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Lepoglava (Town, Varaždin County, Croatia)

Flag of Lepoglava - Image by Željko Heimer, 25 July 2013

Presentation of Lepoglava
Flag of Lepoglava
Coat of arms of Lepoglava
Ceremonial flag of Lepoglava
Table flag of Lepoglava

See also:

Presentation of Lepoglava

The Town of Lepoglava ((8,718 inhabitants in 2001, 4,084 in the town of Lepoglava) is located some 20 km southwest of Varaždin.
Lepoglava is probably most well-known as a site of a prison, where a number of important people were held by regimes of Yugoslavia in the 20th century. It is also a cultural center with a Pauline monastery and is especially famous for its intricated lacework school.

Željko Heimer, 27 February 2005

Flag of Lepoglava

The symbols of Lepoglava (excluding the ceremonial and table flags) are prescribed by Decision Odluka o opisu i uporabi grba i zastave Grada Lepoglave, adopted on 15 November 2005 by the Town Assembly and published on 16 November 2005 in the County official gazette Službeni vjesnik Varaždinske županije, No. 29. This was amended by Decision Odluka o izmjenama Odluke o opisu i uporabi grba i zastave Grada Lepoglave, adopted on 17 September 2013 and published on 19 September 2013 in Službeni vjesnik Varaždinske županije, No. 51 (text).
Article 6 of the amended Town Statutes Izmjene i dopune Statuta Grada Lepoglave, adopted on 6 February 2006 and published on 8 February 2006 in Službeni vjesnik Varaždinske županije, No. 3, includes the description of the coat of arms and the flag. This is repeated in the Statutes Statut Grada Lepoglave, adopted on 2 July 2009 and published on 3 July 2009 in Službeni vjesnik Varaždinske županije, No. 18 (text) and in the current Statutes Statut Grada Lepoglave, adopted on 28 February 2013 and published on 1 March 2013 in Službeni vjesnik Varaždinske županije, No. 6 (text).

It was announced that during a festival held in Lepoglava "the design of the future visual identity (logo, coat of arms, flags etc.) of Lepoglava shall be presented" (Varaždinske vijesti, 13 January 1993). These must be some other than those eventually adopted in 2005, and need not necessary be the "official" symbols - it may be that these were some tourist souvenirs or some such... Or is was a project presented and then rejected, after which followed the lengthy preparation of the definitive symbols.
On 8 December 2004, the Mayor of Lepoglava ceremoniously presented for the first time the symbols of the town (Varaždinske vijesti, 15 December 2004).

The symbols were designed by the Heraldic Art d.o.o. company, from Rijeka.

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

Željko Heimer, 30 October 2013

Coat of arms of Lepoglava

Coat of arms of Lepoglava - Image by Željko Heimer, 25 July 2013

The coat of arms of Lepoglava is "Vert a raven sable holding a piece of bread in its beak standing on a lace clapper or with a sting argent".
The raven is the symbol of St. Paul the Hermit who was fed by a raven with bread. The raven is also the symbol of the Royal family of "King John Corvinus", who is remembered in Lepoglava for having rebuilt of the Pauline monastery.
Quoting Enciklopedija leksikografskog zavoda (Zagreb, 1968):

John Corvinus (Latin, Johannes Corvinus; Wroclav, Silesia, 1473 - Krapina, 1504), Hereditary Duke of Slavonia, Ban of Dalmatia and Croatia. Bastard son of King Matthias Corvinus, grandson of John Hunyadi. Since Matthias had no sons in his marriage, he wanted John to inherit his throne, so he was granting him possessions in Croatia. However, after the death of Matthias, Vladislaus Jagiellon was elected as the Croato-Hungarian King. Before the election the large feudal lords promised to John to become the King of Bosnia, a hereditary Duke (vojvoda - dux) of Slavonia, Ban of Croatia and Dalmatia and to keep his possessions. After the election, John was granted only the hereditary Duchy of Slavonia, however, he helped Vladislaus in his struggle against King Maximilian, pretender to the Croato-Hungarian throne. John led a constant struggle against the Turks, and he was in a feud with the Frankapan family, who requested from him possessions taken from them by King Matthias. Disappointed, John abandoned the Duchy. In the heavy times after the defeat on the Krbava field (1493) he took again the Duchy and maintained his rule from Bihac and Krapina, fighting the Turks. Defeated in fights near Knin, he retreated to Krapina where he soon died.

The attribute "King John" given to him in connection with Lepoglava, is no doubt according to the local legend. It may well be that the exact title was not quite clear, anyway.

Željko Heimer, 12 April 2005

Ceremonial flag of Lepoglava

Ceremonial flag of Lepoglava, as used (left) and earlier proposal (right) - Image by Željko Heimer, 25 July 2013

The ceremonial flag (photo, photo) includes a white lacework design, typicial of the traditional lace production in the town.

Željko Heimer, 25 July 2013

Table flag of Lepoglava

Table flag of Lepoglava - Image by Željko Heimer, 25 July 2013

The table flag is a green gonfalon ending triangulary, with the coat of arms bordered golden with the name of the town above and a walnut and a fir branch below.

Željko Heimer, 10 April 2005