Coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia
Encyclopedia
The coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia
is composed of two curved garland
s of sheaves of wheat
, tobacco
leaves and opium poppy
fruits, tied by a ribbon
decorated with embroidery
of traditional Macedonian folk motifs. In the centre of the ovoid frame are depicted a mountain
, a lake
and a sunrise
. These devices are said to represent "the richness of our country, our struggle and our freedom".
The Macedonian parliament adopted the proposal to change the country’s coat of arms with 80 votes in favor and 18 against, removing the five-pointed star. The national emblem was modified on 16 November 2009. The Macedonian coat of arms that included the red star had been in use since 1946, shortly after the republic became part of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). With the recent change, the coat of arms is composed of two curved garlands of wheat sheaves, tobacco leaves and opium poppy fruits, tied by a ribbon decorated with embroidery of traditional Macedonian folk motifs. A lake, a mountain, and a sunrise are depicted in the centre of the ovoid frame.
The whole composition and design is based upon the pattern of the coat of arms of the SFR Yugoslavia
and does not have any roots in the historical heraldic coats of arms of Macedonia. Besides the emblem of Belarus, the device of the Republic of Macedonia is one of the few remaining in Europe
to still employ socialist heraldry
.
The features of the national coat of arms contain a rising sun which symbolizes freedom, the Šar Mountains with its peak named Ljuboten
or Mount Korab
and the river Vardar
, with Lake Ohrid
. The emblem also contains opium poppy fruits; this poppy was brought to Macedonia by the Ottoman Empire in the first half of 19th century.
in order to symbolize a future United Macedonia
as part of a new Balkan Federation. The Emblem was created by Vasilije Popovic-Cico. After Yugoslavia broke with the Soviet Union
in 1948, the Soviet Union did not compel Bulgaria
and Albania
to form a Balkan Federation with Yugoslavia and the concept of a United Macedonia as part of such a federation was no more realistic.
Two days after its adoption, the symbolism of that device was described in the Nova Makedonija newspaper, as follows:
The supervised version was constitutionally approved by the Constitution of the People's Republic of Macedonia
from December 31, 1946.
of the late middle ages
. The earliest known attestation is in the Fojnica
Armory from 1340, where it contains a 7-pointed crown and appears side by side with entries for Illyria, Bosnia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Serbia and Bulgaria. The Korenić-Neorić armory roll of 1595 included a 5- pointed crown. The Belgrade Museum of Contemporary Art displays a 1620 version of the symbol with 3-pointed crown, while the Berlin Library displays a 17th century version with the 5-pointed crown. The use of the lion to represent Macedonia was continued in foreign heraldic collections throughout the 14th to 19th centuries
was put forward in 1992 to replace it with a revised version of the historical gold lion on a red shield. The Macedonian Heraldry Society considers that coat of arms to have been the best solution for a new state emblem. However, this was rejected on three main grounds:
Because of these reasons, the political parties agreed to continue to use the current device until a solution is found. The emblem did not appear on the country's first passport
s, however, in 2007 the device was put on the front and the inside of the new biometric Macedonian passports, while the parliamentary debate about acceptance of a new national emblem still continues.
According to the provisions of the Article 5, Section 2 of the Constitution of Macedonia, the two-thirds majority is required to pass a law on the new symbols of the Republic. The usage of the Coat of arms has been defined by a law.
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
is composed of two curved garland
Garland
A garland is a class of decoration, of which there are many types.Garland may also refer to:-Places:*Garland, Arkansas, a town in Miller County*Garland County, Arkansas*Garland, Maine, a town in Penobscot County...
s of sheaves of wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
leaves and opium poppy
Opium poppy
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine , thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine...
fruits, tied by a ribbon
Ribbon
A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily for binding and tying. Cloth ribbons, most commonly silk, are often used in connection with clothing, but are also applied for innumerable useful, ornamental and symbolic purposes...
decorated with embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
of traditional Macedonian folk motifs. In the centre of the ovoid frame are depicted a mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
, a lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
and a sunrise
Sunrise
Sunrise is the instant at which the upper edge of the Sun appears above the horizon in the east. Sunrise should not be confused with dawn, which is the point at which the sky begins to lighten, some time before the sun itself appears, ending twilight...
. These devices are said to represent "the richness of our country, our struggle and our freedom".
The Macedonian parliament adopted the proposal to change the country’s coat of arms with 80 votes in favor and 18 against, removing the five-pointed star. The national emblem was modified on 16 November 2009. The Macedonian coat of arms that included the red star had been in use since 1946, shortly after the republic became part of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). With the recent change, the coat of arms is composed of two curved garlands of wheat sheaves, tobacco leaves and opium poppy fruits, tied by a ribbon decorated with embroidery of traditional Macedonian folk motifs. A lake, a mountain, and a sunrise are depicted in the centre of the ovoid frame.
The whole composition and design is based upon the pattern of the coat of arms of the SFR Yugoslavia
Coat of arms of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The emblem of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia featured six torches, surrounded by wheat with a red star at its top, and burning together in one flame; this represented the brotherhood and unity of the six federal republics forming Yugoslavia: SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Croatia, SR...
and does not have any roots in the historical heraldic coats of arms of Macedonia. Besides the emblem of Belarus, the device of the Republic of Macedonia is one of the few remaining in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to still employ socialist heraldry
Socialist heraldry
Socialist heraldry, also called communist heraldry, consists of emblems in a style typically adopted by communist states. Although commonly called coats of arms, most such devices are not actually coats of arms in the traditional heraldic sense...
.
The features of the national coat of arms contain a rising sun which symbolizes freedom, the Šar Mountains with its peak named Ljuboten
Ljuboten
Ljuboten is a peak of the Šar Mountains located at the border between Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia. Its height is .-Information:Ljuboten peak although not being the highest peak of the range, is certainly the most attractive and bewildering peak of the Sar Mountains. It is somewhat...
or Mount Korab
Mount Korab
Mount Korab is the highest mountain of the Republic of Macedonia and Albania, its peak forming a frontier between the two countries...
and the river Vardar
Vardar
The Vardar or Axios is the longest and major river in the Republic of Macedonia and also a major river of Greece. It is long, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of river is ....
, with Lake Ohrid
Lake Ohrid
Lake Ohrid straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of Europe's deepest and oldest lakes, preserving a unique aquatic ecosystem with more than 200 endemic species that is of worldwide importance...
. The emblem also contains opium poppy fruits; this poppy was brought to Macedonia by the Ottoman Empire in the first half of 19th century.
Relation to the 1946 Coat of arms
The current emblem is a revised version of the one adopted on July 27, 1946 by the Assembly of the People's Republic of Macedonia. The original version of 1946 represented the Pirin Mountains which are part of the region of MacedoniaMacedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
in order to symbolize a future United Macedonia
United Macedonia
United Macedonia is an irredentist concept among ethnic Macedonian nationalists that aims to unify the transnational region of Macedonia in southeastern Europe, which they claim as their homeland, and which they assert was wrongfully divided under the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913, into a single...
as part of a new Balkan Federation. The Emblem was created by Vasilije Popovic-Cico. After Yugoslavia broke with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1948, the Soviet Union did not compel Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
to form a Balkan Federation with Yugoslavia and the concept of a United Macedonia as part of such a federation was no more realistic.
Two days after its adoption, the symbolism of that device was described in the Nova Makedonija newspaper, as follows:
The supervised version was constitutionally approved by the Constitution of the People's Republic of Macedonia
Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia
The Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia is a codified constitution outlining the country's system of government and basic human rights.In 2001 it was announced that Macedonia had adopted a new Constitution which enshrined 15 basic rights and has granted rights to the country's ethnic Albanian...
from December 31, 1946.
Historical coats of arms
The symbol of the golden lion on red ground first appeared as a symbol of "Macedonia" in armorial rollsHeraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
of the late middle ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The earliest known attestation is in the Fojnica
Fojnica
Fojnica is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located west of the capital Sarajevo. It lies in the valley of the Fojnička River, tributary of the river Bosna...
Armory from 1340, where it contains a 7-pointed crown and appears side by side with entries for Illyria, Bosnia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Serbia and Bulgaria. The Korenić-Neorić armory roll of 1595 included a 5- pointed crown. The Belgrade Museum of Contemporary Art displays a 1620 version of the symbol with 3-pointed crown, while the Berlin Library displays a 17th century version with the 5-pointed crown. The use of the lion to represent Macedonia was continued in foreign heraldic collections throughout the 14th to 19th centuries
Efforts to update the national emblem
Such efforts have so far failed, due to political and national disputes over possible replacements. A proposal by architect and graphic designer Miroslav GrčevMiroslav Grcev
Miroslav Grčev is a Macedonian architect, graphic designer and caricaturist. He is known for having designed the current flag of the Republic of Macedonia and a popular proposal for a new coat of arms of the Republic of Macedonia.He started interesting in graphic design in the mid 1970s when he...
was put forward in 1992 to replace it with a revised version of the historical gold lion on a red shield. The Macedonian Heraldry Society considers that coat of arms to have been the best solution for a new state emblem. However, this was rejected on three main grounds:
- several political parties, notably VMRO-DPMNE, already use that emblem as their party symbols
- the Albanian political parties of Macedonia considered the proposal to be only representative for the ethnic Macedonians, but not also for ethnic Albanians
- the state coat of arms of BulgariaCoat of arms of BulgariaThe coat of arms of Bulgaria consists of a crowned golden lion rampant over a dark red shield; above the shield is the Bulgarian historical crown...
features a lion similar to the Macedonian
Because of these reasons, the political parties agreed to continue to use the current device until a solution is found. The emblem did not appear on the country's first passport
Macedonian passport
The Macedonian passport is issued to citizens of the Republic of Macedonia for the purpose of international travel. Responsibility for their issuance lies with the Ministry of the Interior. The validity of the passport is 5 years for persons under the age of 27, and 10 years for those 27 years...
s, however, in 2007 the device was put on the front and the inside of the new biometric Macedonian passports, while the parliamentary debate about acceptance of a new national emblem still continues.
According to the provisions of the Article 5, Section 2 of the Constitution of Macedonia, the two-thirds majority is required to pass a law on the new symbols of the Republic. The usage of the Coat of arms has been defined by a law.
See also
- Flag of the Republic of MacedoniaFlag of the Republic of MacedoniaThe national flag of the Republic of Macedonia depicts a stylised yellow sun on a red field, with eight broadening rays extending from the centre to the edge of the field. It was created by Pr...
- Emblems of the Yugoslav Socialist Republics