The coat of arms of Estonia is a golden shield which includes a picture of three left-facing blue lions with red tongues in the middle, with golden oak branches placed on both sides of the shield. The insignia derive(s) from the

coat of arms of Denmark The coat of arms of Denmark ( da, Danmarks rigsvåben) has a lesser and a greater version. The state coat of arms () consists of three pale blue lion (heraldry), lions attitude (heraldry)#Passant, passant wearing crown (heraldic charge), crowns ...

, which ruled northern Estonia in the 13th-14th centuries and parts of western Estonia in the 16th-17th century.

Description

The coat of arms of

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

depicts a golden

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

, which includes three slim blue ''

lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

passant gardant'' with red tongues in the middle and golden oak branches along both sides of the shield. The lesser coat of arms lacks these oak branches. The Estonian national

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

of three lions originate from the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

king

Valdemar II Valdemar (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious (), was the King of Denmark (being Valdemar II) from 1202 until his death in 1241. Background He was the second son of King Valdemar I of Denmark and Sophi ...

who conquered northern Estonia in 1219. The lions became part of the greater

coat of arms of Tallinn A coat typically is an outer garment for the upper body as worn by either gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a ...

(Reval), the centre of Danish government in Estonia, and the

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form o ...

s (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Ritterschaften'') of

Harria Harjumaa, ( la, Harria) (1200 hides), was an ancient county in what would now be Estonia. Parishes *around Varbola *around Lohu *around Kose See also *Danish Estonia *Harju County *Rapla County *History of Estonia *Livonian Crusade *Rule ...

and Viru. In 1346, Denmark sold its Estonian dominion to the

State of the Teutonic Order The State of the Teutonic Order (german: Staat des Deutschen Ordens, ; la, Civitas Ordinis Theutonici; lt, Vokiečių ordino valstybė; pl, Państwo zakonu krzyżackiego), also called () or (), was a medieval Crusader state, located in Centr ...

. The three lions, however, remained the central element of the greater coat of arms of Tallinn. In later centuries, the motif of the three lions transferred to the coat of arms of the Duchy of Estonia, the ''Ritterschaft'' of Estland, and to the coat of arms of the

Governorate of Estonia The Governorate of Estonia, also known as the Governorate of Esthonia (Pre-reformed rus, Эстля́ндская губе́рнія, r=Estlyandskaya guberniya); et, Eestimaa kubermang was a governorate in the Baltic region, along with th ...

. The ''

Riigikogu The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Jus ...

'' (parliament) of the newly independent country officially adopted the national coat of arms of Estonia on 19 June 1925. The display of the coat of arms, as well as of any other national symbols of Estonia, was officially banned following the occupation of Estonia by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1940. The symbols were gradually replaced with Soviet-inspired

emblems An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' are often used in ...

. The

Stalinist Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...

Soviet authorities persecuted anyone using the coat of arms or the national colours of Estonia. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the coat of arms remained in use in the

Western Bloc The Western Bloc, also known as the Free Bloc, the Capitalist Bloc, the American Bloc, and the NATO Bloc, was a coalition of countries that were officially allied with the United States during the Cold War of 1947–1991. It was spearheaded by ...

non-communist countries by a number of surviving diplomatic representatives of the Republic of Estonia and by the

Estonian government-in-exile The Estonian government-in-exile was the formally declared governmental authority of the Republic of Estonia in exile, existing from 1944 until the reestablishment of Estonian sovereignty over Estonian territory in 1991 and 1992. It traced its l ...

. The readoption of the national symbols in 1990 marked one of the high points in the struggle for the restoration of the independent Estonian state which was eventually achieved on 20 August 1991. The use of the coat of arms is regulated by the Law on State Coat of Arms, passed on 6 April 1993.

Gallery

File:Valdemarsejrssegl.jpg, Seal of Danish king Valdemar II, 1219. File:Revals segl.svg, Seal of Tallinn, 1340. File:Tallinn wapen.svg, Greater coat of arms of capital city Tallinn. File:Coat of arms of Swedish Estonia correct colours.svg, Coat of arms of the Duchy of Estonia, 1561–1721 File:Coat of arms of Governorate of Estonia.svg, Coat of Arms of the

, 1721–1918. File:Alternative Coat of arms of Estonia 1922 Author Günther Reindorff.png, Alternative coat of arms of Estonia, 1922. Author

Günther Reindorff Günther-Friedrich Reindorff (russian: Гю́нтер-Фри́дрих Ге́рманович Рейндорф ''Gyúnter-Frídrikh Gérmanovich Reyndorf''; 26 January 1889, Saint Petersburg – 14 March 1974, Tallinn) was an Estonian graphic desi ...

. File:1925. aastal kehtestatud suur riigivapp.JPG, The coat of arms as used in 1925–1940. File:Riigipitser.JPG, State seal used in 1925–1940. File:Kvyldlipp.jpg, Flag of the

Estonian Defence Forces The Estonian Defence Forces ( et, Eesti Kaitsevägi) are the unified military forces of the Republic of Estonia. The Estonian Defence Forces consist of the Estonian Land Forces, the Estonian Navy, the Estonian Air Force, and the paramilitary Esto ...

. File:Estonian presidential flag.JPG, Presidential standard of Estonia. File:Gobierno de Estonia, Tallinn, Estonia, 2012-08-05, DD 04.JPG, Riigikogu building in Tallinn, 2012. File:Riigikogu gavel (cropped).jpg, Riigikogu gavel, 2022.

References

External links

{{Coats of arms of Europe National symbols of Estonia