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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

features a golden

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

on a blue field. This is traditionally surmounted by a comital

coronet In British heraldry, a coronet is a type of crown that is a mark of rank of non-reigning members of the royal family and peers. In other languages, this distinction is not made, and usually the same word for ''crown'' is used irrespective of ra ...

of the elder Swedish style.

History

First known symbol of the Åland islands is a seal from 1326 depicting Saint Olaf, the patron saint of the islands. The saint is seated on a throne, holding in his hands a

globus cruciger The for, la, globus cruciger, cross-bearing orb, also known as ''stavroforos sphaira'' () or "the orb and cross", is an Sphere, orb surmounted by a Christian cross, cross. It has been a Christian Church, Christian symbol of authority since the M ...

and an axe. The medieval seal was later used as an inspiration for the arms of Jomala municipality, granted in 1952. The arms borne today by the Åland islands were originally granted to the similar-sounding island

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Oland'' internationally) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area of and is located in the Baltic Sea just off the coast of Småland. ...

in 1560, displaying a golden

on a blue field. In 1569, Åland had been given to the Swedish

queen dowager A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is cle ...

Katarina Stenbock as a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

and was awarded a provincial coat of arms displaying two roe deer on a field strewn with nine roses. The arms of these two similar-sounding Swedish provinces became confused early on, and in the 1880s Öland's arms were recorded as two roe deer with nine roses. Sweden had ceded much of its eastern territory, including the Åland Islands, to Russia in 1809, which became the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

, but the heraldic switch-up was not discovered until the 1940s. During a heraldic revision in 1944, the Swedish National Heraldry Office (''Riksheraldikerämbetet'') discovered that a mistake had been committed. Heraldic authorities in Finland were notified of the error but ultimately decided not make any changes and not to adopt the coat of arms originally intended for Åland (with the two roe deer and nine Finnish roses), as they had long since granted Åland the arms which had been usurped from Öland. This decision made it necessary for Swedish heralds to once again alter the coat of arms for Öland, to avoid further confusion. It was then decided in 1944 that the Öland deer should have a red collar and attire to distinguish it from the arms which had been first granted to Öland but now belonged to Åland.

Gallery

File:Åland_seal_1326.png, Seal of Åland from 1326 File:Åland vapen.svg, Arms granted to Öland in 1560 and used there prior to the 1569 transfer of Åland, subsequently used there until present day File:Öland-Åland vapen.svg, Arms designed for Åland in the 16th century but instead used by Öland (officially 1880s–1944, but also used earlier) File:Öland vapen.svg, Arms granted to Öland in 1944, with the red collar added and the attire changed to red to distinguish it from Åland File:N17819_19991.jpg, Arms of Åland used in the funeral of King

Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...

in 1634. File:Åland_1889.jpg, Arms of Åland by Karl Bomansson from 1889 showing the stag with a jewelled collar. File:Turun_ja_Porin_läänin_vaakuna_1890.jpg, Arms of Åland as part of the arms of

Turku and Pori Province Turku and Pori Province (, , ) was a Provinces of Finland, province of independent Finland from 1917 to 1997. The province was however founded as a county in 1634 when today's Finland was an integrated part of Sweden. It is named after the citie ...

from 1890.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coat of arms of Aland Finnish heraldry History of Åland Aland Aland

History

Gallery

See also

References