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Bajina Bašta (Municipality, Serbia)

Бајина Башта

images by Tomislav Šipek and Ivan Sache, 8 May 2022

Flag of Bajina Bašta
Municipal emblem
Previous flag

See also:

Flag of Bajina Bašta

From 2022 the municipality has used a new flag:

https://www.recmedia.rs/bajina-basta-pred-lokalne-izbore/
https://taradrina.com/radno-vreme-tic-bajina-basta-za-praznike/

It shows a white eagle-lion rampant armed yellow on a blue over red field with a yellow firesteel in the upper hoist.

Tomislav Šipek, 8 May 2022

On the photo, the vertical flag is in proportion 12:5 and not 2:1 (the Serbian flag is!), and, therefore, with rectangular and not square fields.

The municipality of Bajina Bašta (26,043 inhabitants in 2011, 9,148 in the town of Bajina Bašta; 31,300 ha) is located on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, 50 km north-west of Zlatibor and 180 km south-west of Belgrade.

Bajina Bašta was first settled in the early Neolithic by farmers from the Starčevo culture. Known in science as Kremenilo, the settlement is located in today's Višesava, 2.5 km away from the center of Bajina Bašta. Excavations performed during the 1960s showed the continuity of the settlement throughout the Neolithic until the transition to the Metal Age. The settlement of Jovin Breg originates from the transition period; pottery reveals the connections of this settlement with the inhabitants of Pannonia. Some of the archeological findings from Kremenilo and Jovin Breg are exhibited in the hallway of the elementary school "Rajak Pavićević" in Bajina Bašta.

The modern town of Bajina Bašta was established by a Decision issued on 12 July 1858 by Prince Alexander Karađorđević (1806-1885, r. 1842-1858). The seat of the county seat was moved from Rogačica, a settlement located about 12 km downstream from Bajina Bašta, to Bajina Bašta.
There are several legends about the origin of the name of the town, lit. Baja's Garden. It is most often alleged that in Turkish times, in the area of today's town, a Turk named Baja had large gardens, so the name Bajina Bašta remained.
Intensive economic development began in Bajina Bašta in 1966, when the Perućac hydroelectric power plant, the second largest in Serbia, was ceremoniously put into operation.
https://bajinabasta.rs
Municipal website

The most significant and most attractive cultural and historical landmark on the territory of Bajina Bašta is the Rača monastery. The church of the Ascension of Christ is located in the village of Rača, 6 km, west of Bajina Bašta, on the slopes of Tara, the place where river Rača flows out of its picturesque canyon.
According to tradition, the monastery was built by King Stefan Dragutin (1244-1316, r. 1276-1282) in the second half of the 13th century. During its history, the monastery was demolished twice to its foundations, only to get its present physiognomy in 1835. During the Second World War, Miroslav's Gospel, the oldest Serbian book written in the 12th century, was hidden from the Germans here. Some of the holy relics of King Dragutin have recently been found in the sanctuary.
Before the First Serbian Uprising, the monastery was renovated by Abbot Hadži Melentije Stevanović (1766-1824, one of the leaders of the uprising against the Turks, subsequently Metropolitan of Belgrade (1810-1813). Burned in 1813 by the Turks as a retaliation, the monastery was rebuilt the same year by Miloš Obrenović (1783-1860).
The most valuable items in the monastery's collection are the Russian edition of the Gospel from the 12th century and the flag of Hadži Melentije Stevanović from the First Serbian Uprising. The interior of the monastery is decorated with icons and frescoes; the iconostasis featuring two icons of Jesus and the Mother of God, designed in 1840 by Georgije Bakalović (1786-1843), is considered one of the most beautiful in Serbia.

The flag and arms of Bajina Bašta are prescribed by a Decision issued by the Municipal Assembly in June 2021, with effect on 1 January 2022, ending a process that lasted more than four years.

The lesser coat of arms (shield) is composed of a red field with a griffin argent as the main charge. A symbol of guardian of knowledge and wisdom, the griffin primarily alludes to the Rača monastery, which during its long existence was the center of spirituality and guardian of knowledge in this part of the world.
Next to the griffin, the Bajina Bašta hydroelectric power plant is represented by crossed lightning, being the largest source of income for the municipality and also of national significance. In base, the fess wavy argent represents river Drina.
The shield is supported by two animals emblematic of the fauna of the Tara National Park. The eagle is also one of the symbols featured on the Serbian coat of arms, while the wolf has often been used as a symbol of Serbian flames. Both animals are blue, so in combination with other elements of the coat of arms, the colors of the Serbian flag are obtained. The wolf holds the Serbian state flag while the eagle holds the flag of Bajina Bašta, which uses the colors of Hadži Melentije's flag from 1807, on which the symbol of the griffin is repeated. The S-shaped firesteel featured in canton is a clear reminiscence of the Serbian national coat of arms.

The shield is surmounted by a mural crown argent, which heraldically represents the population of the municipality of Bajina Bašta. Beneath the shield are represented the mountain peaks of the Tara National Park, covered with dense coniferous forests.
The scroll is inscribed with the name of the municipality written in letters similar to those in which Miroslav's Gospel was written.

https://zoomue.rs/bajina-basta-dobila-grb-i-zastavu
Drina Info, 22 June 2021

Ivan Sache, 8 May 2022

Municipal emblem

image located by Valentin Poposki, 16 June 2024

The current version uses a municipal coat of arms.
Valentin Poposki, 16 June 2024

Earlier emblem

image located by Valentin Poposki, 10 May 2022

Source: https://www.facebook.com/media/set, collected from the official municipal websites or Facebook/Twitter profiles.
Valentin Poposki, 10 May 2022

Previous flag

image by Tomislav Šipek, 10 September 2015

The previous flag of Bajina Bašta (photo, photo) was white with the municipal coat of arms in the middle.

Tomislav Šipek, 10 September 2015