Coat of arms of Ustka
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The original coat of arms of Ustka, Poland (German ''Stolpmünde'') was created in 1922 by local artist Wilhelm Granzow. The artist depicted the ship,
mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...
and
fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
on the arms of his hometown of Stolpmünde, which symbolize the town's main sources of income: the seaport, tourism and fishery respectively. The
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
can be found in various places throughout the city, with the most remarkable of these being the 1922 monument by sculptor Josef Thorak named ''Der sterbende Krieger'' (The Dying Warrior) which commemorates the 76 inhabitants that perished during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. After the town became part of Poland the city arms of Stolpmünde were retained.


Blazon

The official
blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...
(in
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
) of the arms of Ustka is: :''W błękitnym polu tarczy żaglowiec trójmasztowy srebrny (z rozwiniętymi żaglami i o złotych pennantach na szczytach masztów), na falach o srebrnych grzywach. Poniżej, u podstawy tarczy, syrena ukoronowana złotą koroną, o złotych włosach i złotym (rybim) ogonie, z lewą ręką na biodrze, prawą – ujmująca dłonią rybę srebrną (łososia ).''Załącznik nr 2 do Statutu Miasta Ustka
(Attachment no. 2 to the Statute of the Town of Ustka)
The following is an unofficial English translation of the blazon: :
Azure Azure may refer to: Colour * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 ...
a sailing ship with three masts Argent, with pennants Or, on waves of the second; and in base a
mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...
roper Roper is a craftsman who makes ropes; a ropemaker. It may also refer to: Places *Roper, North Carolina, USA *Roper River, Northern Territory, Australia People * Roper (surname) Other *'' Roper v. Simmons'', a decision of the United States Sup ...
/nowiki> crowned, crined and tailed of the third, with her sinister hand on her hip and maintaining in her dexter hand a salmon of the second.Translation by
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Breasts affair

Ustka gained worldwide attention in the 2000s, as a bitter debate over a proposed alteration of the town's symbols started. In 2004, one of the town councilors proposed a modernization of the coat of arms. The temperature of a rather dull debate suddenly rose when one councilor complained, jokingly, about the current size and shape of mermaid's breasts, which, to her, seemed small and flaccid. For two years, the councilors debated the proper shape and size of breasts until they finally agreed to accept a project created by historian and heraldist Michał Marciniak-Kożuchowski. On the new coat of arms, the mermaid's breasts are significantly larger and more shapely. However, some councilors have complained that the new mermaid still lacks a
navel The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus, commonly known as the belly button or tummy button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. All placental mammals have a navel, although ...
. Ustka's citizens were divided on the issue of enlarging the mermaid's breasts. Many of them supported the idea, stating that the change could increase tourism. Others, however, were dissatisfied with the idea of the cost of a reform that seemed entirely unnecessary. A small group of disgruntled citizens even began a petition, demanding that the mermaid be removed entirely from the town's coat of arms. The whole affair provided a large dose of publicity to the town, making headlines in places as far afield as
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Also, the mermaid became Ustka's most recognizable symbol, and so has become a dominant theme of the town's promotional materials. The souvenir industry has acknowledged the potential of the mermaid and she is to be found on numerous trinkets and items in the town, often with enormous breasts.


References

{{Coats of arms of cities in Poland History of Pomerania Ustka Ustka Ustka Ustka