Coat of arms of Saint Petersburg

Coat of arms of Saint Petersburg
Details
Adopted 2003
Earlier versions
Use Saint Petersburg City Administration and the City Governor
Adopted April 23, 2003

The coat of arms of Saint Petersburg is the official symbol of the city and was adopted in April 2003.

History

Historical coat of arms of St. Petersburg, was approved in 1730, confirmed in 1780, amended in 1857, had not been cancelled and re-entered into use in 1991, is the oldest and the main official symbol of St. Petersburg. Served as the prototype of the Vatican coat of arms, as the city of St. Peter.

After the October Revolution, and until the collapse of the Soviet Union (1917–1991 years), coat of arms of the city was not used. Firstly, because it bore the symbol of imperial power, incompatible with the official ideology of the regime then ruled. Secondly, the widespread use of city emblems and flags did not exist in the Soviet tradition. Often, instead of the coat of arms of the city at this time to use arbitrary symbols, such as a boat from the spire of the Admiralty.

Only in the spring of 1989 the city government of Leningrad initiated the need for the city emblem. A city-wide competition was declared to design and has been appointed a cash prize to the winner. Exhibition projects of the new coat of arms was opened in May 1989 in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Against this initiative acted Historical Society patriotic "Russian Banner", which organized the protest and petition for the revival of the historical coat of arms of St. Petersburg (video of the event were shown on TV and are reflected in the urban media). As a result, the idea to establish a new - Soviet - the emblem of the Northern capital was abandoned, the public opinion of citizens inclined to revive existing since the time of Peter the Great, the city emblem, what was officially re-enacted in 1991.

The current coat of arms was adopted on April 23, 2003.

Description

Coat of arms of Saint-Petersburg is a red heraldic shield with its field of two silver anchors - Maritime (diagonally from left to right from the viewer, paws in the upper left corner of the viewer from the switchboard has two legs and a cross piece on ankershtoke) and River (diagonally from right to left from the viewer, paws in the upper right corner of the viewer panel, has four legs and deprived of lateral parts on ankershtoke), laid crosswise, and on them the golden scepter with a double-headed eagle.

The shield is crowned with an imperial crown with two coming out of her St. Andrew azure ribbons. Behind the shield two laid crosswise gold adorned with diamonds and enamel Russian scepter connected St Andrew azure ribbon.

Heraldic description of the coat of arms of St. Petersburg says: "In the dark red field gold Russian scepter over two overturned silver anchors sea and river, about four teeth, crosswise. The shield is crowned Russian imperial crown and put it on top of two Russian scepter natural color connected ribbon of St. Andrew."

May be reproduced in the coat of arms of St. Petersburg in abbreviated versions, due to historical and heraldic: without the imperial crown above the shield, without azure ribbons coming out of the imperial crown, without the two Russian scepter, connected Andreev azure ribbon and a golden scepter with a double-headed eagle and two silver anchors - sea and river, laid crosswise, out of the shield.

Scepter from ancient times is a sign of the rulers, in this case a scepter surmounted by an eagle state, symbolized monarchical royal power, and that St. Petersburg - the capital of the Russian Empire. Two silver anchors, one of which - two-bladed, with a cross in the ring - the sea, the other - a four-blade, with a ring - "river cat" meant that the city - sea and river port. Anchors express the idea of Peter the Great on the way out to the sea through river ways. Red of the shield recalls the bloody battles against the Swedes in the Great Northern War.

See also

References

External links

Media related to Coats of arms of Saint Petersburg at Wikimedia Commons

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