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Polzela (Municipality, Slovenia)

by Zeljko Heimer

Presentation of the municipality
Description of the flag
Coat of arms
Vertical flag

See also:

Presentation of the municipality

The municipality of Polzela seceded from Zalec in 1998. It is located in Savinjska region, and a historically important old castle is situated there.

Zeljko Heimer, 22 January 2002

Description of the flag

The flag and arms are prescribed by decision Odlok o grbu in zastavi Obcine Polzela, adopted on 24 August 1999, and published in the official Slovene gazette Uradni list Republike Slovenije, nr. 72/99, 7 September 1999, with effect on 24 August 1999.

The symbols were designed by Valt Jurecic of Heraldika d.o.o. and Heraldica Slovenica, who kindly provided drawings from which the images shown on this page were made.

The flag is rectangular in ratio 2:5, horizontally divided red-white-red with a red square at hoist containing the attribute from the coat of arms, the white Maltese cross and the black lion from the coat of arms placed in the middle of the white stripe. The addition of the lion was made in spite of Valt's wishes as the designer.

Zeljko Heimer, 23 September 2002

Coat of arms

by Zeljko Heimer

The coat of arms can be blazoned as follows:

Per fess gules a Maltese cross argent and of the last a lion couchant sable.

Valt gave additional explanation on the coat of arms:

In the end of the Middle Age on the current Slovenian territories were established three Komendas (commanderships) of the Sovereign Order of Malta: Komenda pri Kamniku, Komenda Metlika and Komenda Polzela. A Komenda was a kind of a refuge for the old and invalid knights.
A commandership was the benefice granted to a high dignitary (commander) in religious hospitaller orders, and, by extension, the name given to his residence. In France and probably elsewhere, the Templars fortified commanderships were built on the pilgrimage roads as safe places for the pilgrims. They were also used as banks. Crusaders and pilgrims deposited money in a commandership, and received an equivalent amount of money when they arrived in Holy Land, in exchange of the receipt.

While Polzela was still a Local Assembly (subdivision of a community), it decided to get a coat of arms of its own. They requested to be allowed to use the Maltese Knights symbol on their local coat of arms, something that they were granted. In the center of Polzela there is still the Komendatorski dvorec (a castle, though indeed quite ruinious), which is adorned with a stone statue of a Roman lion, today hardly recognizable. These symbols were adopted for the coat of arms of Polzela.

Zeljko Heimer & Ivan Sache, 22 January 2002

Vertical flag

by Zeljko Heimer