Flag of Montenegro - Historical

Historical

Flags as the state symbols were introduced only in the time of Petar II Petrovic-Njegos. Before him, the principal Montenegrin flag had been the alaj-barjak (regimental colors) with a single symbol on it - the cross (krst). Montenegrins gathered around krstas either at meetings or before battles. The first written description of the Montenegrin flag dates from the time of Scepan Mali (the Imposter): white, with a red frame and a golden cross on top of the spear. The next comes from 1838: pale-yellow with the small red cross, and in 1876 the flag was described as red with a white cross. At the time of Prince Danilo, the cross on the alaj-barjak was replaced by the two-headed eagle with the initials DI (Danilo I) on its breast, with the lion passant underneath. Prince/King Nikola used many different flags in his time. The first of the variants was the same as Danilo's, differing only in the initials - NI (Nikola I). Around 1910, two new variants appeared: one tricolor (red, blue and white) with the two-headed eagle bearing the initials NI on its breast and the lion passant on the sinister, the other with the two-headed eagle above the initials NI.

The oldest symbol on Montenegrin flags is the Christian Cross. It was used in the Great Turkish War, first recorded in 1687. The motto "For Honoured Cross and Golden Freedom", symbolised Montegrin opposition to the Ottoman Empire during the 17th and 18th centuries struggle for the liberation of Montenegro. The cross was used by Serbian forces in the 1389 Battle of Amsfeld and worn by the legendary Jugović brothers from Zeta. After total defeat the "alaj-barjak" (алај-барјак under Ottoman rule) was taken to Montenegro which housed numerous refugees from Ottoman onslaught, keeping it safe for centuries. It was used by the Serbs during late rebellions against the Turkish Empire.

In 1768 the Ottomans captured the banner of the self-proclaimed Montenegrin Emperor Stephen the Little. It was hoisted on a stick with a cross, white with red borders.

A banner of the Cetinje Metropolitanate was established in the 19th century, light (mostly white) with a dark (mostly red) cross. In the early 1850s it is recorded as being used in Cetinje Monastery and Njegoš's Biljarda. While it represented secular and religious rule of the Montenegrin Prince-Bishops, individual Serb clans used a variation of the stag, with inverted colours - a white cross on a red background. This is a result of improvisation as they were created from captured Ottoman flags.

When Danil became Prince-Bishop he inherited the Banner used as a state, sovereign and military flag. He officially secularized Montenegro as a Princedom in 1852 and conducted reforms of the Montenegrin armed forces. He thus created a new flag: a tricolor with a Red Cross. But in 1858 he designed for Montenegro two flags, one military and another to represent the nation. For a state flag, Danil ordered the craftsmen from Kotor, Bocca to create a Slavic tricolor for him. All Slavic nations traditionally used a tricolor introduced by the French Revolution. The tricolor was officially used for the first time in 1860. According to domestic interpretations Red meant Mercy, Blue was Faith and White Hope. Although several different variations of the tricolor were used, the Serbian tricolor was picked in 1859. In 1876 the Flag of Montenegro was ceremonially picked as a Serb flag with Nicholas' Coat of Arms added to it. It became the only one used after Montenegro's recognition of independence in 1878 by the Congress of Berlin. The Serb tricolor replaced all other flags by the 1880s under Prince Nicholas Petrovic-Njegos.

The krstaš-barjak, red version with a white cross and border, was in the 19th century fully implemented as the oldest martial flag. Some had the rulers' insignia in the cross. Prince Danil conducted military reforms in the 1850s and since then the banner signifying a centurian unit of 100 men. For the largest unit, a "Guard" numbering 1000 men, he created a new flag - red with the white double-headed eagle and his insignia (ДI as "Danilo the First") on it. As his personal banner, he added the traditionally used biblical golden lion beneath the eagle, henceforth known as the "alaj-barjak". Ever since then the "alaj-barjak" was the established name for red with the bicephalic eagle, to differ from the "krstaš-barjak".

In 1871 Prince Nicholas conducted a reform of the Montenegrin Army, introducing squadrons, battalions and brigades. The squadron stag used the krstaš, while the Battalion and Brigade stags used the alaj - the only difference being in quality. Nicholas' personal banner was almost identical to the Brigade one. The old military flags continued to be used, however Danil's insignia was replaced with his own. These military banners were used during family and funeral rituals, so their public use was explicitly banned.

In 1879, with Montenegro's formal recognition of independence, the Montenegrin navy was founded and a merchant flag created. It was a Red-White-Red Dalmatian tricolor, due to the fact that Montenegro was bound by the Congress of Berlin to obey Austrian laws, but with the Cross in the upper left angle. It was subsequently redesigned in 1880 to signify distinction from Austro-Hungary, and the colours were changed to traditional Red-Blue-White. However the Montenegrin navy was entirely constituted by old vessels from Ulcinj, most of the crew being Muslims who were discontent with the use of a Christian symbol on their flag. So, in 1881 the final version was adopted. The Cross was removed and Nicholas' initials added in the center, with an Islamic-style crown on top of them to satisfy the crew.

When the Constitution of the Montenegrin Princedom was adopted in 1905, it proclaimed the Red-Light_Blue-White tricolor as the official state flag in article 39. According to tales, as the tricolor of Serbia was faded by sunlight the blue became lighter and when Nicholas I saw it, he liked it and decided to keep it. Nicholas also enacted laws on public use of the state flag. In 1906 the Legal Code for Princedom of Montenegro was adopted. In article 328 it set the penalty of 20 days of imprisonment or 100 crowns if the State Flag was used by an unauthorized body on any occasion other than national parades, feasts and celebrations. The standard tricolor was mass-used by the people freely, and was even used by the administrative bodies more frequently. Nikola introduced a Court Flag for his family and the governing administrative body of Montenegro, which was recorded for the first time in 1897. It was the standard tricolor with the Nicholas' two-headed eagle and/or the biblical Lion. The Sovereign also had his personal standard - the tricolor with his coat-of-arms and his initials on it.

In 1910 Montenegro became a Kingdom and both the court flag and the royal standard were altered. The Court flag just replaced the crown with a Regal one, while the standard became the Montenegrin State tricolor with the crown and Nicholas' initials below it. Back then the simplification of the regent's standard was standard practice.

In 1916 the Kingdom of Montenegro was occupied by the Central Powers during the First World War. On 26 April 1917 they banned all tricolors because the Serbian Army still fought on the Balkan Front, and allowed the Military Banner and Austrian, Hungarian, Croatian and Albanian national flags to be used in occupied Montenegro. Similarly, when the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was invaded in April 1941 by the Axis forces, a puppet Kingdom of Montenegro was created. This "Independent State of Montenegro" originally firstly returned the State tricolor, but the new flag that was subsequently proclaimed by the Italian occupiers in July was Nicholas' war flag. It was used for the most of its time, i.e. until 1944.

In late 1946 a new flag of the People's Republic of Montenegro, a constituent republic of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia was adopted. It returned the traditional tricolor adding an ideological Communist Red Star to its center. This flag was used until 1991 when the Red Star was removed, but the Montenegrin flag was identical to the other Republic of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia, so in 1993 the old flag from 1905 was returned, but differently sized.

The state flag proclaimed in 1993 is the tricolor - red, bluish and white, with size ratio 1:3.