Coat of Arms and Flag

Šibenik City Council on (its) assembly on 20th May 1999 (Official newsletter) decided on the coat of arms and flag and their treatment and usage:

Article 4.
City has its flag and its coat of arms
The coat of arms (Grb, pronounced "gerb" with a trilled "r") is made of / represents (heraldic) a shield with the image of St. Mihovil (St Michael), the archangel, patron of the old Šibenik. In a semicircle shield on a silver padding is the image of St Mihovil; youthful, dark-haired (man?) in white garb and red cloak and white raising wings holding a golden bowl with a cross in his left hand stamping on a dark devil with his golden boots and stabbing its head with a golden spear.

The flag of the city of Šibenik is a blue coloured one with a golden-rimed grb at the centre (length and width ratio is 2 to 1 and the grb's height is two thirds of the flag.




History of (city of )Šibenik coat of arms and seal

Šibenik began using its heraldic seal with the image of Šibenik’s Patron St Mihovil, together with other Dalmatian cities. The image of St Mihovil can also be found on Šibenik municipality seal, as it was customary that the image or motive on the coat of arms is used on the seal as well. Although the town's coat of arms from the time of its the earliest use has not been preserved, there is a document with the town district seal on it that can serve as evidence of the appearance district's coat of arms. The seal is found on the letter (dated 18th October 1255) of Šibenik district and diocese to the Prenestine bishop pleading to him to argue in favour of the founding of Šibenik diocese with the Pope.


The portrayal of St Mihovil on the coat of arms, as the invincible and the strongest of all angles, symbolizes the fighting spirit and strength of the medieval Šibenik. It served as a warning to the town’s enemies that the citizens will follow the example of their patron in the protection of their rights. When carving the coat of arms in stone, Šibenik citizens used to place it on visible and prominent spots trying to demonstrate their communal autonomy, which needed to be reaffirmed and defended in the turbulent Middle Ages.

One of the first seals preserved in Croatian language dates from 1878 when town district came to hands of the people. The seal is bordered with the sign: "Obćinsko opraviteljstvo Šibensko" which today roughly translates as: "Šibenik - township". Town's coat of arms with St Mihovil’s image had been used until 1926 when Ministry of Police banned the use of all district and regional coats of arms and seals. From the end of 1939, when the ban was lifted, it has reaffirmed its usage.