History and coat of arms of the city of Eagle

The city of Orel is located at a distance of 368 kilometers from the capital of Russia and is an oblast center. Today it is a large economic, industrial and cultural object, in which more than 300 thousand people live. This settlement was founded in the XVI century, in its history there are many amazing and exciting facts. Of particular interest is the coat of arms of the city of Orla, which looks incredibly symbolic and majestic.

The city of Orel: from the depths of the centuries to our days

Its history, this glorious city dates back to 1566, when Ivan the Terrible ordered to build a fortress in the area to protect Moscow from the south.

The settlement owes its name to the Orel River, which in the 18th century was officially named Orlik. Almost immediately after the founding of the fortress, the administrative unit Orlovsky district was also determined. An interesting historical fact - for some time this city was the residence of False Dmitry First. Over time, the settlement lost its strategic importance as a security object.

Under Catherine II, the coat of arms of the city of Orel was developed and approved. In the history of our state Orel region is often referred to as one of the first to use new inventions, here early enough appeared electricity, tram traffic and cinemas. During the Great Patriotic War fierce battles were fought in these places, the city was captured and seriously destroyed, but on August 5, 1943, it was liberated.

The main symbol of the city

There is also a romantic legend telling about the origin of the name of the fortress.

When the construction of the defensive settlement began, the workers cut down a tall oak standing at the confluence of the Oka and Eagle rivers, a great bird flew from this tree. "What was that?" - one peasant asked another, and he replied: "And this is the owner of these places." Learning about this story, the king gave the go-ahead for the name of the city in honor of the proud eagle, hoping to protect the heavenly predator. However, this is only a beautiful legend. It is known for sure that the coat of arms of the city was approved on August 16, 1781. This is a heraldic French shield of blue color. In its central part is a white city-fortress, standing on a green meadow. On the main tower, crowning the entrance gate, sits a black eagle with a golden crown on its head. What is remarkable, over the past years the coat of arms of the city of Orel has not changed much. The modern symbol of this settlement is very similar to the original version.

Coat of arms of the city of Orel: description and history

In the XIX century, a reform was carried out, calling for the decoration of official signs of settlements.

All the coats of arms were supplemented with St. Andrew's or Alexander's ribbons, as well as oak sheets. This innovation should make the characters more beautiful and interesting. Do not underestimate the value of the emblem of the city of Orel, because it is a sign of the center of the province, and in our days - the area.

During the development of the first city symbol, there was a rule according to which all settlements of the province's subordination should have their own symbols. And an important element of these signs should be the coat of arms of the main city of the region. The emblem of the center of the Oryol region was changed in 1988. It was then that the official heraldic signs were abolished, abolished in 1917. Since that time, the city's emblem is an eagle on a fortress without a crown, against the azure sky and emerald field. The silhouette of the bird remained black, and the outline of the protective structure was white.

New symbol

In 2002, an updated flag and coat of arms of the city of Orel was developed and approved.

The new version of the heraldic shield shows a silver fortress with three towers and a gate in the middle part, but the eagle became a gold and two-headed with three crowns. The upper part of the emblem is azure, the lower part is green. At the foot of the fortress lies an open book framed on two sides by ears. The development of this symbol was done by artists Vladimir Blinov and Givi Kolmakhelidze. Someone like the new sign of the region and its center, and someone thinks that the old one was better. Whatever it was, the emblem remains symbolic and understandable to everyone. Hardly anyone would have such a question: "Which city's coat of arms is an eagle on the fortress in the field?" A proud bird remains the symbol and custodian of the region. And this is the most important thing.