All regional cities of Belarus now have their own heraldic symbol. Many of them, such as the coat of arms of Vitebsk or Minsk, have a long history, but were not used in Soviet times.
Signs and Symbols
The coat of arms of Vitebsk differs from the official symbols of other Belarusian cities in that it has a complex composition, many important elements and rich symbolism. The following main groups can be distinguished:
- shield with the image of the Savior in the center and a silver sword in the lower part;
- supporters in the form of two angels with ribbons in their hands;
- a red cartouche with a baroque shape;
- decor in the form of branches and flowers.
On the shield, the central place is occupied by the image of the Savior, he is depicted in profile, facing to the right; at the top and bottom, left and right, Cyrillic letters with titles are written. At the bottom of the shield is a silver sword, its hilt is gold, the tip looks to the left.
The main symbol of the regional center pleases with a bright, rich palette. For his image, the main colors are used: red, azure, green, the latter in two shades. For coloring smaller elements, the creators of the coat of arms chose - yellow (gold), white (silver), pastel, brown.
Royal gift
The heraldic symbol of this Belarusian city appeared in 1597 thanks to the Polish king Sigismund III Vasa, who is also the Grand Duke of Lithuania. In the grand-ducal decree on the Vitebsk coat of arms, it is emphasized that the field of the shield should be "blakit", that is, blue.
In relation to the sword, the definitions "naked, scarlet" are used, and in relation to color there is a clarification - "bloody". Thus, the authors of the coat of arms wanted to emphasize that the inhabitants of the city, on the one hand, are under the patronage of the Savior, on the other hand, they themselves are ready to defend their freedom with arms in hand.
The image contains defensive and religious symbols, which is explained, first of all, by the geographical location of Vitebsk, as well as by the political and economic situation that developed around it.
Secrets of history
For a long time, Belarusian historians could not tell the world what the coat of arms of Vitebsk looks like, since the city seals were not preserved, the documents were kept in archives, but at that time they had not yet been revealed.
The book of the researcher of Vitebsk antiquity A. Sapunov is almost the only source that describes the ancient coat of arms and his photo, in the collection you can see the original images of the main symbol of the Vitebsk voivodeship, the city seal of 1559, and the coat of arms of Vitebsk in 1597.
