Coat of arms of Dresden
Encyclopedia
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
from the early 13th century. The arms that depict the lion of Meissen and the pales of Landsberg have ever since been used by the city. The original pales were probably blue, but were later converted to black. From the 16th century the arms were furnished with a helmet and mantling, but these fell in disuse at the beginning to the twentieth century.
BlazonBlazonIn heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
Party per paleDivision of the field
In heraldry, the field of a shield can be divided into more than one area of different tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinaries and carrying its name...
on a golden shield
Shield
A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....
showing a black lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
to dexter
Dexter and sinister
Dexter and sinister are terms used in heraldry to refer to specific locations in an escutcheon bearing a coat of arms and by extension also to a crest. "Dexter" means to the right from the viewpoint of the bearer of the arms, to the left of that of the viewer...
and two black pales
Pale (heraldry)
A pale is a term used in heraldic blazon and vexillology to describe a charge on a coat of arms , that takes the form of a band running vertically down the center of the shield. Writers broadly agree that the width of the pale ranges from about one-fifth to about one-third of the width of the...
to sinister
Dexter and sinister
Dexter and sinister are terms used in heraldry to refer to specific locations in an escutcheon bearing a coat of arms and by extension also to a crest. "Dexter" means to the right from the viewpoint of the bearer of the arms, to the left of that of the viewer...
. The lion is looking to dexter and has a red tongue
Tongue
The tongue is a muscular hydrostat on the floors of the mouths of most vertebrates which manipulates food for mastication. It is the primary organ of taste , as much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds. It is sensitive and kept moist by saliva, and is richly...
. The city's colours are derivatively black and yellow (Or
Or (heraldry)
In heraldry, Or is the tincture of gold and, together with argent , belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". In engravings and line drawings, it may be represented using a field of evenly spaced dots...
).
Meaning: The lion represents the Margraviate of Meissen and the pales called the Landsberger Pfähle represent the March of Landsberg
Landsberg, Saxony-Anhalt
Landsberg is a town in the Saalekreis in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany with about 12,000 inhabitants. Landsberg lies in the Greater Halle area....
, both ruling the city of Dresden.
Further reading
- Bensing et al. Lexikon Städte und Wappen der DDR. Leipzig. 1984.
- Gunnar Staack. Flaggen Deutscher Städte (Flags of German Cities). Germany: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Flaggenkunde e.V. 1997.