thumb|Kroatiens statsvapen

'''Kroatiens statsvapen''' består av ett stort huvudvapen och fem mindre vapen som kröner det stora. Huvudvapnet består av en schackrutsmönstrad sköld med 13 röda och 12 vita fält. De fem mindre vapnen symboliserar varsin del av landet, från höger till vänster: det äldsta kända kroatiska stadsvapnet, Dubrovnik, Dalmatien, Istrien och Slavonien. Vapnet brukar kallas ''šahovnica'', från det kroatiska ordet för schack, ''šah''.

Detta röd-vita schackrutsmönstret har varit en symbol för Kroatiens regenter troligen sedan 900-talet. Den moderna utformningen av riksvapnet gjordes av formgivaren Miroslav Šutej.

==Vapnen i kronan==

*Det äldsta kända kroatiska vapnet. Vapnet har en gul (guldfärgad) sexuddig stjärna som symboliserar morgonstjärnan och en vit (silverfärgad) nymåne som står mot en blå bakgrund.  
*Dubrovniks traditionella vapen härrör från tiden för Republiken Dubrovnik då staden var en oberoende stadsstat. Vapnet har två röda ränder mot mörkblå bakgrund. 
*Dalmatiens traditionella vapen har tre gula (guldfärgade) krönta leopardhuvuden mot blå bakgrund. Detta vapen har en gång i historien representerat hela Kroatien men anses numera vara en symbol för Dalmatien.
*Istriens traditionella vapen består av en gul (gulfärgad) get med röda horn och hovar. Geten står mot en mörkblå bakgrund och är alltid vänd åt höger.    
*Slavoniens traditionella vapen har två vita (silverfärgade) ränder som ibland sägs symbolisera de två floder, Drava och Sava, som omsluter landsdelen. Emellan de vita ränderna finns ett rött fält med en mård (kroatiska: kuna) som förövrigt är namnet på Kroatiens nationella valuta. I övre delen finns en gul (guldig) sexuddig stjärna som står mot en blå bakgrund.  

{{Infobox Coat of arms
|name             = Coat of arms of Croatia
|image            = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
|image_width      = 200
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|lesser           = 
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|armiger          = 
|year_adopted     = 21 December 1990
|crest            = 
|torse            = 
|shield           = 
|supporters       = 
|compartment      = 
|motto            = 
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}}

The '''Croatian). The five smaller shields represent five different historical regions that comprise Croatia.

==History==
The red and white checkerboard has been a symbol of Croatian kings since at least the 10th century, ranging in size from 3×3 to 8×8, but most commonly 5×5, like the current coat. It was traditionally conjenctured that the colours originally represented two ancient Croat states, Red Croatia and White Croatia, but there is no generally accepted proof for this theory. The oldest source confirming the coat as an official symbol is a genealogy of the Habsburgs, dated from 1512 to 1518. In 1525 it was used on a votive medal. 

The oldest known example of the ''šahovnica'' in Croatia is to be found on the wings of four falcons on a baptismal font donated by king Petar Krešimir IV of Croatia (1058–1074) to the Archbishop of Split. 

The oldest known coat of arms of Croatia (six-pointed star over a moon), coat of arms of Dalmatia and coat of arms of Slavonia (as well as the ''šahovnica'') were all at times used as the Coat of Arms to represent the whole Croatia, especially in early heraldic period.  Towards the Late Middle Ages the distinction for the three crown lands (Croatia 'proper', Dalmatia, Slavonia) was made.  The ''šahovnica'' was used as the coat of arms of Croatia proper & together with the shields for Slavonia and Dalmatia was often used to represent the whole of Croatia in Austria-Hungary. An example of where the Croatian coat of arms was constituted of the ''šahovnica'' & Dalmatian (top half of coat of arms), & Slavonian (bottom half of coat of arms) crests include the:

*Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia in Habsburg Empire (1848-1852) - as depicted on the roof of St Mark's Church in Zagreb;
*Triune Kingdom of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia (1867 - 1918).

The two are the same except for the position of the ''šahovnica'' & Dalmatian coat of arms which are switched around & with different crowns used above the shield - the later employing St Stephen's crown (associated with Hungarian kings).

By late 19th century ''šahovnica'' had come to be considered a generally recognized symbol for Croats and Croatia and in 1919, it was included in the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) to represent Croats. When the Banovina of Croatia was formed, the ''šahovnica'' (chequy gules and argent) was retained as the official symbol.

The  Ustashe regime which had ruled Croatia during the World War II superimposed their ideological symbol, the letter "U" above or around the ''šahovnica'' (upper left square white) as the official national symbol during their rule.

After the Second Yugoslavia. The ''šahovnica'' was included in the new socialist coat of arms with superimposed ''red star'' as a socialist ideological symbol.  It was designed in the socialist tradition, including symbols like wheat for peasants and an anvil for workers, as well as a rising sun to symbolize a new morning and a red star for communism.

During the change to multiparty elections in Croatia (as part of the collapse of Communist rule in Eastern Europe from the late 1980s), and prior to the establishment of the current design, the ''šahovnica'', shedding the communist symbols that were the hallmark of Croatia in the second Yugoslavia, reappeared as a stand-alone symbol as both the 'upper left square red' and 'upper left square white' variants.

==The current design==
On Croatian History at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb.