Symbols of Kraków
Encyclopedia
The city of Kraków
uses a coat of arms
, a seal
, official colors, a flag
, and a banner
as its official symbols. Additionally, a number of semi-official and unofficial symbols of the city are also used.
The coat of arms displays a red brick wall with three towers in a blue field
. Each tower, the middle one taller and wider than the other two, is topped with a battlement
with three crenels and has a black vertical loophole
and a black window. In the wall there is a gate with a pair of open golden doors with fleur-de-lis
-shaped metalwork and a raised golden grate. Inside the gate there is the White Eagle
with a golden crown
, beak
and talons
. The escutcheon has a typically Renaissance
shape and is topped with a golden crown with fleurs-de-lis, closed with a globus cruciger
(an orb with a cross).
The crowned White Eagle, which is also used in the coat of arms of Poland
, and the crown above the escutcheon symbolize the fact that Kraków was the Polish capital and seat of Polish kings from ca. 1040 until 1596. The coat of arms with the brick wall, the three towers, the open gate and the eagle dates back to the 16th century. The actual colors and shapes, however, changed with time. The current design, adopted in 2002, uses shapes of the escutcheon and the eagle based on those found on Renaissance seals, signets and other artifacts, but other shapes, including Gothic
and Neo-Classical
, were also used in past. The Free City of Kraków
, a city state which existed between 1815 and 1846 used the Kraków coat of arms as its state symbol. The Grand Duchy of Kraków
created after the Free City's annexation by the Austrian Empire
, used the White Eagle with the Kraków coat as an inescutcheon but without the eagle inside the gate.
, the only difference being the shade of blue.
in a blue field with the coat of arms superimposed in the center. The banner proportions are 5:8. It is attached to a pole topped with a miniature of the crown used for coronations of Polish kings.
Both the banner and the seal exist in only two official specimens. One set of the banner and seal is used by the Mayor (Prezydent Miasta Krakowa) and the other – by the President of the City Council (Przewodniczący Rady Miasta Krakowa). The banner is only used on special occasions. Similarly, the seal is only impressed upon particularly important documents.
The coat of arms should be displayed outside and may be also displayed indoors by organs of the City of Kraków, the city administration and the city's one-person joint-stock companies. The flag is the most "democratic" of the official symbols as it may be used virtually by anyone, especially on special occasions.
Since the use of most of Kraków's official symbols is legally restricted, many semiofficial and unofficial symbols are also used. The Kraków logo, which includes the city's Latin
name, Cracovia, is used by the city authorities for Kraków's promotion. Another popular symbol of the city is a stylized crowned letter K based on that found on old city seals and, most famously, on the door to the Wawel Cathedral
.
Images of the city's patron saint
s, Saint Stanislaus
and Saint Florian
may be also used as its symbols, particularly in religious contexts. Hejnał mariacki, the famous trumpet call made every hour from the taller tower of St Mary's Church, may be considered an audible symbol of Kraków. Other unofficial symbols of Kraków include a variety of objects popularly associated with the city, such as:
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
uses a coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
, a seal
Seal (device)
A seal can be a figure impressed in wax, clay, or some other medium, or embossed on paper, with the purpose of authenticating a document ; but the term can also mean the device for making such impressions, being essentially a mould with the mirror image of the design carved in sunken- relief or...
, official colors, a flag
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
, and a banner
Banner
A banner is a flag or other piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or other message. Banner-making is an ancient craft.The word derives from late Latin bandum, a cloth out of which a flag is made...
as its official symbols. Additionally, a number of semi-official and unofficial symbols of the city are also used.
Official symbols
The current official symbols of Kraków are described by the Ordinance of the Kraków City Council no. CXXIII/1150/02 adopted on October 9, 2002. However, they are all based on symbols which have been in use since much earlier, some of them dating back to the 16th century.Coat of arms
Field (heraldry)
In heraldry, the background of the shield is called the field. The field is usually composed of one or more tinctures or furs. The field may be divided or may consist of a variegated pattern....
. Each tower, the middle one taller and wider than the other two, is topped with a battlement
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
with three crenels and has a black vertical loophole
Embrasure
In military architecture, an embrasure is the opening in a crenellation or battlement between the two raised solid portions or merlons, sometimes called a crenel or crenelle...
and a black window. In the wall there is a gate with a pair of open golden doors with fleur-de-lis
Fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys is a stylized lily or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in heraldry...
-shaped metalwork and a raised golden grate. Inside the gate there is the White Eagle
White Eagle
White Eagle may refer to:A coat of arms:*White Eagle of the Serbian royal houses Nemanjić, Mrnjavčević, Lazarević, Crnojević, Obrenović and Karađorđević used on the Coat of arms of Serbia and the Flag of Serbia ....
with a golden crown
Crown (headgear)
A crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art, the crown may be shown being offered to...
, beak
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
and talons
Claw
A claw is a curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in most mammals, birds, and some reptiles. However, the word "claw" is also often used in reference to an invertebrate. Somewhat similar fine hooked structures are found in arthropods such as beetles and spiders, at the end...
. The escutcheon has a typically Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
shape and is topped with a golden crown with fleurs-de-lis, closed with a globus cruciger
Globus cruciger
The globus cruciger is an orb topped with a cross , a Christian symbol of authority used throughout the Middle Ages and even today on coins, iconography and royal regalia...
(an orb with a cross).
The crowned White Eagle, which is also used in the coat of arms of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and the crown above the escutcheon symbolize the fact that Kraków was the Polish capital and seat of Polish kings from ca. 1040 until 1596. The coat of arms with the brick wall, the three towers, the open gate and the eagle dates back to the 16th century. The actual colors and shapes, however, changed with time. The current design, adopted in 2002, uses shapes of the escutcheon and the eagle based on those found on Renaissance seals, signets and other artifacts, but other shapes, including Gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
and Neo-Classical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
, were also used in past. The Free City of Kraków
Free City of Kraków
The Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Kraków with its Territory , more commonly known as either the Free City of Kraków or Republic of Kraków , was a city-state created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and controlled by its three neighbours until 1846, when in the aftermath of the...
, a city state which existed between 1815 and 1846 used the Kraków coat of arms as its state symbol. The Grand Duchy of Kraków
Grand Duchy of Kraków
The Grand Duchy of Cracow was created after the incorporation of the Free City of Kraków to Austria on November 16, 1846. The title of Grand Duke of Cracow was just a part of the official titulary of the Emperor of Austria in 1846-1918....
created after the Free City's annexation by the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
, used the White Eagle with the Kraków coat as an inescutcheon but without the eagle inside the gate.
Seal
The seal is round and consists of the coat of arms surrounded by an inscription with the city's official name: Stołeczne Królewskie Miasto Kraków, or "Royal Capital City of Kraków".Colors and flag
The official colors of Kraków are white and blue. The flag consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the top one white and the bottom one blue. The flag proportions are 5:8. The white-and-blue bicolor was adopted as the flag of the Free City of Kraków in 1815. It is almost identical with the civil flag of San MarinoFlag of San Marino
The state and war flag of San Marino is formed by two equal horizontal bands of white and light blue with the national coat of arms superimposed in the center; the coat of arms has a shield with a closed crown on top, flanked by an oak and laurel wreath, with a scroll below bearing the word...
, the only difference being the shade of blue.
Banner
The banner consists of a white saltireSaltire
A saltire, or Saint Andrew's Cross, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross or letter ex . Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred on such a cross....
in a blue field with the coat of arms superimposed in the center. The banner proportions are 5:8. It is attached to a pole topped with a miniature of the crown used for coronations of Polish kings.
Use of official symbols
The use of the city's official symbols is regulated by the Ordinance no. 167/2004 signed by the Mayor of Kraków on February 6, 2004.Both the banner and the seal exist in only two official specimens. One set of the banner and seal is used by the Mayor (Prezydent Miasta Krakowa) and the other – by the President of the City Council (Przewodniczący Rady Miasta Krakowa). The banner is only used on special occasions. Similarly, the seal is only impressed upon particularly important documents.
The coat of arms should be displayed outside and may be also displayed indoors by organs of the City of Kraków, the city administration and the city's one-person joint-stock companies. The flag is the most "democratic" of the official symbols as it may be used virtually by anyone, especially on special occasions.
Other symbols
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
name, Cracovia, is used by the city authorities for Kraków's promotion. Another popular symbol of the city is a stylized crowned letter K based on that found on old city seals and, most famously, on the door to the Wawel Cathedral
Wawel Cathedral
The Wawel Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Stanisław and Vaclav, is a church located on Wawel Hill in Kraków–Poland's national sanctuary. It has a 1,000-year history and was the traditional coronation site of Polish monarchs. It is the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Kraków...
.
Images of the city's patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
s, Saint Stanislaus
Stanislaus of Szczepanów
Stanislaus of Szczepanów, or Stanisław Szczepanowski, was a Bishop of Kraków known chiefly for having been martyred by the Polish king Bolesław II the Bold...
and Saint Florian
Saint Florian
Florian lived in the time of the Roman emperors Diocletian and Maximian, and was commander of the imperial army in the Roman province of Noricum. In addition to his military duties, he was also responsible for organizing firefighting brigades....
may be also used as its symbols, particularly in religious contexts. Hejnał mariacki, the famous trumpet call made every hour from the taller tower of St Mary's Church, may be considered an audible symbol of Kraków. Other unofficial symbols of Kraków include a variety of objects popularly associated with the city, such as:
- the Wawel DragonSmok WawelskiThe Wawel Dragon , also known as the Dragon of Wawel Hill, is a famous dragon in Polish folklore. He laired in a cave at the foot of Wawel Hill on the bank of the Vistula River. Wawel Hill is in Kraków, which was then the capital of Poland...
; - the LajkonikLajkonikThe Lajkonik is one of the unofficial symbols of the city of Kraków, Poland. It is represented as a bearded man resembling a Tatar in a characteristic pointed hat, dressed in Mongol attire, with a wooden horse around his waist...
; - certain landmark buildings, especially the WawelWawelWawel is an architectural complex erected over many centuries atop a limestone outcrop on the left bank of the Vistula River in Kraków, Poland, at an altitude of 228 metres above the sea level. It is a place of great significance to the Polish people. The Royal Castle with an armoury and the...
, St Mary's Church, the SukienniceSukienniceThe Renaissance Sukiennice in Kraków, Poland, is one of the city's most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the Main Market Square in the Kraków Old Town . It was once a major centre of international trade. Traveling merchants met there to discuss business and to barter...
(Cloth Hall) and the Barbican; - mascaronMascaron (architecture)In architecture, a mascaron ornament is a face, usually human, sometimes frightening or chimeric whose function was originally to frighten away evil spirits so that they would not enter the building. The concept was subsequently adapted to become a purely decorative element. The most recent...
s from the Sukiennice atticAtticAn attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building . Attic is generally the American/Canadian reference to it...
; - the krakowiak folk costume;
- obwarzanek, the traditional Kraków bagelBagelA bagel is a bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior...
; - Kraków's ubiquitous pigeons.
External links
- Krakow4u.pl – photographs of the Sukiennice mascarons