Original scientific paper
THE HONORARY GUARD AS A NATIONAL SYMBOL OF CROATIA
Frane Vrkić
orcid.org/0000-0002-4162-2573
Abstract
National symbols as a holder of national identity, with “holy trinity” (flag, anthem and national holidays), includes a broader “register” in which among others is the ceremonial military units. The paper analyses the establishment and activities of the Honorary Guard during the 1990s that became one of the most recognizable national symbols of the modern day Republic of Croatia by relying on the Croatian military tradition, its own innovativity and support of the president Franjo Tuđman. Along with its primary protective-ceremonial tasks, the unit was publicly most recognized by the Ceremony of the Changing of the Guards in front of the Banski dvori (Viceroy’s Palace). By establishing the First Croatian Guards Corps and forming the ceremony calendar which related to all important national dates, the unit became a part of the tourist offer. The change of the Government and the election of a new President of the Republic of Croatia in 2000 resulted in cancellation of the First Croatian Guard Corps and thus the Ceremony of the Changing of the Guards in the atmosphere then publicly asserted “detuđmanization”. Re-establishing of the Ceremony of the Changing of the Guards in 2017 aims to evoke the time of Croatian state creation, to strengthen the sense of national pride and possible exploitation of its potential not just in the tourist but also in the sense of todays universal race in branding.
Keywords
the Honorary Guard; Banski dvori (Viceroy’s Palace); the Ceremony of the Changing of the Guards; the Croatian National Guard; the First Croatian Guards Corps; the Honorary Guard Battalion
Hrčak ID:
195405
URI
Publication date:
28.12.2017.
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