Belarusian heraldry

The uses of heraldry in Belarus is used by government bodies, subdivisions of the national government, organizations, corporations and by families.

History

The history of Belarusian heraldry is an integral part of the history of the Szlachta, the Polish-Belarusian nobility. The territory itself was represented by a coat of arms, which was a red shield charged with a knight in a charging mode. The arms, called the Pahonia ("the Chase") was the Belarusian arms until it's entry into the Soviet Union.

After entry, the coat of arms fell in favour and emerged the used of an emblem. The cities still used shields, but were changed to add socialist realism or to announce the state awards each city earned. Once the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, the Pahonia was restored at the state coat of arms and the cities reverted to old coat of arms or created new designs. Each of the seven voblasts of Belarus have their own coat of arms. Historical achievements, state awards or state symbols are placed on the coat of arms. For example, the enterprise "October" features the state flag of Belarus on their coat of arms. [http://www.oct.by/]

ee also

* Coat of Arms
* Heraldry
* History of Belarus
* List of Belarusian Coats of Arms
* Ruthenia
* Szlachta
* Polish heraldry
* Belarusian name

Further reading

* Tadeusz Gajl, "Herby szlacheckie Rzeczypospolitej Obojga Narodow", Gdańsk, 2003

External links

* [http://genealog.home.pl/g.pl?kd=4&hz=1 Armorial]
* [http://www.ngw.nl/int/wru/belarus.htm Arms of the Belarusian cities] en icon
* [http://www.geocities.com/heraldica_litvaniae/state.html The state symbols of Great Litva/Belarus]
* [http://minsk-region.gov.by/index.aspx?id=44 Arms of the cities in the Minsk Oblast] ru icon
* [http://www.heraldyka.tk/ Heraldica Litvaniae]