The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the Greater Poland Voivodeship,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

features a white (silver)

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

with its head turned left, and raised wings, that has a yellow (golden) beak, legs, stripes on its wings, and a ring on its tail. The charge is placed in a red Heater style

escutcheon Escutcheon may refer to: * Escutcheon (heraldry), a shield or shield-shaped emblem, displaying a coat of arms * Escutcheon (furniture), a metal plate that surrounds a keyhole or lock cylinder on a door * (in medicine) the distribution of pubic ha ...

with square top and acute base. It was adopted in 2000.

Design

The coat of arms is a red Heater style

with square top and acute base. In the middle, there is a white (silver)

with its head turned left, and raised wings. It has a yellow (golden) beak, legs, stripes on its wings, and a ring on its tail.

History

The design of the coat of arms had originated as the symbol of the Poznań Land, a land (administrative subdivision) of

in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. It depicted a white (silver)

with a head turned left, that was placed on the red background. In 14th century, after 1314, the design became the coat of arms of then-established

Poznań Voivodeship Poznań Voivodeship was the name of several former administrative regions (''województwo'', rendered as ''voivodeship'' and usually translated as "province") in Poland, centered on the city of Poznań, although the exact boundaries changed over t ...

, that was formed within the borders of the Poznań Land. Jan Długosz: ''Insigniorum clenodiorum Regis et Regni Polonie descriptio''. In: Jan Długosz: ''Insignia seu Clenodia Regis et Regni Poloniae''. It was used until 1793, when the voivodeship had ceased to exist following the Second Partition of Poland. The design had also been used on the 1295 seal used by Przemysł II, the duke of the Duchy of Greater Poland from 1279 to 1296, and the

king of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

from 1295 to 1296.
Herb i flaga Województwa Wielkopolskiego
'. Poznań: Samorząd województwa wielkopolskiego. The design of the coat of arms had been used as part of the coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Posen that existed from 1815 to 1848, and the

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (german: Provinz Posen, pl, Prowincja Poznańska) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920. Posen was established in 1848 following the Greater Poland Uprising as a successor to the Grand Duchy of Posen, w ...

, from 1848 to 1920. In 1928, as part of the project to design the coat of arms for the

voivodeships A voivodeship is the area administered by a voivode (Governor) in several countries of central and eastern Europe. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times and the area of extent of voivodeship resembles that of a duchy in western medieval ...

of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

, the design for the coat of arms of the

had been created. Though planned to be officially approved, it never was, as it was decided to postpone the approval of the subdivision symbols due to the planned administrative reform, that eventually took place in 1938. Eventually, the plans for the establishment of the coat of arms had been stopped by the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, on 1 September 1939, that begun the

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 ...

, and were not picked up back after the end of the conflict. The proposed design featured a white eagle with its head turned left, and with yellow (golden) beak, legs, and a ring on its tail. It was placed Iberian style

with square top and rounded base.
Rozporządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej z dnia 13 grudnia 1927 r. o godłach i barwach państwowych oraz o oznakach, chorągwiach i pieczęciach.
', In: ''1927 Journal of Laws'', no.: 115, position: 980. 13 December 1927.''Projekt Rozporządzenia Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w sprawie nadania herbów województwom'', AAN, PRM 59-10, p. 18-21. The currently-used coat of arms of the Greater Poland Voivodeship had been adopted on 31 January 2000 by the of the

Greater Poland Voivodeship Sejmik The Greater Poland Voivodeship Sejmik ( pl, Sejmik Województwa Wielkopolskiego) is the Voivodeship sejmik, regional legislature of the Voivodeships of Poland, Voivodeship of Greater Poland Voivodeship, Greater Poland. It is a Unicameralism, unica ...

.
Uchwała NR XX/306/2000 Sejmiku Województwa Wielkopolskiego z dnia 31 stycznia 2000 r. w sprawie ustanowienia herbu i flagi województwa wielkopolskiego
'. It had been based on the design present on the 1295 seal used by Przemysł II, the duke of the Duchy of Greater Poland from 1279 to 1296, and the

from 1295 to 1296. The coat of arms is additionally present on the

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

of the voivodeship.

References

Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship 2000 establishments in Poland Greater Poland Voivodeship History of Greater Poland Poznań Voivodeship (1921–1939) {{Heraldry in Poland

Design

History

See also

References