Coat of arms of Republic of Latvia was officially adopted by the Constitutional Assembly of Latvia on 15 June 1921, and was in official use from 19 August 1921. It was created using new national symbols and elements of coats of arms of Polish and Swedish

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

and of the

Duchy of Courland and Semigallia The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ( la, Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; german: Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; lv, Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; lt, Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; pl, Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was ...

. Thus the coat of arms combines symbols of Latvian national statehood, as well as symbols of its historical regions. The Latvian national coat of arms was designed by the Latvian artist Rihards Zariņš.

Elements

The three golden stars above the shield represent three historical regions of Latvia:

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in ...

(

Swedish Livonia Swedish Livonia ( sv, Svenska Livland) was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1629 until 1721. The territory, which constituted the southern part of modern Estonia (including the island of Ösel ceded by Denmark after the Treaty of Bröm ...

Latgale Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While ...

(Latgalia or Polish Livonia) and Kurzeme (Courland, usually also representing Zemgale (

Semigallia Semigallia, also spelt Semigalia, ( lv, Zemgale; german: Semgallen; lt, Žiemgala; pl, Semigalia; liv, Zemgāl) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located in the south of the Daugava river and the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. ...

) as the

Duchy of Courland and Semigalia The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ( la, Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; german: Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; lv, Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; lt, Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; pl, Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was ...

) and their unity. The golden sun in a blue field represents freedom. Sun was also used as a symbol of distinction and national identity used by the

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. Th ...

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

's Latvian Riflemen units during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. During the war, the sun was fashioned with 17 rays that symbolised the 17 Latvian-inhabited districts. The bottom part of escutcheon is divided into two fields: * The red

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

from the

Coat of arms of Courland The coat of arms of Courland (Kurzeme), a historical region in western Latvia, has been known since the 16th century and depicts a lion gules on a silver background. History Since 1565, the coat of arms of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia wa ...

represents Courland and Semigallia. The symbol appears as early as 1569 in the coat of arms of the former Duke of Courland and Semigalia. * The silver

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon ( Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and ...

from the

Coat of arms of Livonia The Coat of arms of Vidzeme, a region in central Latvia, depicts a white griffin in a red field. It is a version of the earlier coat of arms of Livonia granted in the 16th century. History The coat of arms was granted to the Duchy of Livonia on ...

represents

and

Latgalia Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While m ...

. The Gryf coat of arms as the heraldic symbol of the

Duchy of Livonia The Duchy of Livonia ( or ; lt, Livonijos kunigaikštystė; la, Ducatus Ultradunensis; et, Liivimaa hertsogkond; lv, Pārdaugavas hercogiste; german: Herzogtum Livland), also referred to as Polish Livonia or Livonia ( pl, link=no, Inflanty) ...

appeared in 1566, when the territories known today as Vidzeme and Latgale had come under the control of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was Partitions of Poland, partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire, Habsburg Empire of ...

and

Jan Hieronimowicz Chodkiewicz Jan Hieronimowicz Chodkiewicz ( lt, Jonas Chodkevičius, be, Ян Геранімавіч Хадкевіч) (1537 – 4 August 1579) was a 16th-century Polish-Lithuanian noble. He was Grand Pantler of Lithuania 1559, general starost of Samo ...

was made the first governor of

(1566–78). The red lion and silver griffin are also used as supporters. Base of the coat of arms is decorated with the branches of an oak tree,

Quercus robur ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus. It is widel ...

, which is one of Latvia's national symbols. There is also a version with

mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...

existed, which is on display at the

Saeima The Saeima () is the parliament of the Republic of Latvia. It is a unicameral parliament consisting of 100 members who are elected by proportional representation, with seats allocated to political parties which gain at least 5% of the popular v ...

chamber in the House of the Livonian Noble Corporation. File:Coat of arms of Kurzeme.svg,

File:Coat of arms of Vidzeme.svg,

File:Coat of Arms of Latvian National Armed Forces.svg, Emblem of the Latvian National Armed Forces including the sun with 17 rays and three stars File:The first session of the 1st Saeima of the Republic of Latvia on November 7, 1922.jpg, Greater national coat of arms of Latvia during the first session of the 1st Saeima of the Republic of Latvia in 1922 File:Freedom Monument extreme close-up.jpg, Three stars on the Freedom Monument in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the ...

Usage

The proper use of the Latvian coat of arms is firmly regulated. Three types of symbol are used: the large coat of arms, the small enhanced coat of arms and the small coat of arms. * The ''Greater Coat of Arms'' is used by the

President of Latvia The president of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Valsts prezidents ) is head of state and commander-in-chief of the National Armed Forces of the Republic of Latvia. The term of office is four years. Before 1999, it was three years. The president may be ...

, the Parliament, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet of Ministers, government ministries, the Supreme Court and Prosecutor General, as well as Latvian diplomatic and consular missions. * The ''Small Enhanced Coat of Arms'', (the Middle version) is used by Parliament agencies, the Cabinet of Ministers and other institutions under direct or indirect supervision of government ministries. * The ''Small Coat of Arms'' is used by other government institutions, municipal authorities and educational institutions on official documents. After the

Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 refers to the military occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union under the provisions of the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany and its Secret Additional Protocol signed in ...

, the coat of arms was used until 5 August 1940. During the existence of the

Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvian SSR), also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was a federated republic within the Soviet Union, and formally one of its 16 (later 15) constituent republics. The Latvian Soviet Socialist Rep ...

the emblem of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic was used. The Latvian coat of arms was restored once again on 15 February 1990.

Colours

The official colours used in the coat of arms are defined according to the Pantone Colour Matching System thus: * Red: Pantone 186 C * Green: Pantone 340 C * Blue: Pantone 286 C * Yellow: Pantone 124 C * Golden: Pantone 873 C * Silver: Pantone 877 C * Grey: Pantone 4 C * Black: Pantone Black

Historical coats of arms

File:Insignia_Germany_Order_Teutonic.svg,

State of the Teutonic Order The State of the Teutonic Order (german: Staat des Deutschen Ordens, ; la, Civitas Ordinis Theutonici; lt, Vokiečių ordino valstybė; pl, Państwo zakonu krzyżackiego), also called () or (), was a medieval Crusader state, located in Cent ...

File:Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii COA.svg,

Coat of arms of Governorate of Courland.svg,

Courland Governorate The Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland, Governorate of Kurland (german: Kurländisches Gouvernement; russian: Курля́ндская губерния, translit=Kurljándskaja gubernija; lv, Kurzemes guberņa; lt, K ...

Coat of arms of Swedish Livonia (18th century).svg,

POL Inflanty IRP COA.svg, Polish Livonia Coat of arms of Governorate of Livonia.svg,

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...

Emblem of the Latvian SSR (1918-1920).svg, Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic Emblem of the Latvian SSR.svg, Emblem of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic

References

External links

The Coat of Arms
– basic info at the ''Latvijas institūts'' website {{DEFAULTSORT:Coat of arms of Latvia National symbols of Latvia

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...