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

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 ...

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 ...

on a blue background. The current version of the coat of arms was adopted in 2001, and based on the historical coats of arms of Upper Silesia.

Design

The coat of arms of the

consists of a blue Iberian-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 ...

(shield) with square top and rounded base. It features a yellow (golden)

with raised wings and head turned left. It was based on the historical

coat of arms of Silesia The coat of arms of Lower Silesia, and simultaneously of Silesia, shows a black eagle with silver crescent with cross in the middle on its chest (the emblem of Silesian Duke Henry the Bearded, Polish: ''Zgorzelec'') on a golden background. It has ...

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. 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

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 ...

. 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

(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.

Second Polish Republic

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 Warsaw Voivodeship 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. Despite never being approved, the voivodeship unofficially used it as its symbol. The proposed design featured a yellow (golden) eagle with risen wings and its head turned to the viewer's left, placed a blue dark blue

Heater Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...

-style

(shield)., with square top and pointed 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.

Third Polish Republic

On 9 May 1997, the

Katowice Voivodeship Katowice Voivodeship () can refer to one of two political entities in Poland: Katowice Voivodeship (1), initially "Silesian-Dabrowa Voivodeship" ( pl, województwo śląsko-dąbrowskie), was a unit of administrative division and local government ...

had adopted its coat of arms. It depicted a dark yellow (golden) eagle with risen wings and its head facing viewer's left, with a white (silver)

crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

placed across its chest and wings. It was placed within a dark blue

-style

(shield).
Rozporządzenie Nr 82/97 Wojewody Katowickiego z dnia 22 kwietnia 1997 roku w sprawie ustanowienia herbu województwa katowickiego
'. Katowice: Katowice Voivodeship Sejmik. 22 April 1997. In: ''1997 Journal of Laws of the Katowice Voivodeship'', no. 15, position 103. The Katowice Voivodeship ceased to exist on 31 December 1998, and was replaced by the

on the next day.''Ustawa z dnia 28 maja 1975 r. o dwustopniowym podziale administracyjnym Państwa oraz o zmianie ustawy o radach narodowych.'', In: ''1975 Journal of the Laws'', no. 16, position 91.
''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 had been adopted by the Silesian Voivodeship Sejmik on 11 June 2001.''Uchwała NR I/36/5/2001 Sejmiku Województwa Śląskiego z dnia 11 czerwca 2001 r. w sprawie ustanowienia herbu Województwa Śląskiego''. 11 June 2001. Katowice: Silesian Voivodeship Sejmik. In: ''2001 Journal of Laws of the Silesian Voivodeship''. 2001. Katowice: Silesian Voivodeship Sejmik. no. 46, position 1160.

References

{{authority control

Silesian Voivodeship Coats of arms with eagles History of Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship (1920–1939)

2001 establishments in Poland