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 ...

, that serves as the symbol of the

Opole Voivodeship Opole Voivodeship, or Opole Province ( pl, województwo opolskie ), is the smallest and least populated voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city, Opole. It is part of Upper S ...

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 yellow (golden)

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 ...

wearing a yellow (golden) crown, placed on a blue background. It was adopted in 2001.

Design

The coat of arms of the

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital. Despite the Silesian ...

consists of a blue Old French style escutcheon (shield) with square top and pointed base. It features a yellow (golden)

with raised wings and head turned left. It wears a yellow (golden) crown on its head. It was based on the historical coat of arms used by

Jan II the Good Jan II of Opole ( pl, Jan II Dobry) ( – 27 March 1532) was a Duke of Opole-Brzeg (until 1481)- Strzelce-Niemodlin in 1476 (with his brothers as co-rulers during 1476), ruler over Gliwice (in 1494), Toszek (in 1495), Niemodlin (again, in 1497), By ...

, duke of Silesia.

History

Silesian duchies

The first coat of arms recorded to be used by a ruler in the area of

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...

, that featured an

, belonged to duke

Casimir I of Opole Casimir I of Opole ( pl, Kazimierz I opolski; – 13 May 1230), a member of the Piast dynasty, was a Silesian duke of Opole and Racibórz from 1211 until his death. Early life Casimir was the eldest child and only son of Duke Mieszko I Tangle ...

, member of the

Silesian Piast The Silesian Piasts were the elder of four lines of the Polish Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile (1105–1159), eldest son of Duke Bolesław III of Poland. By Bolesław's testament, Władysław was granted Silesia as his he ...

dynasty, who ruled the

Duchy of Opole and Racibórz The Duchy of Opole and Racibórz ( pl, Księstwo opolsko-raciborskie, german: Herzogtum Oppeln und Ratibor) was one of the numerous Duchies of Silesia ruled by the Silesian branch of the royal Polish Piast dynasty. It was formed in 1202 from the u ...

, from 1211 to 1230. Such design was recorded in a document from 1222, marked with Casimir's seal, that featured him holding a shield with an eagle on it. It remains unknown what colours the coat of arms had. The first known usage of a yellow (golden) eagle in the coat of arms had been recorded in the 1257 and 1260 seals of duke Vladislaus I of Opole, ruler of the Duchy of Opole and Racibórz. Since then, the coat of arms had been used by his descendants. Sarkofag Jan II Dobrego

Over time, the coat of arms had been modified, with major change being appearance of the

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

on eagle's head. It appeared for the first time in the coat of arms of duke

Casimir of Bytom Casimir of Bytom ( pl, Kazimierz; 1253/57 – 10 March 1312) was a Duke of Opole during 1282–1284 (with his brother as co-ruler) and Duke of Bytom from 1284 until his death. He was the second son of Władysław, Duke of Opole–Racibórz ...

in 13th century, and became the permanent feature of the design in late 14th century, beginning with duke

Bolko IV of Opole Bolko IV of Opole ( pl, Bolko IV opolski; 1363/67 – 6 May 1437), was a Duke of Strzelce and Niemodlin during 1382–1400 (with his brothers as co-rulers), Duke of Opole from 1396 (until 1400 with his brother as co-ruler, except Olesno). He was ...

, and being used until the end of the Opole and Racibórz line of the dynasty, in 1532, with the death of duke

. In his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, he had written to give his coat of arms to the society of the

, making it a symbol of the whole area and its population, rather than a symbol of royal family.

Province of Upper Silesia

The

Province of Upper Silesia The Province of Upper Silesia (german: Provinz Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ''Provinz Oberschläsing''; szl, Prowincyjŏ Gōrny Ślōnsk; pl, Prowincja Górny Śląsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. It comprise ...

of the

Free State of Prussia The Free State of Prussia (german: Freistaat Preußen, ) was one of the constituent states of Germany from 1918 to 1947. The successor to the Kingdom of Prussia after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I, it continued to be the domin ...

was established in 1919. It had officially adopted its coat of arms, designed by

Otto Hipp Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

, on 1 June 1926. It consisted of a blue escutcheon (shield) with a yellow (golden)

on its top, with blue, white, and red gemstones on it. Within the upper portion of the escutcheon was placed an upper half of a yellow (golden) eagle with risen wings and its head facing viewer's left. In the bottom portion of the escutcheon was placed crossed yellow (golden)

hammer and pick The hammer and pick, rarely referred to as hammer and chisel, is a symbol of mining, often used in heraldry. It can indicate mining, mines (especially on maps or in cartography), or miners, and is also borne as a charge in the coats of arms o ...

. In the middle of the escutcheon was placed a yellow (golden)

scythe A scythe ( ) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor m ...

blade. The coat of arms was depict motives characteristic to Upper Silesia, including the golden eagle on a blue background, a scythe symbolizing agriculture, and crossed hammer and pick symbolizing the mining industry. The eagle being in cut in half represented the division of the historical

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

in 1919 into the provinces of

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

and Upper Silesia.

Opole Voivodeship

The

was established on 1 January 1999.''Ustawa z dnia 24 lipca 1998 r. o wprowadzeniu zasadniczego trójstopniowego podziału terytorialnego państwa'', In: ''1998 Journal of the Laws'', no. 96, position 603). Its currently-used coat of arms was based on historical coat of arms used by

, duke of Silesia, and adopted by the Opole Voivodeship Sejmik in April 2001.''Uchwała Nr XXIV/179/2000 Sejmiku Województwa Opolskiego z dnia 28 grudnia 2000 r. w sprawie ustanowienia herbu Województwa Opolskiego'', Opole: Opole Voivodeship Sejmik, 28 December 2000. In: ''2001 Journal of Laws of the Opole Voivodeship'', no. 28, position 158. Opole: Opole Voivodeship Sejmik, 2001.

References

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Opole Voivodeship Coats of arms with eagles Coats of arms with crowns