Coat of Arms of Astrakhan: description, history, photo

The coat of arms is a distinctive sign on which various objects and symbols are depicted, bearing a certain meaning and characterizing who this emblem belongs to (this may be a person, a city, a country, a society or an organization).

In the article we will consider the emblem of Astrakhan: photo and description, its history, which has been counting for more than five centuries.

Modern look

At present, the coat of arms of Astrakhan looks like this:

• The basis is the heraldic French shield. It is a rectangle with rounded bottom corners and a slight sharpening in the middle of the bottom part. The top and bottom margins are vertically related as 1: 1, and the width and height are related as 8: 9. The shield field is of blue (sometimes azure) color;
• Symbolism - in the upper half of the shield in the center is depicted a golden crown of a special kind, similar to the imperial crown. On the circumference it is decorated with five leaf-shaped teeth, pearls and gems paved, crowned with a golden power. Under it, in the second half of the shield, a silver sword with a golden handle of the yataghan type is also centered on the left.

In this form, the Astrakhan emblem was approved on June 24, 1993 at the 15th session of the Astrakhan City Council.

Symbolism

The crown depicted on the coat of arms signifies the annexation of the Astrakhan Khanate in 1556 to the Russian Empire.

A naked sword is a symbol of the fact that the Russian governors are heavily guarding their native land and will not allow the enemy to own the empire. The direction of the sword indicates which side the conquerors can come from.

The blue color of the shield shows the location of the Astrakhan region in the lower reaches of the Volga-Mother.

History

The emblem of Astrakhan emerged in the 16th century. Then he had two options:

• On a large royal seal the image of a wolf in the crown surrounded by the inscription "seal of the kingdom of Astrakhan" (no longer appears anywhere);
• On a city seal the image of a saber under the crown. The point of the sword is turned to the left.

In 1556, the sword was replaced with a sword.

In the 17th century a saber appeared on the shield, but already oriented to the right. This option was officially approved and included in the state book "Titular" in 1672.

In 1717 a new Astrakhan coat of arms was approved: on the shield a sword appeared again instead of a saber, the coat of arms itself now bordered the magnificent vine along the perimeter with an award ribbon, and the top of the shield was crowned with the imperial crown.

The modern coat of arms has preserved the image of the 18th century in the basis, but it was laconic: the lavish vine and the imperial crown were removed from above.