National symbols of Bosnia and Herzegovina


The national symbols of Bosnia and Herzegovina are flags, icons or cultural expressions that are emblematic, representative or otherwise characteristic of Bosnia and Herzegovina or culture of nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a rule, these symbols are cultural icons that have emerged from folklore and tradition of nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, meaning few have any official status.

Flags


Flag of the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow right triangle abutting the band and the top of the flag; the remainder of the flag is medium blue with seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle. The three points of the triangle are understood to stand for the three constituent peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs.

Heraldry

The coat of arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted in 1998, replacing the previous design that had been in use since 1992 when Bosnia and Herzegovina gained independence, and follows the design of the national flag. The three pointed shield is specific and is to symbolize the three major ethnic groups of Bosnia, as well as allude to the shape of the country. The stars were adopted to replace the fleur de lys.
Fleur-de-lis. The coat of arms of the medieval Kingdom of Bosnia contained six fleurs-de-lis, understood as the native Bosnian or Golden Lily, Lilium bosniacum. This emblem was revived in 1992 as a national symbol of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and was on the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1998. Today, symbol appears in the flags and arms of many cantons, municipalities, cities and towns of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Anthem

Flora and fauna

Food and drink

Ćevapi is a grilled dish of minced meat, a type of kebab, found traditionally in the countries of southeastern Europe. They are considered a national dish in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Burek is a meat-filled flaky pastry, traditionally rolled in a spiral and cut into sections for serving. The same dish filled with cottage cheese is called sirnica, one with spinach zeljanica, and one with potatoes krompiruša. All these varieties are generically referred to as pita.
Sarma is a dish of grape, cabbage or chard leaves rolled around a filling usually based on minced meat, or a sweet dish of filo dough wrapped around a filling often of various kinds of chopped nuts. The Bosnian type includes rice and minced meat, as well as dried smoked beef.
The Livno cheese is a cheese first produced in the 19th century in the area of Livno, region of Tropolje, on the basis of French technology of making the Gruyère cheese. Originally, it was made from sheep's milk and nowadays it is mainly made from a mixture of sheep's and cow's milk.
Bosnian coffee is a type of Turkish coffee. Difference from the Turkish preparation is that when the water reaches its boiling point, a small amount is saved aside for later, usually in a coffee cup. Then, the coffee is added to the pot, and the remaining water in the cup is added to the pot. Everything is put back on the heat source to reach its boiling point again, which only takes a couple of seconds since the coffee is already very hot. Coffee drinking in Bosnia is a traditional daily custom and plays an important role during social gatherings.

People

Architecture

Other symbols

Symbols of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Along with the common symbols of Bosnia and Herzegovina Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina use this:
The Croatian chequy, known in Croatian as the "šahovnica" is one of the most recognizable symbols of Croats. This emblem was used on the flag of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the coat of arms of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the official symbol of the Bosnian Croats until the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared the flag and the coat of arms unconstitutional in 2007.
The Coat of arms of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia is the historical Croatian coat of amrs in the form of a German-shaped shield, divided vertically and horizontally on the 25 red and silver squares. It is bordered by golden lines. At the top there is a gold wattle on silver. By the Washington Agreement signed in March 1994, Herzeg-Bosnia became a part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The coat of arms is still used today by Canton 10 and West Herzegovina Canton.
The flag of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia consists of three equal size, horizontal stripes in the pan-Slavic colours: red, white and blue. In the middle is the Coat of arms of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia. The flag is still used today by Canton 10 and West Herzegovina Canton. It is also used as an unofficial symbol of Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Croatian interlace or Croatian wattle, known as the pleter or troplet in Croatian, is a type of interlace, most characteristic for its three-ribbon pattern. It is one of the most often used patterns of pre-romanesque Croatian art. It is found on and within churches as well as monasteries built in early medieval Kingdom of Croatia between the 9th and beginning of the 12th century. The ornamental strings were sometimes grouped together with animal and herbal figures. It is used in many coats of arms of Croatian institutions and organizations as in some coat of arms of municipalities with Croatian majority.
Diva Grabovčeva is a Roman Catholic virgin martyr, a symbol of the resistance of Bosnian and Herzegovinian Catholics to the Turks.