Croatian trefoil
As Croatian trefoil ( Croatian Hrvatski trolist ) or in the faleristics also Kroatisches cross ( Hrvatski križ ) refers to a national symbol of Croatia, in the form of a cross from stylized leaves . It originally symbolized the intended unification of Croatia , Slavonia and Dalmatia to form the "Triune Kingdom" and is often used in connection with the Croatian military system. Today the Croatian Trefoil is the basic form of various state medals and decorations of the Republic of Croatia .
In common parlance , a cross filled with Croatian wattle from the baptismal font of Prince Višeslav is also called a Croatian cross. This is also the case with the Order of the Croatian Cross ( Red hrvatskog križa ) founded in 1995 .
Origin and use
The Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia (Kraljevina Hrvatska i Slavonija) was an autonomous kingdom within the Habsburg Monarchy from 1745 as a subsidiary of the Kingdom of Hungary . At the time of Austria-Hungary it belonged to the Hungarian part of the dual monarchy.
In the Hungarian-Croatian Compromise of 1868 it received extended rights but, contrary to the wishes of the Croatian majority, a formal union with the Kingdom of Dalmatia (part of the Austrian half of the empire) failed to materialize . Only nominally, Dalmatia was now part of the so-called Triune Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia . However, the two crown lands were allowed to share a common flag and symbols.
In the entire former Austro-Hungarian Army , a so-called standard was prescribed for parades and similar occasions.
" The standard has to be made of oak leaves, in the absence of which it should consist of fir veins, the same should be 16 cm high and 13 cm wide for the headgear "
Often this standard consisted of only three leaves or, as fir rice, only two branches. So one could possibly trace the Croatian Trefoil back to it.
As a military decoration of the Independent State of Croatia was in 1941 the Military Order of the Iron Trefoil ( Vojnički red željeznog trolista donated). The trefoil was also the basic form of the Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir , which was founded in the same year , which is why the trefoil is also known as the "Cross of Zvonimir " ( Zvonimirov križ ).
After Croatia's independence, the Order of the Croatian Trefoil ( Red hrvatskog trolista ) was again donated as a war award in 1995 . In addition, a blue trefoil forms the basic shape of the second highest order of the Republic of Croatia, the Grand Order of Queen Jelena with sash and morning star ( Velered kraljice Jelene s lentom i Danicom ).
gallery
In the style of the Balkenkreuz as an aircraft cockade of the Croatian Air Force (1944-45)
Flag of a general of the Croatian Home Guard (1941)
Flag of a Rear Admiral in the Croatian Navy (1941)
Grave cross of a Croatian soldier, showing the trefoil ( Banja Luka , 1943)
Monument to the fallen of the Croatian Home Guard ( Zagreb )
Sleeve badges of cadets of the Croatian Air Force (1990s)
Individual evidence
- ^ Jörg Nimmergut : Order of Europe . Battenberg, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-87045-184-X , p. 76 (with illustration).
- ↑ Eckart Henning , Dietrich Herfurth: medals and decorations. Handbook of Phaleristics . Böhlau, Cologne a. a. 2010, ISBN 978-3-412-20617-8 , pp. 46 (with illustration).
- ^ Rudolf Kiszling: The Croats. The fate of a southern Slav people . Böhlau, Graz a. a. 1956, p. 180 .
- ^ Wolfgang Kessler : Politics, culture and society in Croatia and Slavonia in the first half of the 19th century. Historiography and Basics (= Southeast European Works . Volume 77 ). Oldenbourg, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-486-49951-3 , p. 9 (At the same time: Düsseldorf, University, dissertation, 1978).
- ↑ Adjustment regulation, Part I, Section 2, p. 26.