double-headed eagle on the left, leaving the rest of the cloth red.

Flag of the Independent State of Albania. (1943-1944). (SeNeKa).

Provisional Government of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia

The end of World War II in Eastern Europe came with the Red Army occupation of the Soviet Union. In 1945 the Provisional Government of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia was formed, which after displacing King Pedro II was led by the communist Josip Broz Tito.

The government was maintained only between March and November 1945. The flag that it used again was the Yugoslav tricolor, blue, white and red. In the center, he has already imposed a communist symbol: a five-pointed star.

Flag of the Provisional Government of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (1945). (By The original uploader was Zscout370 at English Wikipedia. (Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons.), Via Wikimedia Commons).

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Kosovar sovereignty became Yugoslav again after the war, although now in a communist country. In 1945 the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was founded, headed by Tito. His dictatorship, although always communist, broke with the Soviet Union in 1948.

Communist Yugoslavia had only one flag during its entire existence, designed by Đorđe Andrejević-Kun. Again the tricolor of blue, white and red was recovered.

Furthermore, the communist star added to the flag of the provisional government remained, although it changed its shape. This was enlarged, occupying the surface of the three stripes. A yellow border was also added.

Flag of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. (1945-1992). (By Flag designed by Đorđe Andrejević-KunSVG coding: Zscout370, from Wikimedia Commons).

Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo

Kosovo was by no means an integral republic of Yugoslavia. Its existence was always contingent within the Serbian republic. Although the Kosovar Albanians were branded as collaborators of the Nazis, the Yugoslav government in the first instance prevented the return of the Serbs who had been expelled from the territory. In addition, a migration from Albania was promoted.

In the first place, Kosovo was a simple autonomous region of Serbia since 1946. It was not until 1963 that it acquired the status of the Autonomous Socialist Province of Kosovo, a member of the Autonomous Socialist Republic of Serbia.

The first attempt at self-government in Kosovo was recognized with the Yugoslav constitution of 1974, as a result of which the school curriculum was changed to one similar to the one implemented in Enver Hoxha's communist Albania.

The flag of the Autonomous Socialist Republic of Serbia was always the same. This reversed the order of the Pan-Slavic colors. The first stripe was red, followed by blue and white. In the center, it incorporated the same star from the Yugoslav federal flag.

Flag of the Autonomous Socialist Republic of Serbia. (1946-1992). (CrnaGora at English WikipediaLater versions were uploaded by R-41 at en.wikipedia.).

Ethnic tensions and autonomy

The demands for more autonomy for Kosovo and the creation of a Yugoslav republic for this territory escalated in the 1980s. Since then, ethnic tensions were noted, and the provincial government began to implement discriminatory policies against Kosovar Serbs.

In this period, the Kosovar Albanians used an official flag. This was the same Albanian flag, red with the black double-headed eagle. In addition, as part of the communist symbology, it included the silhouette of a yellow five-pointed star on the left side.

Flag of the Albanian minority in Yugoslavia. (w: User: R-41).

Slobodan Milošević's rise to power in Serbia at the end of 1987 implied a regression in the autonomy won by the Kosovars. This was consummated in the illegal approval of the constitution in 1989.

The new multi-party elections were boycotted by Kosovar Albanians, but Serbia's advanced recentralization continued, placing restrictions on the Albanian language, especially in schools and the media.

The Kosovar Albanians began to form parallel institutions until in 1992 they declared the independence of the Republic of Kosovo, which was only recognized by Albania. Ibrahim Rugova was its president. Its flag was the same as that of Albania.

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia was practically dissolved with the fall of the Berlin Wall, leaving only the former republics of Serbia and Montenegro in its control. Kosovar status did not change. By 1996 the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA or UÇK in Albanian) was formed, which established a guerrilla war in the territory against the Yugoslav authorities.

The Kosovo War quickly became one of the two great conflicts in Eastern Europe, motivated by the Yugoslav disintegration. This conflict generated hundreds of thousands of refugees in neighboring countries, as well as numerous ethnic massacres.

Faced with the end of the negotiations between Serbian and Albanian representatives sponsored by NATO, this international military organization intervened on March 24, 1999 without the authorization of the United Nations against the sure Russian veto. Milošević and other Yugoslav authorities were brought before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

The Yugoslav flag in that period was the same as that of the communist stage, the star having been removed in the central part.

Flag of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. (1992-2003) and the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro. (2003-2006). (See File history below for details.).

MINUK: United Nations mission

The Kosovo war ended on June 10, 1999, after the signing of the Kumanovo Agreement with the Serbian and Yugoslav governments, which transferred the power of the province to the United Nations.

The entity that administered the territory was the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (MINUK). Many Kosovar Serbs left Kosovo after this action.

The territory continued to face problems of violence, refugees, ethnically displaced persons, massacres and human trafficking. In 2011, the MINUK delegated part of its powers to self-government, creating the Assembly of Kosovo and the offices of president and prime minister. The United Nations forces stabilized the territory and in 2006 negotiations began on the future political status of Kosovo.

The ruling of the UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari in 2007 was to grant supervised independence to the province. This report could not be approved in the Security Council due to the veto imposed by Russia, in favor of the thesis that Kosovo should remain under Serbian sovereignty.

Flags during the mandate of the MINUK

During this period, the flag of the United Nations Organization was hoisted in Kosovo, especially by the institutions headed by the MINUK.

Flag of the United Nations Organization. (Wilfried Huss / Anonymous, via Wikimedia Commons).

However, the majority of the Kosovar Albanian population used the Albanian flag. This was also hoisted in public buildings, despite going against the norms established by the MINUK.

According to them, the Albanian flag could only be hoisted if the Serbian flag was also present. However, this was not applied in the vast majority of cases and the Albanian flag was in common use.

Flag of Albania. (See File history below for details.).

In 2000, the first president of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova, established the flag of Dardania. This was a blue cloth with a red disc in the middle surrounded by a golden border. Inside the circle, the black Albanian double-headed eagle prevailed on a red background. In the center a ribbon with the legend Dardania was imposed.

This flag did not gain popularity, although it was used by some Rugova supporters and in some cultural and sporting events. Today the flag of Dardania is regarded as the presidential banner of Kosovo.

Flag of Dardania. (2000). (Mendim Rugova).

Independence

Faced with the failure of the negotiations, the Kosovo Assembly declared the independence of Serbia on February 17, 2008. This act was supported by the United States and a large part of the European Union. So far 113 member states of the United Nations have recognized the Republic of Kosovo.

Contest and flag proposals

Before independence, in June 2007 a contest was held to choose a new flag for the territory. According to the guidelines of the United Nations, it should avoid reflecting the Serbian or Albanian double-headed eagle, as well as the color combinations of black and red, and blue, white and red. Also, the dimensions should have been 2: 3.

993 proposals were received for the contest. Finally, the Kosovo Symbols Commission chose three finalists who were transferred to the Kosovo Assembly in February 2008.

The first proposed flag was a blue cloth with a white Kosovo map in the middle. Following the five points of the country, five yellow stars of different sizes were added, representing the ethnic groups of the country. The largest would have been the Albanians.

Proposal 1 for the flag of Kosovo. (2007). (Saul_ip).

On the other hand, the next two proposals varied greatly in their design. One of them was simply a tricolor with three vertical stripes of equal size of black, white and red.

Proposal 2 for the flag of Kosovo. (2007). (Der Hausgeist; Mangwanani based on bitmap by J. Patrick Fischer).

The other kept the tricolor structure, but incorporated a spiral in the center of the white stripe. This would have been a Dardan symbol of the rotation of the sun.

Proposal 3 for the flag of Kosovo. (2007). (Mangwanani based on bitmap by J. Patrick Fischer).

Choice of flag

On February 17, 2008, the Kosovo Assembly chose to use a variant of the first submitted proposal, designed by Muhamer Ibrahimi. This design reorganized the symbols established in the proposal. A sixth was added to the five stars and all were equal in size.

The stars became white and the map yellow. The latter was enlarged and the stars were positioned above it in a curved line. Finally, the yellow of the map was replaced by a gold color, although in some international versions yellow prevails.

The flag came into effect at the time of independence and has not received any changes since then. However, the Albanian flag remains an extremely important symbol in the country for historical reasons and its social roots.

Meaning of the flag

The Kosovar flag was conceived as an attempt at unity among the peoples that inhabit the country. This followed the United Nations mandates already applied in the creation of flags for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cyprus. In addition, the colors that were used were the European ones, in clear allusion to the integration to the continent.

The official meaning of the flag attributes to the six stars the representation of the six most numerous ethnic groups in the country: Albanians, Serbs, Turks, Goranis, Roma and Bosnians.

However, and unofficially, the six stars could be attributed to the six regions of Greater Albania, which is the concept of nation used by Albanian irredentism that integrates all ethnic Albanian territories.

Its regions would be Albania, Kosovo, western parts of Macedonia, parts of northern Greece, parts of Montenegro, and the Preševo ​​valley in Serbia.

References

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