The flag of Vojvodina () represents Vojvodina, autonomous province of Serbia. It comes in two variants: official and traditional. Both flags are in official use and are of the equal status. The official flag was adopted in 2004 while the traditional flag in 2016.

The flag of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar was introduced in 1849, and featured a yellow field surrounded by a black border with the Habsburg imperial arms and with the Serbian cross on the chest of the two-headed black eagle. The bearer of the Serbian cross was the Austrian black eagle, instead of the Serbian white one, in order to show the fidelity of the newly established Voivodeship to the imperial court in Vienna. Thus, the flag differed from the state flag of the Principality of Serbia, which used Serbian national tricolour and had a different arm in the middle. The Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar was abolished and incorporated into the Kingdom of Hungary in 1861.

The region was politically restored in 1945 as an autonomous province of Serbia when it regained its historical name of Vojvodina. However, during the whole period of existence of the socialist Yugoslavia, Vojvodina didn't have its own flag (and coat of arms, for that matter), but used the flag of the Socialist Republic of Serbia. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, it continued with the use of the flag of the Republic of Serbia.

Unofficial flag of Vojvodina has appeared in the beginning of the 1990s, promoted by the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina, regionalist political party, which put forward the proposal for flag to be adopted as the official flag of the province. The proposed flag was based on the similar flag from 1848, that of the Šajkaš Battalion of the Germanic-Illyric Regiment of the Banatian Military Frontier which was consisted of Serb revolutionaries from Šajkaška (southeastern part of Bačka region).

Official flag consists of three horizontal bands, red on the top, blue in the middle, and white on the bottom, with the blue portion being significantly wider, and containing three yellow five-pointed stars representing the three geographic regions of Vojvodina: Bačka, Banat, and Syrmia.

Traditional flag consists of three equal horizontal bands, red on the top, blue in the middle, and white on the bottom, with the traditional coat of arms of Vojvodina in the middle.

See also

  • Coat of arms of Vojvodina
  • Flag of Serbia
  • List of Serbian flags

References

Further reading

  • "Leksiklopedija" (column), TV Novosti magazine, Belgrade, 1991.