The coat of arms of the

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

() is divided into two principal variants. Greater coat of arms displays the three

historical regions History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

—the

Czech lands The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands (, ) is a historical-geographical term which denotes the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia out of which Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic and Slovakia, were formed. ...

—which make up the nation. Lesser coat of arms displays lone silver double-tailed lion in red shield. The current coats of arms, which was adopted in 1992, was designed by Czech heraldist Jiří Louda.

Background

File:Small coat of arms of the Czech Republic.svg,

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

and whole

File:Znak Moravy.svg,

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

File:Znak Slezska.svg,

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

The arms of

show a silver double-tailed

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

on a red background. This Bohemian Lion makes up the first and the fourth quarters of the greater coat of arms, so it is repeated in the shield. The

n red-and-silver chequered

eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

is shown on a blue background. Between 1915 and 1918 the Moravian Eagle was chequered in the red-and-gold colors. The arms of

is a black eagle with the clover stalk (lat. ''perisonium'') in its breast on a golden background, although only a small south-eastern part of the historical region (

Czech Silesia Czech Silesia (; ) is the part of the historical region of Silesia now in the Czech Republic. While it currently has no formal boundaries, in a narrow geographic sense, it encompasses most or all of the territory of the Czech Republic within the ...

) belongs to the Czech Republic (the main part is now in Poland). The rulers of Bohemia originally identified with a St. Wenceslas flaming eagle. In the 12th century, Emperor Frederick granted new arms to King Vladislaus II consisting of a silver lion on a red field, to symbolise his valor. The lion was at first represented with one tail. Later a second tail was added, for the help provided by the King Přemysl Otakar I fighting the Saxons (A legend from Dalimil's chronicle). During the first half of the 13th century the kings of Bohemia used a coat of arms bearing a black eagle in a silver shield. Red gonfanons had appeared earlier. From 1253 a two-tailed silver lion in a red field had been the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bohemia. This lion was originally a sign of the Moravian margraves.Rostislav Nový: K počátkům feudální monarchie v Čechách II. Časopis národního musea 1978. The oldest surviving full color depiction of the arms of Bohemia appears in the Passional of Abbes Cunegund from the 1310s. The Moravian Eagle was first documented on the seal of Ottokar's uncle, Margrave Přemysl (d. 1239). The Silesian Eagle stems from the ruling dynasty of the Piasts and was first applied by Duke

Henry II the Pious Henry II the Pious (; 1196 – 9 April 1241) was Duke of Silesia and High Duke of Poland as well as Duke of South-Greater Poland from 1238 until his death. Between 1238 and 1239 he also served as regent of Sandomierz and Opole– Racibórz. He ...

(1238–1241). The shields also appeared on the emblems of the

Crown of Bohemia The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were the states in Central Europe during the medieval and early modern periods with feudal obligations to the Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted of the Kingdom of Bohemia, an electorate of the Hol ...

established by Emperor Charles IV. The greater shield was also used as the badge for the Czech national ice hockey team until 2018. The

Czech national football team The Czech Republic national football team (), recognised by FIFA as Czechia, represents the Czech Republic in men's international football. The team is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FAČR). Historically, the team ...

also featured it in their shirts, until being replaced with a newer, more streamlined badge featuring only the Bohemian lion, since the

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

Variants

Greater version

The greater coat of arms is blazoned in Czech law as follows: ''A shield quartered: first and fourth gules, a

rampant queue forchée argent armed, langued and crowned Or; second azure, an eagle displayed chequé gules and argent armed, langued and crowned Or; third Or, an eagle displayed sable armed and langued gules crowned of the field and charged on the breast with a crescent terminating in trefoils at each end with issuing from the centrepoint a cross patée argent.''

Lesser version

The lesser coat of arms is blazoned in Czech law:Original text of Czech statute 1993:3, 1 §, states: ''Malý státní znak tvoří červený štít, v němž je stříbrný dvouocasý lev ve skoku se zlatou korunou a zlatou zbrojí.'' ''The lesser national coat of arms is a red shield, in it a silver double-tailed lion rampant with golden crown and golden armament.''

History

Czech lands

Plamenna orlice kunhuta.jpg,

Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemysl (, , ) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–1306), as well as in parts of Poland (including Silesia ...

(

Duchy of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia, also later referred to in English as the Czech Duchy, (Old Czech: ) was a monarchy and a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages, Early and High M ...

)
Right: The earliest known colored coat of arms of Přemyslids depicted in the Passional of Abbes Kunigunde (1310s) Nejstarší dochované barevné vyobrazení znaku Čech, hrad Gozzoburg v Kremži.jpeg,

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

(Royal Arms of Bohemia)
Right: The oldest depiction of coat of arms of Bohemia, castle Gozzoburg in Krems, fresco painting from the beginning of 1270s Nejstarší dochované barevné vyobrazení znaku markraběcí Moravy, hrad Gozzoburg v Kremži.jpeg, Right: The oldest depiction of coat of arms of Moravia, castle Gozzoburg in Krems, fresco painting from the beginning of 1270s Lev erb kunhuta.jpg, Lesser Royal Arms of

Right: Colored coat of arms of Bohemia depicted in the Passional of Abbes Kunigunde (1310s) Wappen Königreich Böhmen.jpg, Royal Arms of Bohemia by

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n heraldist

Hugo Gerard Ströhl Hugo Gerard Ströhl (24 September 1851 – 7 December 1919) was an Austrian heraldist. Life Ströhl was born in Wels in Upper Austria. A talented painter, he studied at the School for Applied Arts (" Kunstgewerbeschule des Österreichisc ...

(1851–1919) King-of-Bohemia.jpg,

(Royal Arms of Bohemia) Přemyslovci erb.svg, Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bohemia (Wenceslaus II of Bohemia).svg, Coat of arms of the Margraviate of Moravia (Wenceslaus II).svg, Lesser coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bohemia (Wenceslaus II of Bohemia).svg, Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bohemia.svg, Moravská orlice s klenotem.jpg, later form

Bohemian Crown lands

Silesia_arms_Blaeu.png,

Duchies of Silesia The Duchies of Silesia were the more than twenty divisions of the region of Silesia formed between the 12th and 14th centuries by the breakup of the Duchy of Silesia, then part of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1335, the duchies were ceded to the King ...

Coat of arms of Bohemian Crown.svg,

Lands of the Bohemian Crown The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were the states in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval and early modern periods with feudalism, feudal obligations to the List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted o ...

(simplified) Coat of arms of the House of Luxembourg-Bohemia.svg, Lesser Royal Arms of

Blason Boheme couronne.svg, Royal Arms of Bohemia with crown of Saint Wenceslas

Lands of the Bohemian Crown

Coat of arms of the lands of the Bohemian Crown.svg , Coat of arms of the

Znak českého království.png , Coat of arms of the

Czechoslovakia

Lesser arms of Bohemia and Moravia (1939-1945).svg, Provisional coat of arms of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

(1919–1920) Greater coat of arms of Czechoslovakia (1918-1938 and 1945-1961).svg, Greater coat of arms of Czechoslovakia (1920–1960) Middle coat of arms of Czechoslovakia.svg, Middle coat of arms of Czechoslovakia (1920–1960) Lesser coat of arms of Czechoslovakia.svg,

Lesser coat of arms of Czechoslovakia Lesser, from Eliezer (, "Help/Court of my God"), is a surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a give ...

(1920–1960) Coat of arms of Czechoslovakia (1960–1990).svg,

(1960–1990) Herb Czechosłowacji (1990-1992).svg,

(1990–1992)

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia

Greater arms of Bohemia and Moravia (1939-1945).svg, Greater coat of arms of the

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially-annexation, annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German occupation of the Czech lands. The protector ...

(1939–1945) Lesser arms of Bohemia and Moravia (1939-1945).svg, Lesser coat of arms of the

(1939–1945)

Czech Republic

Herb wielki Czech (1990-1992).svg, Greater coat of arms of the Czech Republic (1990–1992) Herb mały Czech (1990-1992).svg, Lesser coat of arms of the Czech Republic (1990–1992)

References and external links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coat Of Arms Of The Czech Republic National symbols of the Czech Republic

Czechia