🇸🇮 The colours of Slovenia

Slovenia’s flag features white, blue, and red horizontal stripes, with a coat of arms showing Mount Triglav, blue rivers, and three golden stars. These colours are rooted in both pan-Slavic symbolism and the historic coat of arms of Carniola, representing Slovenian identity and heritage.

Where no official value is given, the swatch shows the colour family, not the exact shade.

• The flag’s three golden stars come from the Counts of Celje’s arms.
• White, blue, and red are both pan-Slavic and Carniolan in origin.
• Mount Triglav, Slovenia’s highest peak, appears in white on the coat of arms.
• The tricolour was first raised in Ljubljana in 1848.
• The flag’s proportions differ for national and maritime use.

The colours of the flag of Slovenia

The Slovenian flag is made up of three equal horizontal stripes: white at the top, blue in the middle, and red at the bottom. In the upper left, the coat of arms shows Mount Triglav in white on a blue background, two wavy blue lines for the Adriatic Sea and rivers, and three golden stars above, arranged in an inverted triangle. The colours are officially described as pan-Slavic, but they also recall the medieval Carniolan coat of arms. The meanings of the colours are rooted in both Slovenian history and wider Slavic identity.

How the colours were chosen of Slovenia

Slovenia’s tricolour was first raised in 1848 during a period of national awakening, inspired by the colours of Carniola’s medieval coat of arms. Its adoption was a significant act for Slovenes under Austrian rule, as tricolours were usually discouraged. The flag became a unifying symbol for Slovenes across regions. During Yugoslavia, the flag persisted with modifications, such as the addition of a red star under socialism. After independence in 1991, the red star was replaced by a new coat of arms, keeping the historic colours.

Official shades and rules of Slovenia

The flag’s design specifies three equal horizontal bands and the placement of the coat of arms within the upper hoist side, centred on the white and blue stripes. The flag’s proportions are 1:2 for the national flag and 2:3 for maritime use. No official colour codes are specified in the sources.