Flying Thursday June 25, 2009.

Today is Statehood Day in Slovenia, the anniversary of the declaration of independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. I don’t have a Slovenian flag, and as this is a blog about flags, not a site for national back scratching or rubbing salt in wounds, I hope that flying the flag of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will not offend, at least in Vernon Street.

Above: The flag of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It consisted of three equal horizontal bands coloured in pan-Slavic colors - blue (top), white and red - with yellow bordered red star, symbol of communism, at the flag's centre. It was created during Second World War by replacing the royal coat of arms on the flag of pre-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia with the red star of communism. The first flag for Democratic Federal Yugoslavia had a red star in the centre stripe of the Yugoslav tricolour. After the war it was given its final shape by enlarging the star and adding a narrow yellow border.

The Republic of Slovenia is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north. The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana. The current flag is as below.

The current flag of The Republic of Slovenia

Prior to 1991 the flag of Slovenia as within the Yugoslav Socialist Republic was similar to the flag of the Republic itself, but with blue and white reversed, as follows:

The flag of Slovenia as a Yugoslav Socialist Republic.

Slovenia has been part of the Roman Empire; partly the Republic of Venice; the principality Carantania (only modern Slovenia's northern part); the Holy Roman Empire; the Habsburg Monarchy; the Austrian Empire (later known as Austria-Hungary); the State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs; the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (renamed to Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929); partly Kingdom of Italy; between the two World Wars occupied by Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Independent State of Croatia (1941–1945); and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1945 until independence in 1991.

Slovenia is a member of the European Union, the Eurozone, the Schengen area, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe and NATO.