Coat of arms of Cluj-Napoca

Coat of arms of Cluj-Napoca
Details
Armiger	Cluj-Napoca City Government
Adopted	1999 (illegal use)
Crest	A seven tower mural crown
Escutcheon	party per fess; or, bearing a argent Dacian Draco; dexter: azure, Goddess Athena - Minerva; sinister: gules, the Monument of the Memorandists
Supporters	None
Motto	None
Use	On the City hall's and Local Council's documents

The coat of arms of Cluj-Napoca is the heraldic symbol standing for the city of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The city's first recorded coat of arms dates back to 1369, and since then, the coat of arms has mostly kept its features, until 1948. In 1970 a new coat of arms was designed by the communist authorities, inserting the original heraldic symbol.

The current design dates from 1996, when the former mayor Gheorghe Funar organised a contest for the new symbol of the city. It is used since 1999 illegally, as the National Committee of Heraldry, Genealogy and Sigillography of Romania does not approve the current design. This is due to the fact that this design does not respect any heraldic rule (regarding tinctures and composition), nor it depicts any link to the history of the city.

Description and symbolism

The current shield of Cluj-Napoca is party per fess; yellow (instead of or), bearing a white (instead of argent) Dacian Draco. The upper part is of . The lower part is party per pale. The dexter part is of azure, bearing Goddess Athena - Minerva. The sinister part is of gules, bearing the Monument of the Memorandists.

The shield is topped by a mural crown with seven towers, which shows the city's status as a county seat. This is the only element that respectr the rule.

The symbolism of the coat of arms is unknown. Furtheremore, the colors are the national colors, which contradicts the Committee's regulation on not using the Romanian: tricolor on the coat of arms of local authorities.

History

The coat of arms of Cluj Municipality between 1926 and 1948

Cluj's traditional coat of arms and seal was first awarded in 1377 by king Louis I of Hungary. It represents three towers, a city wall with a gate in silver on a blue background. It was the coat of arms of Cluj until communist rulers modified it introducing other elements but preserving the three towers in the bottom field. The three towers coat of arms was abandoned by nationalist mayor Gheorghe Funar, in a move which did not respect the respective Romanian law. As of 2009 the subsequent mayors of Cluj-Napoca failed to reintroduce the traditional coat of arms as demanded by many heraldists, historians and civil activists.

References

• Ştefan Pascu, Viorica Marica - Clujul medieval, Editura Meridiane, Bucureşti, 1969
• Alicu Dorin - Cluj-Napoca, de la începuturi până azi, Editura Clusium, Cluj-Napoca, 1995
• Bodea Gheorghe - Clujul vechi şi nou, Cluj-Napoca, 2002
• Coat of Arms of Cluj-Napoca, in Gazeta de Cluj
• Adrian Andrei Rusu, Burgul lui „Matei” Corvin