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Dravograd (Municipality, Slovenia)

Flag of Dravograd, horizontal and vertical versions - Images by Željko Heimer, 23 June 2002

Presentation of Dravograd
Flag of Dravograd
Coat of arms of Dravograd
Former flag of Dravograd
Local community of Libeliče

See also:

Presentation of Dravograd

The municipality of Dravograd (In German, Unterdrauburg; 9,001 inhabitants in 2008; 10,500 ha) seceded from Ptuj in 1995. As its name indicates it, the town (grad) is situated on river Drava (Drau), near the point where it flows from Austria into Slovenia, in the Slovenian part of Carinthia (in Slovene, Koroška; in German, Kärtnen).

Željko Heimer, 23 June 2002

Flag of Dravograd

The flag and arms of Dravograd are prescribed by Decision Odlok o grbu in zastavi občine Dravograd, adopted on 1 February 1996 and published in the local official gazette Medobčinski uradni vestnik stajerske in Koroške regije, 4/96.

The flag is described in the new municipal Statutes, published in 1999 in the local official gazette Medobčinski uradni vestnik stajerske in Koroške regije, 115/99. The only change from the former flag is apparently in the proportions, now 1:2. I suspect that the 1996 Decision already prescribed the change, and that the new Statutes just repeated it.

Željko Heimer, 10 January 2006

Coat of arms of Dravograd

Coat of arms of Dravograd - Image by Željko Heimer, 11 October 1999

The coat of arms is in shape of semi-circular shield (width:height = 1:√2), blue with the Lamb of God on a green mount carrying a red flag with a white cross. The colours are not explicitely mentioned in the Decision.
The Lamb of God comes from a seal of the market town of Dravograd dated 1575.

Željko Heimer, 11 October 1999

Former flag of Dravograd

Former flag of Dravograd - Image by Željko Heimer, 11 October 1999

The flag and coat of arms are prescribed by Decision Odlok o dopolnitvi Statuta občine Dravograd, adopted on 26 March 1992 and published on 10 April 1992 in the intermunicipal official gazette Medobčinski uradni vestnik, 7/26, with effect on the same day.

Both the coat of arms and the flag are given a detailed geometrical construction sheet based on the golden ratio (and therefore the unusual proportions).
The flag is red, vertical, in proportions 1:√5, with the coat of arms in the lower part. The vertical position of the coat of arms is determined by a rather complicated geometrical construction. The width of the coat of arms is 2/5 of the hoist.

The Decision allows the municipal assembly to determine the colour patterns and use of the flag in more details. Such a Decision might have been adopted after 1992.

Željko Heimer, 11 October 1999

Local community of Libeliče

Flag of Libeliče - Image by Ivan Sache, 22 May 2012

The local community of Libeliče (in German, Leifling; 205 inhabitants in 2002; 54 ha) is located at the foot of Mount Libeliče, which marks the border with Austria. The community is made of the village of Libeliče proper and of the villages of Črneška Gora, Gorče, Tribej and Libeliška Gora.

Libeliče was mentioned for the first time in 1201 (but see below); in the 16th century, it was listed as an important port on river Drava.
Following the "Carinthian plebiscite" held on 10 October 1920, Libeliče was incorporated to Austria. In the next days after the establishment of the new border, the angry villagers uprooted border stones and cut parts of the barbed wire marking the border. They soon organized the struggle against the Austrian authorities, distributing leaflets and organizing cultural rallies in which the Slovene language and culture were promoted. Libeliče, gaining the nickname of "Slovenian devil's nest", was eventually transferred to the State of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on 1 October 1922, the new border leaving the old village's castle, in which the first local school had been established in 1826, in the Austrian side. When withdrawing, the angry Austrians sacked the school, the fire station and other public buildings. The next year, the villagers could bring back the pump, which was the village's pride and is still the symbol of its struggle.
The successful revolt of a few farmers against a big administration was progressively forgotten, until the rebirth of national feeling at the end of the 20th century and the independence of Slovenia.

The symbols of Libeliče are prescribed and illustrated (colour drawings) in Article 7 of the community's Statutes Statut Krajevne Skupnosti Libeliče, adopted on 8 March 1997 and last amended on 13 January 2011 (text).
The flag is vertical, blue with two vertical red stripes on each side, 1/5 of the flag's width. The symbolism of the colors is the same as on the coat of arms (see below). The flag's length is not prescribed (but the relative proportions of the vertical stripes should be kept). The coat of arms is placed in the upper part of the flag, and can be surmounted with the name of the village.
The coat of arms is divided horizontally blue-red. All the elements of the shield are outlined in black.
In the blue part is shown an ossuary surrounded by two footprints, all or. The ossuary symbolizes the first settlement in Libeliče, dated 1154 (but see above). Standing on a hill dominating the village, the ossuary (photo) is said to have replaced an old chapel, whose patron saint is unknown; a den of fairies who robbed pilgrims, the chapel was destroyed by a lightning sent down by God. The feet are the so-called St. Martin's degrees, St. Martin being the patron saint of the village. Blue symbolizes thoughtfulness, wisdom, common sense and historical continuity of the place and people.
In the red part is shown a stylized fire pump argent, the village's pride (photo) recalling the will of the villagers to leave Austria for Slovenia. Red symbolizes courage, determination, patriotism and national feeling.

Photos of the flag confirm the unusual, rounded-off lower edge of the flag. On all available photos (19 June 2010, 4 October 2011; table flag), the flag appears without writing.

Valentin Poposki & Ivan Sache, 22 May 2012