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The Slovakian colours of white, blue and red were first introduced in 1848, when
Slovakia was ruled as part of Hungary and called Upper Hungary.
When Slovakia’s association with Hungary ended in 1918, it joined with some Czech states to form the Czechoslovak Republic (Czechoslovakia).
Between 1939 and 1945, Germany occupied Czechoslovakia, inducing the Slovakian’s to declare
their independence and then installing a German controlled puppet
regime that re-introduced the plain white, blue and red horizontal tricolour as the
national flag.
After the Second World War, in 1945, Slovakia rejoined the Czechoslovakian union, re-adopting the Czech state symbols.
The plain Slovakian tricolour was restored in 1990, along with calls for greater autonomy for Slovakia.
On the 1st of September 1992, the Slovakian flag was modified to include the
country's state shield, this was done to avoid the clash with the Russian white-blue-red tricolour, which had been re-introduced
by Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Czechoslovakia ceased to exist on the 1st of January 1993 and two new independent states were formed in its place, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. |
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The state shield recalls Slovakia’s historical association with Hungary and is a modified version of the
traditional Hungarian coat of arms.
The shield features a white patriarchal double cross, symbolising Orthodox Christianity, on a red field, with a blue triple mountain (on the Hungarian arms the mountains are green), representing the Tatra, Fatra and Matra mountain chains across Slovakia.
Blue, white and red are traditional Slavic colours; together they are referred to as the pan-Slavic colours.
They were initially adopted by Slavic nations in the mid-19th century at a time when many of them lacked autonomy and were influenced by the flag of Russia (which was in turn influenced by the Dutch flag), an independent Slavic country at the time.
The colours now symbolise Slavic unity and independence and can be seen in the flags of a number of the Slavic nations. |
