Coat of arms of Copenhagen

Coat of arms of Copenhagen
Coat of arms of Copenhagen. 1894 illustration.

The coat of arms of Copenhagen was granted 24 June 1661[1] by king Frederick III of Denmark in appraisal of its citizens' efforts in repelling the Swedish siege and attack on Copenhagen in 1658-1659. An accompanying royal letter of privilege granted the citizens of Copenhagen the same rights to own fixed property as applied to the Danish nobility.

Lesser arms of Copenhagen. Illustration from Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition (1885-90).
Seal of Copenhagen, 1296.

The central feature of the full arms are three towers rising above water, a symbol also appearing in the town's seal from 1296. The water element also refers to the city's original name Havn meaning "Harbour" (Latin: Hafnia). The left and right towers represented Absalon's castle and the central tower a church building inside the castle.[2] By the 16th century, the central tower was no longer depicted as a church tower, instead it had a gateway with a portcullis.[2] The version granted by King Frederick III modified the original symbol by adding a knight carrying a raised sword in front of the gateway. The central tower features an oval with the king's F3 cypher above the city gate, both elements in gold.

The greater coat of arms features three helmets, banners and a wide assortment of war equipment. An oversized golden crown is shown above but not affixed to the central helmet. Two lions act as supporters.

Today, the full arms is reserved for representative purposes. A lesser coat of arms featuring only the central shield is more commonly used by the city. In recent years, this symbol has in turn been simplified to a logo omitting the frame of the shield featuring only the three towers over three waves.

References

  1. ^ Anders Thiset (1894). "Om danske By- og Herredsvaaben" (in Danish). Tidsskrift for Kunstindustri: 71. 
  2. ^ a b Bartholdy, Nils G. (2009). "Københavns byvåben i lyset af begivenhederne 1658–1660". In Hansen, Peter Wessel; Jespersen, Leon (in Danish). Stormen på København—den svenske belejring 1658–1660. København. Kultur og Historie. 1. Denmark: Københavns Stadsarkiv. p. 147. ISBN 978-87-89457-27-7. 

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