Prague coat of arms
The Prague coat of arms is the coat of arms of the Czech capital Prague that has been used in its current form since 1991 . It goes back to the historical coat of arms of the old town , which was retained for the entire city when the four Prague cities were united in 1784. While the shield has remained unchanged since 1649, the gems have seen several changes due to the political situation.
Blazon
The shield shows three golden towers in red on a crenellated golden city wall with a black gate and raised portcullis, in it an armored silver arm with an equally colored sword. Two Bohemian lions are shield holders . On the shield rest three gold-crowned toad head helmets hung from red and gold helmet covers . The Bohemian lion grows from the middle crown, and from the other two there are twelve flags with golden pole tips. Under the pedestal a red ribbon with the motto in gold capital letters : "PRAGA CAPUT REI PUBLICAE".
meaning
The number of stone blocks of the city wall and its towers corresponds to the 112 urban cadastral areas . The arm in arm and the sword stand for fighting strength and loyalty. The 24 flags representing the parts of Prague - the right flags: Nove Mesto , Hradčany , Vyšehrad , Libeň , Bubeneč, Košíře, Smíchov , Vršovice , Žižkov , Uhříněves , Horni Počernice, Zbraslav and the left flags: Stare Mesto , Lesser Town , Josefov ( Prague) , Holešovice , Břevnov , Karlín , Nusle , Vinohrady , Vysočany, Modřany, Radotín, Dubeč. The Latin motto is in German: Prague, the capital of the republic .
Coat of arms history
The coat of arms of Prague's old town comes from the Hussite period and originally showed a silver city wall with an open gate and three towers on a red background. In gratitude for the military aid from Prague, Emperor Friedrich III. the crest. In 1475 he changed the Prague old town coat of arms in the tincture : the city wall and tower were changed from silver to gold. A helmet with the imperial crown , held by two Bohemian lions, was also placed on the shield . In 1649, after the end of the Thirty Years' War , the coat of arms changed again.
Emperor Ferdinand III. inserted the armored arm in the gate. This was done out of gratitude and reward, as the year before the Prague people had shown great loyalty in the fight against the Swedish troops. Furthermore, the imperial eagle with the imperial initials FIII on the already existing crowned helmet was added to the coat of arms . Two more helmets with flags rounded off the changes. In 1784 the coat of arms was confirmed. At that time, the four Prague cities of Old Town, New Town , Lesser Town and Hradčany merged to form the city.
With the establishment of Czechoslovakia in 1918, the coat of arms was adapted to the new balance of power: the Austrian eagle , which had been included up until then, was dropped. The Bohemian lion received a breast shield with the Slovak coat of arms . The helmets on the left and right above the shield received the flags of the individual places that made up great Prague. The motto also changed - from Prague, capital of the kingdom (Praga caput regni) to Prague, mother of cities (Praha matka mest). In 1964 the Slovak breastplate was changed (as a result of the ban on the previous Slovak coat of arms ): Blue mountains with golden tongues of flames were in red. The crown was removed from the upper coat of arms and a red star was inserted instead , to commemorate the liberation by the Soviet Army in 1945 . The current coat of arms has been in effect since February 21, 1991. The use of the coat of arms is regulated in Act No. 131/2000 Sb.
around 1360
1784-1918
1927-1941
1945-1964
1964-1991
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Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c The coat of arms of the city of Prague (Czech)
- ↑ Václav Vojtíšek: Znak hlav. města Prahy . Praha, 1928. Available online
- ^ Milan boys: Heraldry . Albatros Praha, 1986.
- ↑ Heinz Machatscheck: Entertaining heraldry . New Life Berlin publishing house, 1981.
