The coat of arms of Aarhus is an official symbol of
Aarhus based on one of the oldest surviving seals of the medieval Danish market towns. The coat of arms can be traced back to a seal used in Aarhus around 1250. The oldest known preserved seal was in a document from 24 June 1356 which was lost in destruction during the
Second World War
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 opposi ...
. The seal has had a number of different forms during its 750 year long existence.
Overview
The original seal depicts two figures in robes, holding an anchor and a sword respectively, in a portal flanked by two towers. The towers are thought to symbolize the original
Romanesque Aarhus Cathedral
Aarhus Cathedral ( da, Århus Domkirke) is a cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the longest and tallest church in the country, at in length and in height.
The construction of Aarhus Cathedral began in the 12th century and it is the main edific ...
which had two prominent west towers. The two figures are not known but the one holding the anchor is thought to be
St. Clement, the patron saint of sailors and whom the cathedral is named for. The figure holding the sword is thought to be the
Apostle Paul. The oldest seals feature the name of the city written as "Arusiensis", adjective of Arusia, originally interpreted as "Åre hus" or "city by the mouth of the river". Later seals looked very different. In 1581 it was three oars and in 1672 it was three oars inside a building above waves and two fish.
In 1938
Aarhus Municipality
Aarhus Municipality ( da, Aarhus Kommune), known as Århus Municipality ( da, Århus Kommune) until 2011, is a municipality in Central Denmark Region, on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark.
The municipality covers an area ...
had the present coat of arms designed by the artist and engraver Fr. Fritze. The new coat of arms is based on the original seal from the 1250s. The concept of city seal was at the same retired. The official announcement in
Statstidende
''Statstidende'' (lit.: ''Tidings of the State'') is a government gazette of Denmark, first published in 1904. It was originally published by the Prime Minister's Office, but since 1964 by the Justice Ministry and since 2005, solely published on ...
on 23 June 1938 described the new coat of arms as:
"A blue shield, with a red portal, flanked by two red tower and a spire, with depiction of St. Clement and St. Paul, dressed in blue robes. Above the portal is a golden moon and a seven-spiked golden star and underneath it and above 4 silver waves a red painted wall."
["Et blaat Skjold, med en rød Portal, flankeret af to røde Taarne og et Spir, anbragt Gengivelse af St. Clemens og St. Paulus, klædte i blaa Kjortler. Over Portalen ses en Guldmaane og en syvtakket Guldstjerne og under den en over fire Sølvbølger opragende rød tindet Mur."]
In 2004 Aarhus Municipality had a new stylized logo designed based on the 1250 seal.
See also
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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 ...
References
External links
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Wikimedia commons category
{{Coats of arms of Denmark
Aarhus
1938 establishments in Denmark
History of Aarhus
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