Former Yugoslavia

The territory of former Yugoslavia is separated into Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, and Kosovo. Kosovo is a partially-recognized state. It declared its independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008. While 97 members of the United Nations recognize it as a sovereign state, Serbia does not, and still views it as Serbian territory.

Languages

Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Serbian (BCMS) was formerly known as Serbo-Croatian. Although they have all become official languages of their independent states, they remain understandable among each other. If you learn one of them, you can communicate with nearly 20 million people in four countries of the western Balkans—the Republics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia. A large number of speakers of these languages also live in diaspora in the U.S., with large communities in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, or St. Louis. Kansas City is also home to a sizeable diaspora, particularly of Croats, with its historic center on Strawberry Hill.

Bosnian, Croatian, and Montenegrin use the Latin alphabet, like English does, but with some special pronunciation markers called diacritics. Serbian uses the Cyrillic alphabet.

Good day! My name is Ivan Mačak. Nice to meet you. (Croatian)

Language Resources

Explore Former Yugoslav Culture

Explore the culture of former Yugoslavia through art, music, holidays, food, history, and literature.

Flags and National Anthems

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina is blue with a yellow triangle and white stars.

The national anthem of Bosnia Herzegovina is one of only four national anthems in the world, including those for Spain, Kosovo, and San Marino without official lyrics, though unofficial lyrics have been written for it. This anthem was officially adopted in 2001 and had been in use since 1998. It was composed by Bosnian Serb composer Dušan Šestić.

Croatia

The Croatian Flag has three equal-sized horizontal stripes of red, white, and blue with a coat of arms in the center.

The national anthem of Croatia is called "Our Homeland is Beautiful" (Lijepa Naša Domovino).

Kosovo

The flag of the Republic of Kosovo features six white stars over the outline of the country in yellow against a blue background. The flag was created when Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. There was a formal competition to create a flag design. The one chosen was influenced by the EU flag, which is also blue and yellow, and has a semicircle of white stars. The flag emphasizes Kosovo's status as a multi-ethinic country. The stars represent the six predominant ethnic groups in Kosovo: Albanians, Bosniaks, Gorani, Roma, Serbs, and Turks.

The Anthem of the Republic of Kosovo is one of only four national anthems in the world, including those for Spain, Bosnia Herzegoina, and San Marino without official lyrics. In 2008, as with the flag, there was an official competition to create a national anthem for Kosovo. The winning song was written by Kosovar Albanian composer Mendi Mengjiqi and was adopted in June 2008.

Macedonia

The Macedonian flag has yellow sun in the center on a red background.

The national anthem of Macedonia is called "Today Over Macedonia" (Denes nad Makedonija/Денес над Македониjа).

Montenegro

The flag of Montenegro has a double-headed eagle emblem on a red background with a gold border.

The national anthem of Montenegro is called "Oh Bright Dawn of May" (Oj, svijetla majska zoro).

Serbia

The Serbian Flag has three equal-sized horizontal stripes of red, white, and blue with a coat of arms featuring a double-headed eagle to the left side.