Coat of arms of Czechoslovakia
The coat of arms of Czechoslovakia has changed several times in the 72-year history of Czechoslovakia , with the silver double-tailed Bohemian lion being a constant.
First coat of arms 1920–1960 (ČSR)
After the dissolution of Austria-Hungary and after provisional arrangements in the first two years since the establishment of the First Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR) codified in the constitution of February 29, 1920, in three copies : small, medium and large.
The small national coat of arms (most frequently used) shows on the heraldic French shield the silver double-tailed Bohemian lion on a red background, as a sign of Bohemia , this bears a patriarchal cross , the coat of arms of Slovakia , as a breast shield .
The middle one shows the Bohemian coat of arms in front of those of the other parts of Slovakia , Carpathian Ukraine , Moravia and Silesia .
Between 1939 and 1945 , the Reich Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the Slovak State existed in place of the ČSR . The coat of arms returned to Prague in 1945 with the London government in exile.
From a heraldic point of view, the small coat of arms is misleading: The Slovak breastplate on the Bohemian Lion does not mean that the Slovak dynasty ruled in the empire of Bohemia (heraldic rule, according to which the breast or middle shield in the coat of arms are the more honorable, ruling positions).
middle coat of arms of the ČSR
large coat of arms of the ČSR
.svg)
Second coat of arms 1960–1990 (ČSSR)
A new coat of arms was introduced with the adoption of the socialist constitution in 1960, the state was renamed the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (ČSSR). The crown has been removed from the shield and a red star has been placed over the head of the double-tailed lion instead . Furthermore, the lion now bore the newly formed coat of arms of Slovakia on its chest (an artificial symbol that never really caught on. The reason for this change, however, was the removal of the Christian patriarchal cross from the socialist national coat of arms). The new unheraldic pentagonal form of the coat of arms is quite striking (so that the star fits better into the national coat of arms). The new shield shape should officially represent a Hussite shield based on the religious wars of the 15th century .
Third coat of arms 1990–1992 (ČSFR)
.svg)
After the Velvet Revolution , the Czech-Slovak state was renamed again, first to the Czechoslovak Federal Republic in the Czech and the Czech-Slovak Federal Republic in the Slovak (in March 1990). However, the state name soon gave rise to a certain degree of dissatisfaction - especially in Slovakia - and was then changed in April 1990 to the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (ČSFR) . At the same time a new coat of arms was introduced. This was intended to declare the equality of both states of the federation: In the four-part red coat of arms, the silver double-tailed Bohemian lion for the Czech Republic (Bohemia as well as Moravia and Czech Silesia) appeared diagonally twice and the reintroduced patriarchal cross for Slovakia twice.
With the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the national coat of arms of the joint Czech-Slovak state also expired; The Czech Republic and Slovakia each continue to use their own coat of arms from 1990.
Remarks
- ↑ Act No. 163/1960 Coll. On the state coat of arms and the state flag ( Zákon o státním znaku ao státní vlajce ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to instructions and then remove this notice. )
