The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

Głogów Głogów (; german: Glogau, links=no, rarely , cs, Hlohov, szl, Głogōw) is a city in western Poland. It is the county seat of Głogów County, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (since 1999), and was previously in Legnica Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

depicts a shield divided crosswise into four fields, with a fifth central field on which there appears in the centre an initial golden "G" on a red background. The first field is blue and shows a crowned Madonna, holding a sceptre and the baby Jesus, standing on a silver crescent moon. This entire image is enveloped by a golden

aureola An aureola or aureole (diminutive of Latin ''aurea'', "golden") is the radiance of luminous cloud which, in paintings of sacred personages, surrounds the whole figure. In Romance languages, the noun Aureola is usually more related to the d ...

. The second field shows a black

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

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, j ...

, on a gold background, wings outstretched. Across its chest we see a silver crescent moon, and a cross on it. The third field is red, on it a black head of a

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

facing forward. The fourth field is blue, on it a raven sits on a golden branch with three knots. The crow is facing inward. Historical description of the symbols on this coat of arms: 1st quadrant: The Madonna is the patroness of the oldest church of Glogow, which goes back even to the time of the

Piasts The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branche ...

. The image of the Madonna appears on city stamps from Glogow even as early as 1326. 2nd: The black crownless eagle is the coat of arms of the

Silesian Piasts 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 h ...

. The eagle was a universal symbol and very popular, since its meaning encapsulated strength, courage, wisdom and fairness. 3rd: The black head of bull. This motif was often seen on coins struck in the Glogow mint. The head of the bull was from the coat of arms of the royal elders of the noble Glogow family of Hans von Loos, who was also the overseer of the city mint. 4th: The black raven. The image of the crow appear on the city's seal on 17 March 1490. A crow sitting on a silver branch is the coat of arms of the Korwins, who ruled the Duchy of Glogów. In the 15th century, they donated their crest to the city.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20090901070138/http://www.glogow.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=176&Itemid=474 * http://historia.org.pl/2013/01/29/historia-i-symbolika-herbu-miasta-glogowa/ Glogow Glogow Glogow Glogow Glogow Glogow Glogow Glogow {{Heraldry-stub

See also

References