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# Koprivnica (Town, Koprivnica-Križevci County, Croatia)

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Last modified: 2026-07-25 by rob raeside
Keywords: koprivnica | tower (white) | crown (yellow) | fleurs-de-lis: 2 (yellow) | tower (red) |
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image by Željko Heimer, 5 January 2009

- Flag of Koprivnica
- Coat of arms of Koprivnica
- Table flag of Koprivnica
- Former symbols of Koprivnica
- Flag of the Free and Royal Town of Koprivnica
- Flag of the Volunteer Fire Brigade of Koprivnica (1875)
- Flag of the Croatian Mountaineering Society "Podravac" (1888)

See also:

- RK Podravka (Handball club)
- Croatia
- Koprivnica-Križevci County (Croatia)
- Croatia: Local flags

## Flag of Koprivnica

The symbols of Koprivnica are prescribed by Decision Odluka o grbu i zastavi Grada Koprivnice (text), adopted on 28 March 1996 by the Town Assembly and published on 1 April 1996 in the Town official gazette Glasnik Grada Koprivnice, No. 4.
This Decision invalidates Decision Odluka o grbu i zastavi Grada Koprivnice, adopted in 1991 and published in Službeni glasnik Općine Koprivnice, No. 3.
The flag was approved by the Ministry of Administration on 12 July 1996 (Glas Podravine, 2 February 1996).
The Decision was amended by Odluka o izmjenama Odluke o grbu i zastavi Grada Koprivnice (text), adopted on 26 September 2002 by the Town Assembly and published on 27 September 2002 in Glasnik Grada Koprivnice, No. 9.
A further Decision Odluka o izmjeni i dopuni Odluke o grbu i zastavi Grada Koprivnice, adopted on 17 March 2008 by the Town Assembly and published on 18 March 2008 in Glasnik Grada Koprivnice, No. 1, made minor changes only.

The symbols of Koprivnica are described in the Town Statutes Statut Grada Koprivnice (pročišćeni text), adopted on 14 June 2005 by the Town Assembly and published the same day in Glasnik Grada Koprivnice, No. 4. This is repeated in the current Statutes Statut Grada Koprivnice, adopted on 3 July 2009 by the Town Assembly and published on 6 July 2009 in Glasnik Grada Koprivnice, no. 4.

The modern symbols - an artistic rendition based on historical templates (image of the arms, Glas Podravine, 6 February 1981) - were designed by Draženka Jalšić Ernečić, an art historian from Koprivnica, who designed several other flags and coat of arms in the county.

The flag is in proportions 1:2, blue with the coat of arms, bordered yellow, in the middle.

Željko Heimer, 20 December 2009

## Coat of arms of Koprivnica

image by Željko Heimer, 5 January 2009

The coat of arms of the Town of Koprivnica is the historical coat of arms of the Free Royal Town of Koprivnica. The aforementioned Decision describes it as follows:

> In a semicircular shield of blue field a white tower without gates embattled and with carved columns. Above the tower there is a yellow royal (Anjou) crown, and to the left and right each a double yellow fleur-de-lis also symbolizing the Anjou house that granted the Free Royal Town status to Koprivnica.

Željko Heimer, 7 July 2004

## Table flag of Koprivnica

image by Željko Heimer, 5 January 2009

The ceremonial flag is a vertical light blue flag ending in a swallow-tail and bordered with yellow along all edges. This flag is used only as a table flag; the planned "real-size" flag has not been made yet, as reported by Mr. Ernečić, Curator of the Koprivnica Town Museum.
An article (Glas Podravine, 5 April 1996) claims that the ceremonial flag is swallow- tailed in accordance with the tradition of the old flags of Pannonian Croatia. This claim is hardly arguable: Panonian Croatia was one of the two princedoms of early medieval Croatia (the other one was Littoral Croatia), the two were united by Tomislav who then declared himself the King of Croatia in the early 10th century; we have not the slightest idea what the flags of Croats at the time might have looked like.

Željko Heimer, 11 August 2009

## Former symbols of Koprivnica

1996-2010

images by Željko Heimer, 26 December 2021

Table flag, 1996-2010

image by Željko Heimer, 26 December 2021

1991-1996

images by Željko Heimer, 26 December 2021

During the Socialist period, after the prohibition of its use in 1948, the coat of arms was reintroduced in the mid 1960s with the lilies replaced with corn ears and the crown replaced with a star (Glas Podravine, 14 July 1995).
An other element from the original 1545 coat of arms has been omitted in all representations used in the 20th century, namely the Turkish heads on poles atop the tower.

In 1973, clay souvenirs made by Josip Turković showed the historical (1545) coat of arms and the modern coat of arms "created after the Liberation" (Glas Podravine, 19 January 1973). Table flags were also reportedly produced, but no further details of their design is known.
Other clay souvenirs showing the town arms in several versions were made in 1974 by Josip Fluksi, academic sculptor and Curator of the Town Museum of Koprivnica (Glas Podravine, 15 March 1974).

On 9 April 1991, the Town Assembly adopted a light blue flag (photo, Glas Podravine, 3 May 1996) with the coat of arms in the middle (Glas Podravine, 12 April 1991). Unlike the current coat of arms, that one included a "dark red tower" and grey wall in its base, as well as white fleurs-de-lis. Beneath the tower were golden ornaments - folowing closely the 1545 seal model. The Socialist red star was replaced with the 1545 original crown.
The symbols, designed by Josip Gregurić, were consecrated and raised on 30 May 1991 (Glas Podravine, 24 May 1991).

The first Town Statutes Statut Grada Koprivnice, adopted on 6 December 1993 by the Town Assembly and published on 14 December 1993 in the County official gazette Službeni glasnik Županije Koprivničko-Križevačke, No. 5. includes the description of the symbols. It is a fair guess that the 1991 Decision included exactly what is also prescribed by the Statutes.

The flag is described in Article 6 of the Statutes as follows:

> The flag of the Town of Koprivnica is light blue with the coat of arms of the Town of Koprivnica in the middle.
> The ratio of the width to the length of the flag is 1:2.

The coat of arms is described in Article 5 of the Statutes as follows:

> The coat of arms of the Town of Koprivnica is the historical coat of arms in a shield shape outlined in golden (yellow). The background of the shield is light blue. In the middle is a dark red fortress dark red, and beneath it a gray low wall. White double lilies are set at the right and and the left of the fort, above the lower wall. Above the fort there is a crown with a golden (yellow) cross. Below the fort and the lower wall there are two golden (yellow) whirls [wavy ornaments] with a dot in between.

Željko Heimer, 1 November 2011

## Flag of the Free and Royal Town of Koprivnica

A flag of the Free and Royal Town of Koprivnica is preserved in Zagreb, but damaged. It is of dark red silk picturing the town coat of arms and inscription Civ(itas) Capro(nczensis) 1778. Other flags are known to have existed as they are mentioned in the inventory lists of 1834: "In the palace i.e. the Assembly house are two town flags, one of yellow silk, still in good condition, and the other of blue silk, quite thorn" (Glas Podravine, 11 November 2005).

Željko Heimer, 11 August 2009

## Flag of the Volunteer Fire Brigade of Koprivnica (1875)

The flag of the Volunteer Fire Brigade of Koprivnica is the second oldest flag preserved in Croatia; dated from 1875, it has been preserved in the Koprivnica Town Museum since 1954 (Glas Podravine, 22 July 2005).

Željko Heimer, 11 August 2009

## Flag of the Croatian Mountaineering Society "Podravac" (1888)

The flag of the Croatian Mountaineering Society "Podravac" was consecrated on 7 October 1888. The patron was Baroness Ljudmila Inkev, Countess of Devin, from Rasinja. The memorial book of "Podravac" notes (Glas Podravine, 30 December 1983):

> The consecration of a new wonderful flag was done with so far unseen glamour in Koprivnica. The Town Executive Board granted 300 florins for the ceremony. The members of the association J. Res and J. Rogina built a special stage that could host numerous singers from all over Croatia and the ceremony was to remember by all who were present. Let us add the note Rudolf Horvat, the historian made: the flag is 200 cm logng and 150 cm wide, produced in Vienna. On obverse a harp is embroidered in gold and on reverse in gold and silver the coat of arms of Koprivnica with the name of the society around it. The flag is red-white-blue, ornamented with two streamers. One streamer is blue with the name of patron embroideried, the other is red inscribed with the year 1888. The coats of arms of Baron Inkev and Count Devin are embroidered on the streamers. The staff for the flag was masterfully made by carpenter Josip Rogina from Koprivnica. He and J. Res built the singer's temple in the middle of the town. The temple was 32 m long, 12 m wide and 9 m high, and could hold up to 1200 people.

Željko Heimer, 11 August 2009