Coat of arms of Prague

Last updated
Coat of arms of Prague
Coat of arms of Prague.svg
Versions
Praha CoA CZ small.svg
Lesser coat of arms
Armiger Capital City of Prague
Adopted1649 / 1991
Motto Praga Caput Rei publicae
(English: Prague, Head of the Republic)

The coat of arms of the city of Prague , the capital of the Czech Republic, has a lesser and a greater version.

Contents

The coat of arms was first introduced in the 15th century (when the city of Prague corresponded to what is now the Old Town district). It consisted of three silver towers on a red shield. The coat of arms was improved by Frederick III in 1462, in recognition of the service of king George of Poděbrady, by replacing the silver tincture by gold. The full coat of arms in this period showed an imperial crown in the crest and two Bohemian lions as supporters.

In 1649, after the Thirty Years' War, Ferdinand III added an armour arm in silver holding a silver sword emerging from the city gate. This symbol represents the effective defense of the city against the Swedish army during the Thirty Years war. [1] Ferdinand also added a crest showing the Habsburg eagle and his monogram FIII.

The coat of arms was inherited by the modern city of Prague upon its formation in 1784, when the four boroughs (Old Town, New Town, Hradčany and Lesser Town were unified. [2] The Habsburg eagle in the crest was replaced by a third Bohemian lion in 1918, and the motto Praha matka měst ("Prague, the mother of cities") was added. During the communist period, the lion in the crest was shown with a red five-pointed star instead of a crown. The current version of the greater coat of arms, designed by Karel Pánek, was adopted in 1991. [1] It restored the crown of the Bohemian lion in the crest and changed the motto to PRAGA CAPUT REI PUBLICAE ("Prague, the Capital of the Republic"). [3]

The number of bricks shown corresponds to the number of cadastral subdivisions of Prague, currently 112. [4]

Previous versions

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Czech lands</span> Overview of the history of the Czech lands

The history of the Czech lands – an area roughly corresponding to the present-day Czech Republic – starts approximately 800,000 years BCE. A simple chopper from that age was discovered at the Red Hill archeological site in Brno. Many different primitive cultures left their traces throughout the Stone Age, which lasted approximately until 2000 BCE. The most widely known culture present in the Czech lands during the pre-historical era is the Únětice Culture, leaving traces for about five centuries from the end of the Stone Age to the start of the Bronze Age. Celts – who came during the 5th century BCE – are the first people known by name. One of the Celtic tribes were the Boii (plural), who gave the Czech lands their first name Boiohaemum – Latin for the Land of Boii. Before the beginning of the Common Era the Celts were mostly pushed out by Germanic tribes. The most notable of those tribes were the Marcomanni and traces of their wars with the Roman Empire were left in south Moravia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of the Philippines</span> National coat of arms of the Philippines

The coat of arms of the Philippines features the eight-rayed sun of the Philippines with each ray representing the eight provinces which were placed under martial law by Governor-General Ramón Blanco Sr. during the Philippine Revolution, and the three five-pointed stars representing the three major island groups of Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Czech lands</span> Historical regions of the Czech Republic

The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands are the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia. Together the three have formed the Czech part of Czechoslovakia since 1918, the Czech Socialist Republic since 1 January 1969 and the Czech Republic since 1 January 1993. The Czech lands are also referred to as Czechia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lands of the Bohemian Crown (1526–1648)</span>

Although the Kingdom of Bohemia, both of the Lusatias, the Margraviate of Moravia, and Silesia were all under Habsburg rule, they followed different paths of development. Moravians and Silesians had accepted the hereditary right of the Austrian Habsburgs to rule and thus escaped the intense struggle between native estates and the Habsburg monarchy that was to characterize Bohemian history. In contrast, the Bohemian Kingdom had entrenched estates that were ready to defend what they considered their rights and liberties. The Habsburgs pursued a policy of centralization and conflict arose, which was further complicated by ethnic and religious issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of Romania</span> National coat of arms of Romania

The coat of arms of Romania was adopted in the Romanian Parliament on 10 September 1992 as a representative coat of arms for Romania. The current coat of arms is based on the lesser coat of arms of interwar Kingdom of Romania, which was designed in 1921 by the Transylvanian Hungarian heraldist József Sebestyén from Cluj, at the request of King Ferdinand I of Romania, it was redesigned by Victor Dima. As a central element, it shows a golden aquila holding a cross in its beak, and a mace and a sword in its claws. It also consists of the three colors which represent the colors of the national flag. The coat of arms was augmented on 11 July 2016 to add a representation of the Steel Crown of Romania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of Russia</span> National coat of arms of Russia

The coat of arms of Russia derives from the earlier coat of arms of the Russian Empire. Though modified more than once since the reign of Ivan III (1462–1505), the current coat of arms is directly derived from its medieval original, with the double-headed eagle having Byzantine and earlier antecedents. The general tincture corresponds to the fifteenth-century standard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of the Netherlands</span> National coat of arms of the Netherlands

The coat of arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was originally adopted in 1815 and later modified in 1907. The arms are a composite of the arms of the former Dutch Republic and the arms of the House of Nassau, it features a checkered shield with a lion grasping a sword in one hand and a bundle of arrows in the other and is the heraldic symbol of the monarch and the country. The monarch uses a version of the arms with a mantle while the government of the Netherlands uses a smaller version without the mantle (cloak) or the pavilion, sometimes only the shield and crown are used. The components of the coats of arms were regulated by Queen Wilhelmina in a royal decree of 10 July 1907, affirmed by Queen Juliana in a royal decree of 23 April 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lands of the Bohemian Crown</span> Incorporated states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods

The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were the states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods with feudal obligations to the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of Bohemia, an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire according to the Golden Bull of 1356, the Margraviate of Moravia, the Duchies of Silesia, and the two Lusatias, known as the Margraviate of Upper Lusatia and the Margraviate of Lower Lusatia, as well as other territories throughout its history. This agglomeration of states nominally under the rule of the Bohemian kings was referred to simply as Bohemia. They are now sometimes referred to in scholarship as the Czech lands, a direct translation of the Czech abbreviated name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Bohemia</span> Monarchy in Central Europe (1198–1918), predecessor of modern Czechia

The Kingdom of Bohemia, sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the predecessor of the modern Czech Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudeten Germans</span> Ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands before 1945

German Bohemians, later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part of Czechoslovakia. Before 1945, over three million German Bohemians constituted about 23% of the population of the whole country and about 29.5% of the population of Bohemia and Moravia. Ethnic Germans migrated into the Kingdom of Bohemia, an electoral territory of the Holy Roman Empire, from the 11th century, mostly in the border regions of what was later called the "Sudetenland", which was named after the Sudeten Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bohemian crown jewels</span> Jewelry on the crown of Saint Wenceslas

The Bohemian crown jewels, also called the Czech crown jewels, include the Crown of Saint Wenceslas, the royal orb and sceptre, the coronation vestments of the Kings of Bohemia, the gold reliquary cross, and St. Wenceslas' sword. They were originally held in Prague and Karlštejn Castle, designed in the 14th century by Matthias of Arras. Since 1791 they have been stored in St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle. Reproductions of the jewels are permanently exhibited in the historical exposition at the former royal palace in the castle. The crown was made for the coronation of Charles IV in 1347, making it the fourth oldest in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of the Czech Republic</span> National coat of arms of the Czech Republic

The coat of arms of the Czech Republic is divided into two principal variants. Greater coat of arms displays the three historical regions—the Czech lands—which make up the nation. Lesser coat of arms displays lone silver double-tailed lion in red shield. The current coats of arms, which was adopted in 1992, was designed by Czech heraldist Jiří Louda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of Czechoslovakia</span>

The coat of arms of Czechoslovakia were changed many times during Czechoslovakia’s history, some alongside each other. This reflects the turbulent history of the country and a wish to use appropriate territorial coats of arms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Schwarzenberg</span>

The House of Schwarzenberg is a German (Franconian) and Czech (Bohemian) aristocratic family, and it was one of the most prominent European noble houses. The Schwarzenbergs are members of the German nobility and Czech nobility, and they held the rank of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire. The family belongs to the high nobility and traces its roots to the Lords of Seinsheim during the Middle Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kłodzko Land</span> Historical region in Poland

Kłodzko Land is a historical region in southwestern Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County of Kladsko</span> Historical administrative unit of Bohemia

The County of Kladsko was a historical administrative unit within Bohemia as a part of the Kingdom of Bohemia and later in the Kingdom of Prussia with its capital at Kłodzko (Kladsko) on the Nysa river. The territory comprises the Kłodzko Land with the Kłodzko Valley in center within the Sudetes mountain range and roughly corresponds with the present-day Kłodzko County in the Polish Lower Silesian Voivodeship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Moravia</span> Flag

An official appearance of the flag of Moravia, unlike the provincial Moravian coat of arms, does not exist, because such a flag has never been granted to Moravia. However, there are several documented variants of Moravian flags used in the past. The first recorded version dates from the mid-13th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Czech heraldry</span>

Czech heraldry was formed from 12th to 13th century by Premyslid dukes and kings of Bohemia, beginning with flaming eagle of Saint Wenceslaus on coins of Duke Frederick in 1179.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of Moravia</span> Heraldic symbol representing Moravia

The coat of arms of Moravia has been used for centuries to represent Moravia, a traditional province in the present-day Czech Republic. The coat of arms is also present in a field of the coat of arms of the Czech Republic.

References

  1. 1 2 Lisiak, Agata Anna (2010). Urban Cultures in (post)colonial Central Europe. Purdue University Press. p. 74.
  2. (in English) "Emblem and Flag". praguewelcome.cz. Retrieved 2014-10-03.
  3. Václav Vojtíšek, Znak Hlavního Mešta Prahy / Les Armoires de la Ville de Prague (1928), cited after nakedtourguideprague.com (2015).
  4. "Cadastral territory Prague". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.