The coats of arms of Lillehammer

Lillehammer

is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...

was approved by Royal resolution on April 4, 1898. It was created by the artist Andreas Bloch

Andreas Bloch

Andreas Bloch was a Norwegian painter, illustrator and costume designer.-Personal life:Andreas Schroeter Schelver Bloch was born on the Hellerud farm in in Skedsmo, in Akershus county, Norway, as the son of Jens Peter Blankenborg Bloch and Anne Julie Margrethe Schroeter. He was married in 1890...

 (1860–1917). The design depicts a Birkebeiner

Birkebeiner

The Birkebein Party or Birkebeinar was the name for a rebellious party in Norway, formed in 1174 around the pretender to the Norwegian throne, Eystein Meyla...

 (soldier of a Norwegian faction during a war in the 12th and 13th centuries). This motif was chosen following a public competition. The official coat of arms also features a golden mural crown

Mural crown

-Usage in ancient times:In Hellenistic culture, a mural crown identified the goddess Tyche, the embodiment of the fortune of a city, familiar to Romans as Fortuna...

with three towers.