  We calculate the energy of a Yang-Mills vortex as function of its magnetic
flux or, else, of the Wilson loop surrounding the vortex center. The
calculation is performed in the 1-loop approximation. A parallel with a
potential as function of the Polyakov line at nonzero temperatures is drawn. We
find that quantized Z(2) vortices are dynamically preferred though vortices
with arbitrary fluxes cannot be ruled out.
