Editing Croats (section)

==Symbols==
{{Main|Flag of Croatia|Coat of arms of Croatia|Coat of arms of Dalmatia|Croatian checkerboard}}
[[File:Flag of Croatia.svg|thumb|right|The current [[flag of Croatia]], including the current [[coat of arms of Croatia]] (with five crowning shields representing the "oldest known Croatian coat of arms" (erroneous), [[Dubrovnik]], [[Dalmatia]], [[Istria]], and [[Slavonia]]).]]
[[File:CoA of Dalmatia Bribir 14th century.jpg|thumb|14th century [[Coat of arms of Dalmatia|coat of arms of the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia]] from [[Bribir, Šibenik-Knin County|Bribir]], then seat of the [[Šubić family]].<ref name="Stancic2013"/>]]
[[File:Hrvatski pleter.jpg|right|thumb|[[Croatian interlace]].]]
The [[flag of Croatia]] consists of a red-white-blue [[Triband (flag)|tricolour]] with the [[Coat of Arms of Croatia]] in the middle. The red-white-blue tricolor flag was chosen as those were the colours of [[Pan-Slavic colors|Pan-Slavism]], popular in the 19th century.

The [[Coat of arms of Croatia]] consists of the traditional red and white squares representing [[Croatian checkerboard]] on a coat-of-arms. It has been used to symbolise Croatia for centuries, with the earliest confirmed and dated to 1495 in [[Innsbruck]], Austria during the time of [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor]],<ref name="Stancic2013">{{cite journal |last1=Stančić |first1=Nikša |last2=Čaldarović |first2=Dubravka Peić |date=2013 |title=Prvi sjedinjeni grb Kraljevstava Dalmacije, Hrvatske i Slavonije iz 1610. godine |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/en/clanak/161879 |journal=Rad |issue=516=50 |language=hr |publisher=[[HAZU]] |pages=71–93 |access-date=9 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Hye |first=Franz-Heinz |date=1993 |title=Prilog povijesti državnog grba Hrvatske i njegov najstariji prikaz u Innsbrucku |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/en/clanak/98387 |journal=Arhivski vjesnik |issue=36 |language=hr, de |publisher=[[Croatian State Archives]] |pages=131–147 |access-date=9 January 2025}}</ref><ref name="Galovic2021">{{cite magazine |last=Galović |first=Tomislav |date=2021 |title=Geneza, simbolika i povijest hrvatskih zemaljskih grbova od 13. do 17. stoljeća |url=https://www.matica.hr/hr/675/geneza-simbolika-i-povijest-hrvatskih-zemaljskih-grbova-od-13-do-17-stoljeca-32393/ |magazine=[[Hrvatska revija]] |language=hr |publisher=[[Matica hrvatska]] |access-date=9 January 2025}}</ref> and [[Chiesa dei Domenicani]] in [[Bolzano]], Italy also from the late 15th century.<ref name="Stancic2018">{{cite journal |last1=Stančić |first1=Nikša |date=2018 |title=Nova teorija o podrijetlu hrvatskoga grba / Mate Božić i Stjepan Ćosić. Nastanak hrvatskih grbova / Podrijetlo, povijest i simbolika od 13. do 16. stoljeća, Gordogan, 15 (34), 2017., br. 35-36 (79-80), str. 22-68 |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php/en/213844 |journal=Rad |issue=535=53 |language=hr |publisher=[[HAZU]] |pages=239–243 |access-date=9 January 2025}}</ref> The first and only time was officially used in the Kingdom of Croatia in the 16th century was during [[1527 election in Cetin]] when Croatian noblemen elected [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor]] as the new King of Croatia.<ref name="Stancic2013"/> Before that, another CoA was official coat of arms of Croatia, dated at earliest since 1347 with three leopard or lion heads (later associated only with Dalmatia),<ref name="Stancic2013"/><ref name="Stancic2018"/><ref name="Galovic2021"/> while another with [[Crescent and star (symbol)|silver crescent moon and six pointed star]] (so-called [[Leliwa coat of arms|Leliwa]]) is common misconception to be oldest CoA of Croatia.<ref name="Galovic2021"/> Region of Slavonia has oldest confirmed CoA, showcasing a [[marten]] between rivers Sava and Drava above which is [[Mars|six pointed star]] and officially granted in 1496 by [[Vladislaus II of Hungary]].<ref name="Galovic2021"/><ref name="Stancic2013"/> It was used as an official seal by the Slavonian Sabor since 1497, and since 1558 until early 19th century by the united Croatian and Slavonian Sabor.<ref name="Stancic2013"/> The first coat of arms uniting all three CoA of the Kingdoms of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia dates to 1610.<ref name="Galovic2021"/>

The current design added the five crowning shields, which represent the historical regions from which Croatia originated. Unlike in many countries, Croatian design more commonly uses symbolism from the coat of arms, rather than from the Croatian flag. This is partly due to the geometric design of the shield which makes it appropriate for use in many graphic contexts (e.g. the insignia of [[Croatia Airlines]] or the design of the shirt for the [[Croatia national football team]]), and partly because neighbouring countries like Slovenia and Serbia use the same [[Pan-Slavic colours]] on their flags as Croatia. The [[Croatian interlace]] ({{lang|hr|pleter}} or {{lang|hr|troplet}}) is also a commonly used symbol which originally comes from monasteries built between the 9th and 12th centuries. The interlace can be seen in various emblems and is also featured in modern [[Croatian military ranks]] and Croatian police ranks insignia.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}