Town Coat of Arms

Новостей за существование

THE TOWN COAT OF ARMS. For the first time the scene of Grodno coat of arms was fixed on the seals of the local government in the 2nd half of the 16 c. In accordance with Queen Bona's privilage of 1540, on Tuesday before holiday of Marie Magdalena, vojt & lavniki were permitted to have a seal. On the seal of 1565 (the earliest from the known) a rapidly running red deer with a cross between horns is expressed (so-called 'St. Gubert Deer'). In medieval Europe St. Gubert was considered to be a protector of huntspeople, and this allegory became the emblem of the city not accidentally.

Hunting was one of the main occupations of Grodno inhabitants, located nearby great forest massives - Grodnenskoy and Belovezhskoy Pushchas. According to arheolog. excavations percentage of the bones of the wild animals in layers of Grodno the highest in comparison with the other Belorussian towns (57%). Town's coat of arms with image of the deer was placed on town building,banners, town property, etc. Before the beginning of the 19th century. After the foundation of Grodno province (1801), it was given the coat of arms (1802) with the image of the armed knight on horse in its upper part (so named 'chase'), in lower - bizon on a silver field. As a result modifications of guberniya's coat of arms the 'chase' was abolished in 1845, the bizon's image was changed in 1878,the coat of armes was added imperial crown, ribbons, oak leaves. Simultaneously, the project of Grodno coat of arms was designed (6.3.1859) with the image of bizon, however officially it was not approved by the Senate.