The coat of arms of Vilnius is the coat of arms of the city of Vilnius,

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. It is also used as coat of arms of Vilnius city municipality. The modern version was created in 1991 by

Arvydas Každailis Arvydas Stanislavas Každailis (born 4 April 1939, in Baisogala) is a Lithuanian artist, best known as the creator of many coat of arms for cities and towns of Lithuania. For his achievements in Lithuanian art, he was awarded the Order of the Lith ...

, the same artist who drew the modern

coat of arms of Lithuania The coat of arms of Lithuania consists of a mounted armoured knight holding a sword and shield, known as (). Since the early 15th century, it has been Lithuania's official coat of arms and is one of the oldest European coats of arms. It is ...

. The design is based on the oldest seals of the Vilnius City Council dating back to the 14th century. There is a great version and a small version. The great version incorporates the small version, which depicts

Saint Christopher Saint Christopher ( el, Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, ''Ágios Christóphoros'') is veneration, venerated by several Christianity, Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Empire, Roman emperor Deciu ...

(sometimes also called Saint Christophorus) with the infant Jesus on his shoulder. This coat of arms was originally given to Vilnius in 1330. It was speculated that in

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

times, i.e., until the end of the 14th century, it featured Titan Alkis, a hero of ancient Lithuanian tales, carrying his wife Janterytė on his shoulders across the Vilnia River. The great coat of arms bears the Latin motto "UnitasJustitia – Spes" ("UnityJusticeHope"). The words are echoed by objects held by the shield supporters: the axe and tied rods represent unity; the scale, justice; and the anchor, hope. The coat of arms was abolished under the Lithuanian SSR. It was reinstated after Lithuania declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. File:Seal of Vilnius (1387).png, Seal of Vilnius in 1387 File:Seal of Vilnius (1548).png, Seal of Vilnius in 1548 File:Vilno COA (Vilno Governorate) (1845).png, Coat of arms of Vilna from 1845 File:Coat of arms of Vilna 1859.svg, Coat of arms of Vilna from 1859 File:Vilnia. Вільня (B. Starzyński, 1875-1900).jpg, Coat of arms of Vilna in 1875–1900 File:Vilnia. Вільня (T. Dmachoŭski, 1910).jpg, Coat of arms of Vilna in a 1910 book File:Coat of arms of Vilnius with Saint Christopher (first half of the 20th century).jpg, Coat of arms of Vilnius with crown (early 20th century) File:Coats of arms of Wilno 1920.gif, Coat of arms of Wilno on a 1920 postcard File:Marka siaredniaja litva.jpg, Coat of arms on a 1920 stamp by Republic of Central Lithuania

Flag

The flag of Vilnius has the arms in the centre.

References

Sources

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External links

{{Flags and coats of arms of Lithuania 1991 establishments in Lithuania Vilnius Culture in Vilnius History of Vilnius Vilnius Vilnius Vilnius Vilnius