Coat of arms of the Czech Republic

Coat of arms of the Czech Republic
Versions
Small coat of arms of the Czech Republic
Details
Armiger	Czech Republic
Adopted	17 December 1992
Escutcheon	1st and 4th Quarters-Bohemia:Gules, a lion rampant queue fourché in saltire argent armed, langued and crowned or; 2nd Quarter-Moravia:Azure, an eagle Chequy gules and argent armed, beaked, langued and crowned or; 3rd Quarter-Silesia:Or, an eagle sable charged with a crescent trefly Argent ending in crosses armed, beaked and langued gules crowned or

The coat of arms of the Czech Republic (Czech: Státní znak České republiky) displays the three historical regions—the Czech lands—which make up the nation:

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  Bohemia

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  Moravia

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  Silesia

The arms of Bohemia show a silver double-tailed lion on a red background¹. The Bohemian Lion is repeated in the lower-left-hand side of the coat of arms (from the perspective of the person holding the shield). The Moravian red-and-silver chequered eagle is shown on a blue background. Since the days of the Habsburg Monarchy until 1918, the Moravian Eagle was chequered in the red-and-gold colours of the Habsburg dynasty. The arms of Silesia are a black eagle with the so-called "clover stalk" in her breast on a golden background, although only a small south-eastern part of the historical region (Czech Silesia) belongs to the Czech Republic.

The history of the Czech coat of arms dates back to the 13th century, when the Bohemian Lion, a meed by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to King Vladislaus II of Bohemia, appeared on the seal of his Přemyslid descendant King Ottokar II (1253-1278). The Moravian Eagle was first documented on the seal of Ottokar's uncle, Margrave Přemysl (d. 1239). The shields also appeared on the coat of arms of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown established by Emperor Charles IV. The Silesian Eagle stems from the ruling dynasty of the Piasts and was first applied by Duke Henry II the Pious (1238-1241).

Today the shield is also used as the badge for the Czech national football team and Czech national ice hockey team.

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  Přemyslid dynasty

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  Kingdom of Bohemia

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  Lands of the Bohemian Crown (1526-1635)

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  Czechoslovakia (1990-1992)

See also

• Coat of arms of Czechoslovakia