The Belgian city of Antwerp is a true treasury of European art. The modern tourist can visit numerous galleries, museums, antique shops and art workshops. So connoisseurs of European classics should definitely drop in here and take a few photos as a souvenir.
However, despite all its bohemianness, Antwerp is also the second most important port in Europe, around which the whole history of the city is tied. Since the founding of the first settlement here (about the 7th century), these lands have been regularly attacked by neighbors, so the history of the city was very turbulent. And this fully reflects the coat of arms of Antwerp.
Description of the coat of arms
The coat of arms of Antwerp has an extremely interesting design. The image contains not only elements characteristic of European heraldry, but also special details inherent only in this city. The whole composition consists of the following elements: shield; castle wall; hands; Crown; branches with blossoming flowers; supporters in the form of a man and a woman.
History of creation
The appearance of the coat of arms of Antwerp has remained practically unchanged in its entire history. The only change took place already in the 19th century - then the support holders and the frame of branches and flowers were added.
The most interesting part of the coat of arms is the hands, or rather the hands. There are several meanings of this symbol. The most popular version says that this is due to the custom, according to which earlier criminals who committed atrocities in this city were cut off their hands and thrown them outside the city wall.
According to another version, the hands fell on the city's coat of arms as a tribute to an old local legend. It tells that once upon a time a cruel and terrible giant lived on these lands, who demanded tribute from sailors. And for those who did not have money, or simply did not want to pay, the giant chopped off their brushes.
Other symbols are more traditional. For example, a castle wall and a crown are symbols of power, reliability and protection.
As for the last addition - flowers, they are used relatively infrequently in European heraldry, but they also have a rich history. In this case (given the presence of oak leaves in the crowns of the supporters), the flowers symbolize strength and power, as well as wisdom and spiritual development. And in general, this is quite consistent with the spirit of Antwerp, so we can assume that the compilers of the coat of arms did a great job.
