Flag and coat of arms of Poland: description and history

Poland is a country with a rich, often militant past. Its flag and coat of arms are quite simple in execution. But what does the Polish heraldic eagle mean? And why does her flag consist precisely of these colors?

Coat of arms of Poland: description, meaning

The official state symbols of the Polish state include a flag, a coat of arms and a national anthem. The coat of arms of Poland was approved in 1997. On the red shield is a figure of a white or silver eagle. The shield slightly narrows downwards. On the head of the golden eagle is the crown. His beak and claws are also golden.

The image of an eagle is often used in heraldry, it is rivaled only by a lion. In ancient times the eagle personified a monarch or a deity. Often in Greece the bird was a symbol of Zeus, and in Rome - of Jupiter. According to one version, the figure of the eagle decorates the coat of arms of Poland as a symbol of power and strength.

There is also a more fabulous version of the image of the eagle. It relates to legends about three brothers: Cech, Lech and Rus, the forefathers of the Slavic peoples. According to one of the legends, three brothers wandered with their people in search of a place to settle, but then decided to split up. So, the brother of Rus decided to go to the east, and brother Cech to the west towards Bohemia, until he reached the mountain of Rzip. Lech decided to go north. On the way, Lech met a white eagle flying over a nest on an oak tree. Eagle's flight in the rays of the setting sun so delighted Lech that he decided to settle in this place, and chose the eagle as a symbol on his coat of arms. His city he called the Nest.

Coat of arms of Poland: photo, history

Beautiful and romantic stories like everyone, but officially the eagle was not depicted for a long time on the Polish coat of arms. Initially, he attended the personal distinctive signs of Przemysl II in the 13th century, and only after his coronation the figure of the white eagle becomes a symbol of the whole state. The silver eagle meant a lot to the Polish people: as an image of not only strength, but also purity, it symbolically opposed the black double-headed German eagle - the sign of the hostile Germanic Empire in those days . With all its appearance, the coat of arms of Poland showed superiority over the German, and the red background additionally indicated the readiness for the struggle.

The appearance of the coat of arms changed when the Rech Pospolita was formed. Then he took the form of a shield, and his composition included the Lithuanian coat of arms. The space of the shield was divided into four parts: a Polish white eagle was placed in the upper left and lower right corners, and the Lithuanian knight on horseback was located at the top right and bottom left.

In the period from the XVIII to the XIX century, due to the frequent change of power, the crown on the bird's head was often absent, and in 1943 it was officially removed. The crown was present only on the coat of arms of the expelled Polish government (supporters of the tsar).

At the end of the 20th century, a new, democratic path of development began in Poland's politics. In confirmation of this, the coat of arms again changes, and the eagle finds its crown.

The Polish flag

A symbol, no less important for the Republic of Poland, than a coat of arms is a flag. His canvas is divided into two identical horizontal stripes. The upper band of the flag is white, which often in symbolism means purity, spirituality, purity. On the Polish flag this color is also a symbol of the eagle depicted on its coat of arms. In the center of the white strip is a miniature coat of arms. The lower band of the flag is red. Usually this is the color of aggression, militancy, courage and correlates with the image of fire. The red strip on the flag of Poland, as well as the white one, corresponds with its coat of arms.

In the Middle Ages, on the white strip of the flag was an image of the shield with an eagle. Later on the flag appeared another red strip on top. And in the days of Jan Kazimir the flag consisted of four bands.

The modern form of the flag was officially approved in 1980.

Conclusion

The coat of arms of Poland often changed, but always there was the figure of a white eagle on it. Recalling the legendary historical past, the eagle personified the purity and strength of the Polish state, supporting the spirit of the people.