Silesian eagle (heraldic animal)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Generic representation of the two coats of arms of Silesia

As Silesian eagle in the be Heraldry The heraldic animals of Silesia designated. A distinction is made between two different representations for Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia .

Lower Silesian Eagle

The Lower Silesian eagle is black and is usually depicted with golden armor , a red knocked out tongue and a red beak on a golden shield . Its special distinguishing mark is the silver chest moon with a silver cross raised in the middle , which is shaped like a clover leaf . In some variants it is shown crowned .

The Lower Silesian eagle originally goes back to the coat of arms of the Polish princeps and at the same time the piastic Duke of Silesia, Henry II the Pious . Subsequently, other Dukes of Silesia wore this coat of arms. It was initially adopted for the Lower Silesian principalities and continues to be a symbol of Czech Silesia . In contrast, a different color scheme was used in Upper Silesia since the 14th century.

The partial crowning of the Lower Silesian eagle was used from 1817. In Prussian Silesia it was depicted in the form of a ducal crown from 1864 . From 1890 the elector's hat was put on the Lower Silesian eagle . After 1918, the crown was dropped.

Today, the Lower Silesian eagle, in addition to being used for the Polish Lower Silesian Voivodeship , can also be found as part of the national coat of arms of the Czech Republic , the coat of arms of the Moravian-Silesian country in the Czech Republic and the district of Görlitz in Germany , as well as in numerous city coats of arms of Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Upper Silesian Eagle

The Upper Silesian eagle is golden and is shown standing on a blue shield with golden reinforcement and rarely with a red tongue out. In some variants it is divided and depicted over a golden scythe leaf with the tip turned to the left and the edge turned downwards. There are also crossed golden hammers in the base of the shield and a golden crown of leaves, some of which are set with precious stones .

The Upper Silesian eagle probably goes back to the coat of arms of the Bohemian liege lord Wladislaus II of Opole and the Duchy of Opole formed in 1180 . The coat of arms has been traceable in its own coloring since the 14th century. The eagle has been shown crowned since the 15th century. The split version of the coat of arms with a scythe leaf was adopted in 1926 for the Prussian province of Upper Silesia . The scythe leaf depicted in it symbolizes the agriculture that is predominant in western Upper Silesia , the crossed hammers in turn symbolizes the mining industry that predominates in eastern Upper Silesia . The halved eagle is an allusion to the division of Upper Silesia in 1922 as a result of the uprisings in Upper Silesia .

Today, the Upper Silesian eagle, in addition to the uncrowned variant for the Polish Voivodeship of Silesia and the crowned variant for the Polish Voivodeship of Opole , is also part of the coat of arms of the Moravian-Silesian country in the Czech Republic and in numerous city coats of arms in Poland and the Czech Republic.

literature

  • Maximilian Gritzner : Regional and heraldry of the Brandenburg-Prussian monarchy. History of their individual parts of the country, their rulers and coats of arms , Heymann-Verlag, Berlin 1894.

Web links

Commons : Schlesischer Adler  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Lower Silesian Eagle  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Oberschlesischer Adler  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files