At the moment, the coat of arms of Vladimir is not included, as expected, in the State Heraldic Register of Russia. But officially it has been in effect since March 1992. At the same time, it cannot be said that this is a young heraldic symbol, on the contrary, the earliest versions of it date back to 1672.
The very image of the heraldic symbol of this Russian city is made in the traditions of old Russian painting. This can be seen in the image of the main character, his pose and the drawing of small details.
Colors and main character
In any photo, the main heraldic sign of Vladimir looks very dignified, first of all, due to the restrained palette of colors. There are only three colors, but rich in symbolism and the most popular in heraldry have been chosen - scarlet for the background of the field, gold for the image of a lion, silver for a long cross.
The main "hero" of the modern coat of arms of the city of Vladimir is a lion. The formidable predatory animal is depicted facing the viewer, standing on its hind legs. In his right front paw he holds a silver cross, the head of the beast is adorned with a silver royal crown.
An excursion into the history of the coat of arms of Vladimir
Already in 1672 in the "Titular" one could read what the city's coat of arms looks like, and historians claim that the image of a predator, the so-called leopard beast, was the patrimonial mark of the princes who ruled in Vladimir. The lion (in heraldry - the leopard) traditionally symbolized strong power.
By the way, in the "Tsar's Titular", which is considered the first Russian coat of arms, the image of a lion was identical to the modern one. The animal was depicted standing on its hind legs, holding a long cross. One difference - earlier it was turned in the other direction.
Empress Catherine II left a significant mark in the history of the state, including in the heraldry of Russian cities. The coats of arms of the city and other settlements of the Vladimir governorship were approved by her in August 1781.
The heraldic symbol of the center of the governorship had the image of a predatory lion, and the cities subordinate to Vladimir had to place the image of a formidable animal on their coats of arms. Almost all settlements, except for Suzdal, complied with this requirement, the lion was present on the shield, in the upper half of the field.
The Soviet government made its own adjustments, that is, the historical coat of arms was not used in official documents, but it regularly appeared in souvenir products. True, in this case, the lion was deprived of monarchical regalia (crown) and a religious attribute (cross). In 1992, the authorities returned the legendary symbol to Vladimir.
