The coat of arms of the city of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, the capital of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, has a lesser and a greater version. The coat of arms was first introduced in the 15th century (when the city of Prague corresponded to what is now the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

district). It consisted of three silver towers on a red shield. The coat of arms was improved by Frederick III in 1462, in recognition of the service of king

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...

, by replacing the silver tincture by gold. The full coat of arms in this period showed an imperial crown in the crest and two Bohemian lions as supporters. In 1649, after the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

, Ferdinand III added an armour arm in silver holding a silver sword emerging from the city gate. This symbol represents the effective

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...

of the city against the

Swedish army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav ...

during the

Thirty Years war The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

. Ferdinand also added a crest showing the Habsburg eagle and his

monogram A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series ...

FIII. The coat of arms was inherited by the modern city of Prague upon its formation in 1784, when the four boroughs (

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

Hradčany Hradčany (; german: Hradschin), the Castle District, is the district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic surrounding Prague Castle. The castle is one of the biggest in the world at about in length and an average of about wide. Its histo ...

and Lesser Town were unified. The Habsburg eagle in the crest was replaced by a third Bohemian lion in 1918, and the motto ''Praha matka měst'' ("Prague, the mother of cities") was added. During the communist period, the lion in the crest was shown with a red five-pointed star instead of a crown. The current version of the greater coat of arms, designed by Karel Pánek, was adopted in 1991. It restored the crown of the Bohemian lion in the crest and changed the motto to PRAGA CAPUT REI PUBLICAE ("Prague, the Capital of the Republic"). The number of bricks shown corresponds to the number of cadastral subdivisions of Prague, currently 112.

Previous versions

File:Lauf_Wappen_Praga.jpg, Coat of arms in its oldest known form (c. 1360) File:Coat_of_arms_of_Prague_in_Austria.png, Coat of arms in the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

and

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(1649–1918) File:Coat_of_arms_of_Prague_(before_1960).jpg, Coat of arms in the Czechoslovak Republic (1927–1941)
(1945–1964) File:Coat_of_arms_of_socialist_Prague.png, Coat of arms in the Czechoslovak Socialist and

Czech and Slovak Federative Republic After the Velvet Revolution in late-1989, Czechoslovakia adopted the official short-lived country name Czech and Slovak Federative Republic ( cz, Česká a Slovenská Federativní Republika, sk, Česká a Slovenská Federatívna Republika; ''� ...

(1964–1991)

References

{{Reflist 1649 introductions 1991 introductions

Culture in Prague History of Prague

Previous versions

See also

References