| |
| |
|
 |
The
Lublin Blazon
was created when the Bystrzyca
stronghold was granted city
rights in 1317. From the image of
a goat in the blazon, Lublin was
often referred to as the "goat
town".
The oldest
preserved city seal with the
image of the blazon dates back to
1401. Throughout centuries, the
image of the "Lublin
goat" evolved a number of
times, so that the likeable
animal was more and more
apparently climbing and nibbling
on the grapevine.
The current
blazon of the city reflects the
original one, and has been used
since July 8th 2004, when it was
chosen by a resolution of the
City Council no. 465/XXI/2004.
|
The same
resolution also specified the
appearance of The
Banner of the City of Lublin,
The
Official Banner of the City of
Lublin, as well
as The
Lublin Bugle-Call.
Images of the mentioned symbols,
with the colour patterns and
score, constitute an appendix to
the Lublin City Status of
February 24th 2005, accepted by
the resolution of the City
Council no. 609/XXVIII/2005.
History
of the Coat of Arms Goat
The coat
of arms of Lublin
has a long and
fascinating history
dating back to 1317
when the town received
its charter under the Law
of Magdeburg.
In order to authenticate
legal acts passed by the
municipal authorities,
relevant seals had to be
made. They usually bore
coats of arms associated
with the town and served
as its graphic symbol.
The oldest impression of
a Lublin seal that has
been preserved to this
day dates back to 1401. |
Old City Seal with
the image of the goat
|
It has an effigy of a
shaggy goat with horns
extending to its rump and
an inscription reading S(igillum)
CIVITATIS
LVBLINENSIS. In
keeping with medieval
traditions, the coat of
arms is highly stylized
and the goat represents a
species which can still
be found in the Caucasian
Mountains and in Asia
Minor. This animal has
scimitar-like horns bent
backwards and relatively
thick hair. In those days
the goat represented all
that was good.
In Antiquity the
goat was an attribute of
Venus and Bacchus. Found
in mountainous regions,
the goat became a symbol
of human pursuit to lofty
ideals and to God. The
goat was also associated
with fertility of
nature blessed by God.
In order to exemplify
this fertility, the coat
of arms pictured a goat
leaning against a vine
and gnawing at its
leaves. Such a picture
can also be seen on the
left door leaf of the
cathedral in Gniezno, the
first capital of Poland.
During the
Renaissance, the image of
Lublin's goat was visibly
enriched. A white goat
stood rampant at the
vine. The grass from
which the vine grows was
added in the 16th c.
The 17th c.
mayor's seal is charged
with a goat rampant lined
with Baroque ornaments,
while the seal of the
gmina administrator bears
a picture of a demi-goat
and two vine grapes.
The next century saw many
other images of the goat
including one jumping to
the left and placed on an
ornamental shield, and
one without the vine
emblazoned on a shield
topped with a crown. The
seal of the gmina
administrator is charged
with a ram's head and the
shield is lined with palm
boughs.
Following the
Congress of Vienna in
1815, Lublin belonged to
the Kingdom of Poland
which fell under the
domination of Tsarist
Russia. Lublin's coat of
arms was found
exclusively in heraldry
books and printed matters
like pools tickets, since
officially only the
national emblem was
admitted for use. It was
not until Poland regained
its independence 1918
that a return to the
original coat of arms of
Lublin was made possible.
Its redesigned version was
approved in 1936
and survived the Nazi
occupation during the
Second World War. After
the war, the emblem with
the goat was printed on
identification cards and
public transport tickets.
|
An architectonic detail
depicting the blazon
|
The
year 2004 saw another
modification of the
emblem. The
white goat has all four
hooves (three in the
previous design) and it
is painted against red
and white background -
incidentally, white, red
and green are the colours
of the flag of Lublin.
Over the seven centuries
the coat of arms goat has
evolved from a hairy
formidable animal to a
friendly goat - nimble
and proud on the one hand
and a bit perverse and
stubborn on the other -
but perhaps this could
also be said of Lublin
and its inhabitants. |
| |
The oldest
panorama of
Lublin dating back to
1618,
after A. Hogenberg
|
click to enlarge
|
|
|
|
|
)
