The coat of arms of Romania was adopted in the

Romanian Parliament The Parliament of Romania () is the national bicameral legislature of Romania, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies () and the Senate (). It meets at the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, the capital. Prior to the modification of the Cons ...

on 10 September 1992 as a representative coat of arms for

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. The current coat of arms is based on the lesser coat of arms of interwar

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

(used between 1922 and 1947), which was designed in 1921 by the Transylvanian Hungarian heraldist József Sebestyén from

Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

, at the request of King

Ferdinand I of Romania Ferdinand I (Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad; 24 August 1865 – 20 July 1927), nicknamed ''Întregitorul'' ("the Unifier"), was King of Romania from 10 October 1914 until his death in 1927. Ferdinand was the second son of Leopold, Prince of Hoh ...

, it was redesigned by Victor Dima. As a central element, it shows a golden aquila holding a cross in its beak, and a mace and a

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

in its claws. It also consists of the three colors (red, yellow, and blue) which represent the colors of the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

. The coat of arms was augmented on 11 July 2016 to add a representation of the Steel Crown of Romania.

History

The idea behind the design of the coat of arms of

dates from 1859, when the two Romanian countries,

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

and

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

, united under Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza. Then the two heraldic symbols, the golden aquila and the

aurochs The aurochs (''Bos primigenius''; or ; pl.: aurochs or aurochsen) is an extinct species of Bovini, bovine, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of t ...

, were officially juxtaposed. Until 1866, there were many variants of the coat of arms, regarding the background color and the number of times the two main elements where represented. In 1866, after

Carol I Carol I or Charles I of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – ), was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as ...

was elected Prince of Romania, the

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

was divided into quarters: in the first and fourth an

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 ( ...

was depicted, and in the second and third the

; above the shield the arms of the reigning

Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. ...

family was placed. After 1872, the coat of arms included the symbol of southern

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

(after 1877, of

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; or ''Dobrudža''; , or ; ; Dobrujan Tatar: ''Tomrîğa''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and ) is a Geography, geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century betw ...

), two

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

s, in the fourth quarter; and the one of

Oltenia Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...

, a

golden lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...

, in the third quarter; on the shield the Steel Crown was placed, as a symbol of sovereignty and independence, after the

Romanian War of Independence The Romanian War of Independence () is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the phase of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), in which Romania, fighting on the Russian side of the war, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On ...

. The coat of arms remained unchanged until 1921, after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

was united with the

. Then the coat of arms of

was placed in the fourth quarter, with the

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 word ''turul'' meant ...

(almost all motifs including the supposed Turul can be found in the " Notita Dignitatum" in form of Late Roman Empire shield designs) replaced by a black aquila, the third quarter depicted the coat of arms of

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

(the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

Apollodorus of Damascus Apollodorus of Damascus () was an architect and engineer from Roman Syria, who flourished during the 2nd century AD. As an engineer he authored several technical treatises, and his massive architectural output gained him immense popularity dur ...

and a

), and the coat of arms of

was placed in an insertion. The shield was placed on the chest of a golden crossed and crowned aquila, as a symbol of the Latinity of the

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

. The aquila was placed on a

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

shield, capped with the Steel Crown. The coat of arms had three versions: lesser, middle (with

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon (heraldry), shield and depicted holding it up. Historically, supporters were left to an individual's fr ...

and motto), and greater (the middle arms on a

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

mantle lined with ermine). The coat of arms was designed by Transylvanian Hungarian József Sebestyén Keöpeczi, who was recommended by

Alexandru Tzigara-Samurcaș Alexandru Tzigara-Samurcaș (; also known as Al. Tzigara, Tzigara-Sumurcaș, Tzigara-Samurcash, Tzigara-Samurkasch or Țigara-Samurcaș; April 4, 1872 – April 30, 1952) was a Romanian art historian, Ethnography, ethnographer, Museology, museolog ...

. After 1948, the Communist authorities changed both the

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

and the coat of arms. The coat of arms was rather an emblem, faithful to the Communist pattern: a landscape (depicting a rising sun, a tractor and an oil drill) surrounded by stocks of wheat tied together with a cloth in the colors of the

. Until 1989, there were four variants, the first being changed shortly after 1948 (the proclamation of the republic), again changed in 1952 (a red star was added), and finally in 1965, when Romania ceased to be a ''People's Republic'' and became a ''Socialist Republic''. Immediately after the 1989 Revolution, the idea came up of giving Romania a new, representative coat of arms. In fact, the very symbol of the Revolution was the flag with a hole in its middle where the communist coat of arms had been cut out. The heraldic commission set up to design a new coat of arms for Romania worked intensely, subjecting to the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

two final designs which were then combined. What emerged is the current design adopted by the two chambers of the

in their

joint session A joint session or joint convention is, most broadly, when two normally separate decision-making groups meet, often in a special session or other extraordinary meeting, for a specific purpose. Most often it refers to when both houses of a bicam ...

on September 10, 1992. In April 2016, deputies of the Judiciary Committee endorsed a bill voted previously by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

that returns the

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

on the head of the eagle and mandates the public authorities to replace the existing emblems and seals to those provided by law until 31 December 2018 (to mark the centenary of the

Union of Transylvania with Romania The union of Transylvania with Romania was declared on by the assembly of the delegates of ethnic Romanians held in Alba Iulia. The Great Union Day (also called ''Unification Day''), celebrated on 1 December, is a Public holidays in Romani ...

on 1 December 1918). The bill was adopted by the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

on 8 June 2016 and promulgated by President

Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist, and former teacher who served as the fifth president of Romania from 2014 until his resignation in 2025. Prior to entering Politics of Romania, national politics, ...

on 11 July 2016.

Description

The

surmounting the eagle is divided into five fields, one for each historical province of Romania with its traditional symbol: * Modern coat of arms of Wallachia

golden aquila –

(''Țara Românească'') * Coat of arms of Moldavia

–

(''Moldova''),

(''Basarabia''),

Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

(''Bucovina'') and

Maramureș ( ; ; ; ) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpathians, along parts of the upper Tisza River drainage basin; it covers the Maramureș Depression and the ...

s – the seaside:

Southern Bessarabia Southern Bessarabia or South Bessarabia is a territory of Bessarabia which, as a result of the Crimean War, was returned to the Moldavian Principality in 1856. As a result of the unification of the latter with Wallachia, these lands became par ...

Budjak Budjak, also known as Budzhak, is a historical region that was part of Bessarabia from 1812 to 1940. Situated along the Black Sea, between the Danube and Dniester rivers, this #Ethnic groups and demographics, multi-ethnic region covers an area ...

(18671878) and

(after 1878) * Coat of arms of Transylvania

a black aquila for

Crișana Crișana (, , ) is a geographical and historical region of Romania named after the Criș (Körös) River and its three tributaries: the Crișul Alb, Crișul Negru, and Crișul Repede. In Romania, the term is sometimes extended to include areas ...

and seven castles, a sun and a moon for

(''Transilvania'') * CoA Banat

lion rampant The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Christi ...

and

Trajan's Bridge Trajan's Bridge (; ), also called Bridge of Apollodorus over the Danube, was a Roman segmental arch bridge, the first bridge to be built over the lower Danube and considered one of the greatest achievements in Roman architecture. Though it was ...

–

and

Timok Valley The Timok Valley (; ; ) is a geographical region in east Serbia around the Timok River. The Timok Valley corresponds to parts of two Serbian districts ( Bor and Zaječar), with a total 2022 census population of 200,785. Name The Serbian name is ...

's coat of arms has as a central element the golden aquila holding an

Orthodox cross The Russian Orthodox Cross (or just the Orthodox Cross by some Russian Orthodox traditions) is a variation of the Christian cross since the 16th century in Russia, although it bears some similarity to a cross with a bottom crossbeam slanted the ...

. Traditionally, this eagle appears in the arms of the

Argeș county Argeș County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Pitești. Demographics At the 2021 Romanian census, 2021 census, the county had a population of 569,932 and the population density was . At the 2011 Ro ...

, the town of

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș (river), Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in th ...

and the town of

Curtea de Argeș Curtea de Argeș () is a municipiu, city in Romania on the left bank of the river Argeș (river), Argeș, where it flows through a valley of the Southern Carpathians (the Făgăraș Mountains), on the railway from Pitești to the Turnu Roșu Pass ...

. It stands for the "nest of the Basarabs", the nucleus around which Wallachia was organised. Since July 11, 2016 the coat of arms has been altered to include the heraldic representation of the Steel Crown of King Carol. A symbol of its royal past and a token for the period during 1881 and 1947 when Romania was a monarchy, ruled by the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen house through its Romanian branch, founded by Carol. The aquila, being the symbol of Latinity and a heraldic bird of the first order, symbolises courage, determination, the soaring toward great heights, power, grandeur. It is to be found also in Transylvania's coat of arms. The shield on which it is placed is azure, symbolising the sky. The eagle holds in its talons the insignia of sovereignty: a mace and a sword, the latter reminding of

's ruler,

Stephen the Great Stephen III, better known as Stephen the Great (; ; died 2 July 1504), was List of rulers of Moldavia, Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II of Moldavia, Bogdan II, who was murdered in ...

whereas the mace reminds of

Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593–1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Transylvani ...

, the first unifier of the Romanian Countries. On the bird's chest there is a quartered escutcheon with the symbols of the historical Romanian provinces (Wallachia, Oltenia, Moldavia, Bessarabia, Transylvania, the Banat, Crisana, Maramureș) as well as two dolphins reminding of the country's Black Sea Coast (Dobruja). In the first quarter, Wallachia's coat of arms, an aquila or holding in its beak a golden Orthodox cross, accompanied by a golden sun on the right and a golden new moon on the left, is displayed against an azure background. In the second quarter, Moldavia's traditional coat of arms is shown, gules: an aurochs head sable with a mullet of or between its horns, a cinquefoil rose on the dexter and a waning crescent on the sinister, both argent. The third quarter features the traditional coat of arms of the Banat and Oltenia, gules: over waves, a golden bridge with two arched openings (symbolising Roman emperor

over the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

), wherefrom comes a golden lion holding a broadsword in its right forepaw. The fourth quarter shows the coat of arms of Transylvania, Maramureș and Crișana: a shield parted by a narrow fesse, gules; in the chief, on azure, there is a black aquila with golden beak coming out of the fesse, accompanied by a golden sun on the dexter and a crescent argent on the sinister (symbolizing the

Székelys The Székelys (, Old Hungarian script, Székely runes: ), also referred to as Szeklers, are a Hungarians, Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. In addition to their native villages in Suceava County in Bukovina, a ...

); on the base, on or, there are seven crenellated towers, placed four and three (symbolizing the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

s). Also represented are the lands adjacent to the Black Sea (Dobruja), on azure: two dolphins affronts, head down.

Gallery

File:StemaCuza2.jpg, One of the many drawings used unofficially as coat of arms (1864 1866) File:Coat of arms of Principality of Romania (1867-1872).svg, Coat of arms of the

Principality of Romania The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (), commonly called United Principalities or Wallachia and Moldavia, was the personal union of the Moldavia, Principality of Moldavia and the Wallachia, Principality of Wallachia. The union was ...

(1867 1872) File:Kingdom of Romania Coat of Arms Big 1866-1881.svg, Coat of arms of the Principality of Romania (1872 1881) File:Kingdom of Romania Coat of Arms Big 1881-1921.svg, Coat of arms of the

(1881 1922) File:Kingdom of Romania - Small CoA.svg, The lesser coat of arms of the Kingdom of Romania (1921 1947), used on official stamps and seals File:Kingdom of Romania - Medium CoA.svg, The middle coat of arms of the Kingdom of Romania (1921 1947), used by the Romanian Army and the State authorities File:Kingdom of Romania - Big CoA.svg, The Great Coat of Arms according to the Official Gazette, no. 92 of 29 July 1921. (1921 – 1947) File:Coat of arms of Romania (January-March 1948).svg, Coat of arms of the

Romanian People's Republic The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian People's Repu ...

(January March 1948) File:Coat of arms of the Popular Republic of Romania (1948-1952).svg, Coat of arms of the Romanian People's Republic (March 1948 1952) File:Coat of arms of the Popular Republic of Romania (1952-1965).svg, Coat of arms of the Romanian People's Republic (1952 1965) File:Coat of arms of the Socialist Republic of Romania.svg, Coat of arms of the

Socialist Republic of Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

(1965 1989) and Romania (1989 – 1992) File:Coat of arms of Romania (1992-2016).svg, Coat of arms of Romania (1992 2016) File:Coat of arms of Romania.svg, The coat of arms of Romania since 2016 (fully replaced the previous version by the end of 2018)

References

External links

* Law establishing the coat of arms of Romania (1867), adopted on 24 April 1867. * Law modifying the coat of arms of Romania (1872), published in the ''Monitorul Oficial'' no. 57 of 11/23 March 1872. * Law establishing the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Romania... (1921), published in the ''Monitorul Oficial'' no. 92 of 29 July 1921, pp. 3569–3573
Law 102/1992 describing the coat of arms

Law 30/2016 concerning the change of the Law 102/1992The coat of arms on the Romanian Presidency websiteDescription of Romania's coat of arms on romania.org
{{Navboxes , list = {{Romanian heraldry {{Coats of arms of Europe {{Romanian topics

National symbols of Romania

Aurochs

History

Description

Gallery

See also

References

External links