Coat of arms of Voronezh: description. Coat of arms and the flag of Voronezh

In 2008, Voronezh was awarded the title of "City of Military Glory", which noted the enormous contribution of defenders and city residents in the victory in the Great Patriotic War. But this city is a Russian stronghold on the south from ancient times and has made a huge contribution to the development of the Fatherland at various stages of its history. Perhaps the eventful past caused a very complex and slightly confusing heraldic history of the city. The coat of arms of Voronezh changed with almost every change in the state structure of Russia, and the current version was approved after lengthy discussions.

The outpost in the south

The origin of the name of the city by linguists, linguists, historians is not fully agreed upon and has several options. In addition to an understandable association with the ancient and wise bird, there is a theory about the origin of the name of the river and city from the adjective "black" - black, which also came from the name of the bird. Scientists have established a connection between the city's name and the Mordvin word "vir" -the forest and the Iranian "varu" -wide.

The military history of the city begins in 1586, when a fortress on the Voronezh River was built to protect the southern borders of the Russian state from the raids of Crimean and Nogai Tatars . Leader of the construction of the fortress, which lasted several years, was entrusted to the governor Semyon Fedorovich Saburov. This is connected with one of the misunderstandings concerning Voronezh heraldry. At one time, souvenirs were produced, adorned with the generic coat of arms of the Governor Saburov, which depicts a silver arrow, a golden peak and an eagle's foot holding a saber curve. This emblem was issued for the ancient coat of arms of Voronezh XVII century, although it was not

Homeland of the Russian Navy

After the first, unsuccessful Azov campaign in 1695, Peter I became clear that without his fleet to gain access to the southern seas, and to begin with - to capture the fortress of Azov - will not work. The place of construction of rowing and sailing warships was chosen Voronezh. Within a few months, under the personal leadership of the tsar, shipyards and housing for workers were built, timber harvesting and construction of ships began.

Since the beginning of the construction of ships, the city was placed under the jurisdiction of the Admiralty order, and soon the local navy department, the Voronezh Admiralty, was organized. This period of the history of the city was reflected in heraldry: a seal was depicted on the seal used for correspondence. This was the actual coat of arms of Voronezh at that time. The naval theme was also present in numerous projects of the city coat of arms in the future, right up until the Soviet and post-Soviet times.

Banner of the Voronezh Regiment

Many of the emblems for Russian cities that were introduced under Catherine the Great were developed on the basis of military banners and standards of military units formed in this city, or were named in their honor.

To develop such military attributes, the collection Symbols and Emblems was widely used. This album, created by Peter's personal decree in 1705, contained images of heraldic elements, mottos, allegorical figures - all the best that was in Western European publications of this type.

On the banner of the Voronezh regiment of 1712 was depicted a composition, developed with the help of a popular guide: two copper cannons on a red background in a gold shield. On one of them is depicted a white one-headed eagle with outstretched wings.

The coat of arms, created by the decree of Catherine the Great

The collection "Symbols and emblems" was also useful for the coat of arms of Voronezh, created within the framework of the heraldic company, which was held for all significant settlements of Russia under the decree of Empress Catherine II. From it was taken the story of an Aquarius with a jug, from which a water stream erupts.

In the interpretation of the famous heraldmaster of that time, who proposed the Voronezh coat of arms project - Alexander Andreevich Volkov, it looked like the Voronezh River flowing from the pitcher. This motif was subsequently repeatedly used in a variety of ways, and in general has survived to this day.

Special privilege

The emblem of the city of Voronezh, approved by the highest decree of the empress in 1781, contained one more important element. The coat of arms was divided into two parts: in the lower on a red background, an overturned silver jug lying on a golden mountain with a flow of the same color flowing out of it was depicted, and in the upper - on the gold field - a two-headed eagle - the all-Russian imperial symbol.

The inclusion of the heraldic sign of national importance in the city's emblem was unusual, and the coat of arms of Voronezh was an exception to the practice of that time. This was explained as a special award to the city, which did so much to protect the southern borders of the state and for the development of its naval forces.

Later, in a new edition from 1881, instead of an imperial eagle, a golden tower crown about three teeth appeared.

Soviet options

In 1969, the official coat of arms of the city of Voronezh was approved, which was a mixture of classical herald-masters traditions and modern ideological installations. The form of the shield in the form of a shield was a classic, and in the upper part a fragment of the flag of the RSFSR was depicted, in the center on a gold background there was a combination of the usual wheat ears-and the newest symbols-the half-grain and the sign of the semiconductor triode. Below, against the background of the crenellated fortress wall, which is a symbol of the heroic heroism of the Voronezh inhabitants in the defense of the city, a red square with a white sailboat was seen. It is the symbol of the cradle of the Russian fleet.

Prior to this, a more concise and modern version was used for a while, containing a graphically restrained image of golden ears, electron orbits and a white boat in the shield. The motif of the Motherland of the Russian fleet also entered the approved Soviet coat of arms of Voronezh. That means the presence of ears and electronic orbits - also it was clear: the city always had a powerful industrial, agricultural and scientific potential.

Symbols of modern times

With the end of the era of the rule of communist ideology, it's time for a new heraldry. Restored in 1994, the coat of arms of Voronezh, the description of which completely coincided with the symbol introduced more than a century ago, was not appropriate time neither in form nor in content. It was decided to hold a competition to develop new variants of urban symbols.

Since the creation of the commission for the contest (September 2006), until the moment when the regional Legislative Assembly approved the new coat of arms and the flag of Voronezh (September 2008), several variants of various semantic content and visual style were considered.

Three versions

According to the current Regulations, the use of the emblem in three versions is allowed: in full, medium and small. The basis is the canonical plot proposed by A. A. Volkov, and the Voronezh emblem created on the basis of it in the 17th century. The coloring and components of the shield fully correspond to the variant with the "award" two-headed eagle.

The shield with canonical content is a "small" version of the coat of arms. The only novelty is the medal ribbons on the bottom of the shield, symbolizing the awards received by the city in the Soviet era. The middle coat of arms is complemented by a golden brick crown - also a familiar element.

Two Knights

The full version of the coat of arms complements the middle with two elements - the green earth, on which stand the figures of the shield holders - two ancient Russian heroes, symbolizing the military prowess and heroism shown by the inhabitants of the city since its foundation.

Impressive graphic and color solution is distinguished by the official coat of arms of Voronezh. His photo, three-dimensional and planar designs with it look, although unusual from the point of view of classical heraldry, but modern and unloaded, despite the great ideological content. They are actively used in formal or informal ceremonies.

Since October 2008 the Voronezh emblem has been included in the State Heraldic Register of the Russian Federation.