The coat of arms of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

( hu, Magyarország címere) was adopted on 3 July 1990, after the end of communist rule. The arms have been used before, both with and without the

Holy Crown of Hungary The Holy Crown of Hungary ( hu, Szent Korona; sh, Kruna svetoga Stjepana; la, Sacra Corona; sk, Svätoštefanská koruna , la, Sacra Corona), also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, named in honour of Saint Stephen I of Hungary, was the c ...

, sometimes as part of a larger, more complex coat of arms, and its elements date back to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. The shield is split into two parts: * The dexter (the right side from the bearer's perspective, the left side from the viewer's) features the so-called Árpád stripes, four Gules (red) and four Argent (silver) stripes. Traditionally, the silver stripes represent four rivers: Duna (Danube),

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders. The Tisza be ...

Dráva The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

, and

Száva The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...

. * The sinister (the left side from the bearer's perspective, the right side from the viewer's) consists of an Argent (silver) double cross on Gules (red) base, situated inside a small Or (golden) crown, the crown is placed on the middle heap of three Vert (green) hills, representing the mountain ranges (

trimount In heraldry, a mount (also mountain, hill, hillock) is a representation of a hill or mountain as a curved terrace in base. When the mount is included in the lower part of the shield, it may be considered an ordinary rather than a charge. A trimou ...

) Tátra,

Mátra The Mátra ( sk, Matra) is a mountain range in northern Hungary, between the towns Gyöngyös and Eger. The country's highest peak, Kékestető (1014 m), belongs to this mountain range. The Mátra is part of the North Hungarian Mountains ...

, and Fátra. Atop the shield rests the Holy Crown of St. Stephen (

Stephen I of Hungary Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen ( hu, Szent István király ; la, Sanctus Stephanus; sk, Štefan I. or Štefan Veľký; 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the ...

, István király), a crown that remains in the Parliament building (

Országház The Hungarian Parliament Building ( hu, Országház , which translates to "House of the Country" or "House of the Nation"), also known as the Parliament of Budapest after its location, is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary, a notable ...

) in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

today.

History

Kingdom of Hungary

The most common motifs of the ninth and the early tenth centuries -the griffin, wolf and hind- seldom figure in later Hungarian iconography and heraldic symbolism, however the Hawk or

Turul The Turul is a mythological bird of prey, mostly depicted as a Falcon, in Hungarian tradition and Turkic tradition, and a national symbol of Hungarians. Origin The Turul is probably based on a large falcon. The Hungarian language word ''tur ...

which in shamanistic lore rested upon the tree of life connecting the earth with the netherworld and the skies preserved for longer as a device belonging to the ruling house. }) after Lajos Kossuth, Regent-President of Hungary (so unlike the name suggests, it was ''not'' the coat of arms of the Kossuth family). In the large coat of arms, however, a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel (''Prunus laurocerasus''). It is a s ...

replaced the crown both in the central piece and above the shield, as shown on the adjacent image. , - , Wappen Ungarische Länder 1867 (Mittel)

, In the following centuries, the coat of arms of Hungary became more and more complex. It included the coats of arms of the territories which were part of the

Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen ( hu, a Szent Korona Országai), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River) were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire exis ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, Dalmatia,

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baran ...

, and Bosnia, but the so-called "small coat of arms" always remained the central piece. (The more complex ones were called "medium" and "large coat of arms".) The adjacent image shows the medium coat of arms, in official use (with some modifications) from the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 till the end of

World War I 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 ...

(1918). The outer pieces (anti-clockwise from top left) are the coats of arms of Dalmatia,

, Bosnia (added in 1915),

Fiume Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. When Hungary became part of the Habsburg monarchy, the coat of arms became a part of that of the Monarchy, but later it became of marginal importance and during the reign of

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

– who did not even have himself crowned with the Holy Crown – it was omitted from the coins. , - , Wappen Ungarische Länder 1915 (Mittel)

, Used from 1915 to 1918. After the revolution was repressed, the Hungarian coat of arms was not used again until the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, when the small coat of arms with the crown once more became a part of a more complex coat of arms, similar to the medium coat of arms shown above. The Hungarian arms also became part of the combined

coat of arms of Austria-Hungary The coat of arms of Austria-Hungary was that country's symbol during its existence from the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 to its dissolution in 1918. The double-headed eagle of the ruling House of Habsburg-Lorraine was used by the common Im ...

. , -

Changes during the 20th Century

Honours

* In May and June 1946 a set of eight stamps of Coat of arms of Hungary was issued. These are the issues of inflation. * Further, a fourteen-stamp set of Arms and Post-horn were issued May and June 1946; these are also the issues of inflation. * Four commemorative stamps were issued on 15 March 1948 as part of the series: Centenary of the beginning of Hungary’s war for Independence. * In 20 August 1949 three stamps of Arms of Hungary were issued on the occasion of the Adoption of the Hungarian Peoples’ Republic’s Constitution. * On 23 May 1958 three stamps were issued to commemorate the first anniversary of the law amending the constitution. * Between 1941–45 as many as 44 Postage-Due stamps of various denominations, watermarks and paper were issued.14 Some other stamps were also issued.

References

Bálint Hóman Bálint Hóman (29 December 1885 – 2 June 1951) was a Hungarian scholar and politician who served as Minister of Religion and Education twice: between 1932–1938 and between 1939–1942. He died in prison in 1951 for his support of the fasc ...

: A magyar címer történetéhez ("Additions to the history of the coat of arms of Hungary"), 192

(Hungarian) *Iván Bertényi: Államcímerünk kialakulása ("Emergence of the state coat of arms"), 200

(Hungarian) *József Laszlovszky: A magyar címer története ("History of the Hungarian coat of arms"), Egyetemi Nyomda, Budapest, 1989, p. 39 13. colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/6955-Hungary/year/1958/page/4. Mi:HU 1529A-32A, Sn:HU 1191–93, Yt:HU 1245–47. 14. colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/6955-Hungary/year/1941/page/4,5. colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/6955-Hungary/year/1942/page/4. colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/6955-Hungary/year/1944/page/2,3. colnect.com/en/stamps/list/country/6955-Hungary/year/1945/page/10,11,12.

External links

The Hungarian Coat of Arms

(in Hungarian, with pictures)

(in French, with pictures)
2011 CCII law
(on the use of Hungary's coat of arms and flag, as well as awards) from njt.hu {{Hungary topics Hungarian coats of arms