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Labin (Istria County, Croatia)

Grad Labin

image by Željko Heimer, 20 Febuary 2004

Overview
Ceremonial Flag
Previous Flags
Coat of Arms

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Other Sites:

Collection of Croatian Local Flags at FAME

Overview

The coat of arms of Labin is Argent a Cross Gules like that of several other Istrian cities. The representation within oval golden bordered shield and in silver cartouche makes it unique. The loewer end of the cratouche is reminding on the cog wheel as Labin are is the most industriall developed part of Istria.
Željko Heimer

The town of Albona (Labin in Croatian language) was occupied by Italian forces at the end of WWI. It was then annexed by Italy after the Treaty of Rapallo (12 November 1920). On 2 March 1921 the miners of Albona made a strike and they proclaimed the "Republic of Albona" with a clearly socialist organization. The town was soon encircled by the Army and surrendered without fightings on 8 April 1921. The leaders of the strikers were put on trial and acquitted by the tribunal of Pola (now called Pula). Of course this rebellion has nothing to do with anti-Fascism: Italy was still a democratic country and Mussolini became Prime Minister only on 30 October 1922 (one year and a half after the end of the Republic of Albona).
Guido Abate, 31 December 2002

Labin is some 30 km north east of Pula, the city area counts some 13,000 inhabitants, about 9,000 of them living in the city itself. The white flag with the coat of arms that was reported in late 1990's (see: Previous Flags) is not used any more, since the 2001 Statutes available on line at <www.labin.hr>: Statut Grada Labina, 09.10.2001, Službene novine Grada Labina, clearly states in the article 5 that the flag is red with the coat of arms in the middle (in full colours). The coat of arms is blazoned there so: " The coat of arms of Labin is the historical coat of arms, in an oval (egglike) shield argent a red convex cross bordered with a golden hatched ring, all on a silver cartuche flanked on both sides with three horizontal red lines and with green lilly branches in the base.
Željko Heimer, 20 Febuary 2004

I have spoted it today on a Croatian TV report from Labin (HRT 1, 22 March 2009). The ceremonial flag is apparently kept in the city assembly hall.
The ceremonial flag is a red gonfalon wending triangularly and with three tails, edged yellow and with yellow fringe along the bottom. In the middle of it is the coat of arms in full colours and above it the name of the city.
Željko Heimer, 22 March 2009

The city web site includes the latter years of the official gazette. The new city Statutes of 2006 replace the 2001 Statutes we quote above, but the wording on the coat of arms and the flag remains word for word the same: Statut Grada Labina, 14.03.2006, Službene novine Grada Labina, br. 3/2006.
The subsequent issue of the gazette includes a decesion on grant of use of arms to a local cycling club "Istra Bike", where we learn on the decision adopting the arms and flag from 1993 (so old issues of the gazette are not on line): Odluka o grbu i zastavi Grada Labina. Službene novine Grada Labina, br. 3/93. quoted in Odluka o dozvoli uporabe grba Grada Labina, 06.04.2006, Službene novine Grada Labina, br. 4/2006.
Therefore the current coat of arms and flag were adopted in 1993. (Although, variations of the flag were still used in 1997, as I reported from my visit to Labin then).
Željko Heimer, 5 September 2009

Ceremonial Flag

image by Željko Heimer, 22 March 2009

Previous Flags

First Flag

image by Željko Heimer, 20 Febuary 2004

Red flag with (white) monochrome representation of city arms. In fact, I have seem the same flag in yellow or blue insted of red on several places in the town. They all might be unofficial.
Labin is city in eastern part of Istria, once important for its coal mines and industry, today turistical center. Major uprising was made in Labin when Istria was anexed by Italy (in 1924?) called "Republic of Labin" that lasted for a week or so, based on socialist principles. It's flag was, of course, red. The uprising is counted by some as the first anti-fascist movement in Europe.
Željko Heimer, 2 August 1997

Intermediate Flag

image by Željko Heimer

Coat of Arms

image by Željko Heimer