20th HGZD Anniversary 2026
The Croatian Heraldic and Vexillological Society (HGZD) was founded on 4 May 2006 in the ceremonial hall of the Croatian History Museum in Matoševa Street. On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, on 6 May 2026, a gathering was held in the Dragon Hall of the Society of Brothers of the Croatian Dragon (DBHZ) in front of about forty members and friends of the HGZD and DBHZ, who were also joined by about fifteen heraldry students from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Zagreb.
After the intonation of the anthem of the Republic of Croatia and the anthem of the International Federation of Vexillological Associations (FIAV), the gathering was opened by the president of the HGZD and FIAV, titular asst. prof. dr. sc. Željko Heimer with an introductory speech, in which he first recalled the recently deceased members of the Society and called for a minute of silence: academician Nikša Stančić, dr. sc. Josip Kolanović, dr. sc. Ante Gulin, who sincerely supported the work of the newly founded Society from the very beginning and readily accepted the duties of members of the Court of Honor, which they have performed continuously for almost two decades, then to Amer Sulejmanagić, who joined the Society in 2018 and has been very active since then despite his foreign address, and to the Slovenian heraldist Valto Jurečić, who participated in the founding assembly of our Society and has closely followed our activities since then.
Prof. Hrvoje Kekez reminded those present of the works that have been published, edited and prepared by members or published by the HGZD in the 20 years of the Society’s existence, whereby due to the truly extensive production, he limited himself to (and even then selected) monographs and proceedings – of which he briefly presented a total of 24 books, i.e. an average of more than one per year, most of which are published by reputable Croatian publishers, but also in the USA.
Prof. Dr. sc. Tomislav Galović then similarly presented an overview of the lectures and conferences organized by our Society and in which the Society members participated. Among them, he particularly highlighted a series of lectures organized by the Society under the title Tribina HGZD, which were held sometimes once a month for the first ten years (actually from 2006 to 2018), where he particularly highlighted the institutions with which the Society cooperated through this form of activity – the “Bogdan Ogrizović” Library and Reading Room, DBHZ, the Society of Tourist Guides of Zagreb and the Central Croatian Macroregion, the Jewish Community of Zagreb, the Society of the Zagreb Classical Gymnasium, the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Zagreb, the Faculty of Maritime Studies of the University of Rijeka, the Slovenian House of Zagreb, the Croatian Historical Museum, the Archaeological Museum of Zagreb, the State Archives in Zagreb and others. He also highlighted the lectures that members gave while visiting the forums of other institutions: the Croatian Noble Assembly, the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Croatian Genealogical Society, etc. He particularly emphasized the cycle of six lectures Croatian Symbolic Identity, which the HGZD organized in cooperation with the Trešnjevka Cultural Center during 2019, and some two dozen of lectures in the cycle Flags of the Countries of Europe and the World and Flags – the Identity of Peoples and States, which Heimer held in the organization of the Coordination of Croatian Friendship Societies under the auspices of the President of the Republic Kolinda Grabar Kitarović and the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović in the period 2016 – 2020. Among the many conferences in which members of the Society participated, we mention the Congress of Croatian Historians, Dies historiae, Kliofest, Anales Pilar, and others.
Marko Vitez prepared the presentation of the HGZD projects, and in his absence (due to participation as a professor mentor to his student at the National Geography Competition), it was read by President Heimer. He recalled the implemented HeralD project of digitization of Croatian stone heraldic heritage 2019 – 2021 with financial support from the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, the project of Željko Heimer that preceded the founding of our Society – The Flags and Arms of the Modern Era, in which other members have also actively participated in recent years, and two initiatives – for the issuance of postage stamps with motifs of Croatian flags, which resulted in the issue by the Croatian Post on 5 June 2024, and the joint initiative of the HGZD and the Croatian Institute of History, the Croatian History Museum and the DBHZ for the establishment of the Croatian Flag Day, which was finally declared a memorial day by the Croatian Parliament last year.
Finally, the President of the HGZD presented an overview of the Society’s international activities, from joining umbrella professional international organizations, participation in International Congresses of Vexillolgy and International Congresses of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences, fruitful cooperation with related organizations and institutions abroad, the established exchange of publications with about thirty of them, and the results of the increased international visibility of the Society and the Croatian heraldic and vexillological heritage through foreign publications. He also highlighted the activities of joining the celebration of World Vexillology Day, 1st October, internationally established in 2016. He particularly referred to the international events hosted by the HGZD – scientific conferences at the University of Zadar in 2013 and at the University of Zagreb in 2014, the Post-Congress Vexillological Conference in Rijeka in 2022, and the expert visit of the Heraldic and Flag Society Heraldica Slovenica to Zagreb in 2024.
He emphasized that the HGZD presidency had already set a guideline in the early days of the Society to host a foreign lecturer at least once a year, if possible, to give us a lecture. Among the foreign lecturers were Valt Jurečić, Slovenia, 2011, Jovan Jonovski, Macedonia, 2011 and 2015, Ralf Hertemink, Netherlands, 2013, Davor Zovko, Sweden, 2017, William Belanich, USA, 2018. After a break due to the pandemic and earthquake, this practice was resumed in 2025 with the guest lecture of Annie Platoff, USA.
In conclusion, Heimer stated that everything presented is a testimony of dedication, knowledge and passion and that it is proof that Croatian heraldry and vexillology have something to say to the world. In the years to come, HGZD intends to continue building bridges, expanding cooperation and representing Croatian symbolic heritage with pride and responsibility.
In the tradition of HGZD gatherings, after the conclusion of the official program, the event continued with a casual friendly gathering.
CIGH