Coat of arms of Moravia
(painted by Hugo Gerard Ströhl) was never officially used and accepted by the Moravian parliament
The coat of arms of Moravia has been used for centuries representing Moravia, a traditional province in present-day Czech Republic. The arms is also present in one of the fields in the greater coat of arms of the Czech Republic.
The coat of arms of Moravia is charged with a crowned white-red chequered eagle with golden claws and tongue. It first appeared in the seal of Margrave Přemysl (1209-1239), a younger son of King Ottokar I of Bohemia.[1]
From 1272 onwards, it was also displayed in the town seal of Znojmo, bearing a 'Z' as escutcheon. In the days of the Habsburg Monarchy, the eagle's colours changed to gold and red, the Habsburg family colours. In 1758, the citizens of Olomouc were granted the Moravian coat of arms by Maria Theresa in thanks for their defence against Prussian troops under King Frederick the Great during the Seven Years' War, then with the initials 'F' (for Emperor Francis I), 'M' and 'T' (for Maria Theresa).
From 1915 to 1918 the Moravian Eagle was chequered in red and gold instead of the traditional red and silver, but this was never popular among the Moravians.
References
- ↑ Prinz, Friedrich (1993). Deutsche Geschichte in Osten Europas: Böhmen und Mähren. Berlin: Wolf Jobst Siedler Verlag GmbH. p. 381. ISBN 3-88680-200-0. Retrieved 25 February 2013.