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Bol (Split-Dalmatia, Croatia)

Općina Bol

image by Željko Heimer, 18 September 2009

Overview
Coat of Arms

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Collection of Croatian Local Flags at FAME

Overview

Bol is a community in the Split-Dalmatia County, situated in the central souther coast of the Brac island. Population 1,500, almost to the last living in the vilage of the same name. Bol na Bracu is among the most elite tourist resorts on the Adriatic, with the famous protruding sand beach Zlatni rat.
The coat of arms of Bol is Azure on a base vert a lion passant to sinister or and in chief an arm embowed to sinister proper clead or holding a branch vert.
I am not sure about the symbolic meaning of these symbols, however.
The flag is dark blue with the coat of arms bordered yellow in the middle.
Source: <www.bolnabracu.com> (20.12.2003).
Željko Heimer, 5 August 2004

Coat of Arms and flag designed by Heraldic Art d.o.o from Rijeka and approved by the Ministry of Administration/Central State Office for Administration before 2006.
Željko Heimer, 23 May 2008

The community web site now includes the 2006 Statutes , that include the descriptions of the Coat of Arms and the flag in its articles 10 and 11. I believe that the same wording was might have also been present already in the 2001 statutes.
The description of the Coat of Arms determines that the semi-circular shield is divided into blue and green in ratio 6:1, the blue is named "turquoise blue" (although that would make it way to greenish). The lion is described to be "standing with its head turned in the half-profile". The arm is described to be "an arm of a land worker with the shirt sleeve rolled up, holding a green laurel twig".
The flag is usually described as blue with the Coat of Arms bordered yellow in its middle, hoever, it is intersting how the size of the Coat of Arms is determined: "The ratio of areas of the coat of arms and the flag is 1:6." (whatever exactly was meant by that...).
Looking at H. G. Ströhl's "Städte-Wappen von Öesterreich-Ungarn" 1904 (2002 Archiv Verlag reprint), Bol is mentioned there at p. 83 (and pictured at the colour tables at the end of the book). The Coat of Arms is described only slightly different - the base is described brown, the colour of the lion's eyes is given as green, while the hand is clead in red trimmed brown sleeve and holding an olive branch - however, the Ströhl's drawing is no so much unlike the current design.
This Coat of Arms is said to be granted on 8 October 1888 (I still have doubt about how this was exactly done in then Dalmatia!). Ströhl also notes that the flag was in use at the time: red-white-blue tricolour with the shield of the coat of arms in the centre - this must have been introduced after 1883 when the People's Party (ie. the pro-Croatian party) won the elections.
Željko Heimer, 28 August 2009

Images are based on the drawings found at the front page of the PDF at <www.bol.hr>.
Although a very nice drawing of the Bol Coat of Arms is available now at wikimedia. It has some minor differences from the officially used version (namely, the shield shape proportions and some further very minor differences). However, that image is heraldically absolutely correct.
Željko Heimer, 18 September 2009

Coat of Arms

image by Željko Heimer, 18 September 2009