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Požega (Town, Požega-Slavonia County, Croatia)

Flag of Požega - Image by Željko Heimer, 25 June 2000

Presentation of Požega
Flag of Požega
Coat of arms of Požega
Ceremonial flag of Požega
Former symbols of Požega (1977)
Flag of the Požega Riflemen, 19th century

See also:

External source:

Požega - turistički vodić, Turistička zajednica Grad Požega, 1996 (Chapter Ime, grb, zastava i Dan grada, pp. 38-42)

Presentation of Požega

Požega is a town of some 30,000 inhabitants, located in the middle of Slavonia. It is situated in the valley called by the ancient Romans "Vallis Aurea", surrounded by low mountains and one of the most fertile parts of Croatia.
In medieval Croatia Požega was already an important trade center and the seat of a County in the 13th century. The Turks enter Požega in 1536 and remain there until 1691. During that time Požega was the capital of a sandjak covering most of Slavonia. After the Turkish period, Požega was again the seat of a County, remaining so until 1923, when the counties were abolished. In 1993, it became the capital of the new Požega-Slavonia County.
The town was named Slavonska Požega from 1929 until 1991 so to differentiate it from the town of Požega, located in central Serbia.

Željko Heimer, 28 September 2003

Flag of Požega

The symbols of Požega were adopted on 9 September 1993.

The flag of Požega, based on the former flag of the town, is in proportions 1:2, blue with the coat of arms in the middle.

Željko Heimer, 22 June 2000

Coat of arms of Požega

Coat of arms of Požega - Image by Željko Heimer, 25 June 2000

The coat of arms consists of a blue shield a in baroque ornamented frame, with three-towered town walls and above those a golden eagle with spread wings, a silver crescent and star, and a golden radiating sun.
This is a slight modernization in the artistic rendition of the coat of arms in use at least since 1702 and officially granted on 1 September 1765 by Empress Maria Theresa, when Požega acquired the status of Free and Royal Town.

Željko Heimer, 22 June 2000

Ceremonial flag of Požega

Ceremonial flag of Požega, obverse, reverse and detail - Images by Željko Heimer, 26 June 2000

The ceremonial flag is vertical, with a golden fringe. On the reverse, three are richly ornamented roundels containing images of fra Luka Ibrišimović - the leader of the 1688 uprising against the Turks and the liberator of the city -, St. Theresa of Ávila - the patron saint of the town -, and the column of the Holy Trinity, erected in the town center in 1749, in the memory of 798 citizens killed by plague in 1739, when the town had only two thousand inhabitants.
It seems that the ceremonial flag is not unique; there exist several copies of it, some being hoisted in front of the main buildings of the town.

Željko Heimer, 22 June 2000

Former symbols of Požega (1977)

Former flag (obverse and reverse) and arms of Požega - Images by Željko Heimer, 28 September 2003

In 1974 the local Assembly decided to celebrate the 750th anniversary of the first mention of the town'w name (1227) that would be held in 1977. It was decided that a new flag should be made for the occasion. The flag was produced in a specialized workshop of the Order of the Sisters of Mercy in Zagreb. It was designed by Frano Paro, academic painter and graphical worker, and it was vaguely reminiscent of the flag of the Požega Volunteer Firefighting Society from 1875, a blue-swallow tailed guidon with the coat of arms painted in the middle and the patron saint on the reverse with floral golden ornaments embroidered on it, preserved in the Požega Town Museum.
The blue silk flag is fringed with gold. On the obverse is the coat of arms of the town, with the red five-pointed star incorporated in the ornament and the name of the town below. The reverse is made of corn and vine elements with the years of the anniversary encircled with rays formed by the flowers symbolically representing the surrounding villages. The inscription names the Požega Valley in Latin and Croatian, "Vallis Aurea" / "Požeška kotlina".
Since the end of the celebrations in 1977 the flag has been preserved in the Požega Town Museum. This flag was certainly in turn the model for the current town's flag adopted in 1993.

Željko Heimer, 22 June 2000