The coat of arms and the flag of the Altai Territory accurately and capacitively reflect the historical past of this region. How do they look? And what is the symbolism in them?
Approximately three thousand kilometers from Moscow, onsouth-eastern outskirts of Western Siberia is located an incredibly beautiful Altai Territory. It borders directly with the Kemerovo and Novosibirsk regions, the Republic of Altai, and in the south - with Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the region is the city of Barnaul.
The relief of the region is very diverse.Here you can see the mountain ranges, and the vast expanses of plowed fields. The south and east of this region are characterized by mountainous terrain, and the west and center are characterized by a flat surface. In terms of landscapes, the Altai Territory is no less diverse. Fertile steppe here is replaced by forest-steppe with ribbon pine forests, and mountain massifs alternate with the classical taiga.
By total reserves of fresh water resourcesoccupies one of the first places in Russia. There are about 17 thousand rivers and no less than 13 thousand lakes. The largest and most famous pond is the Kulunda Lake.
The region is famous for its natural-resourcepotential, especially mineral reserves. Its subsoil contains a considerable amount of polymetallic and iron ores, nickel, cobalt, brown coal, marble and granites, as well as some precious metals. In addition, the region can boast of a high level of development of its agriculture. Both these features reflect the coat of arms of the Altai Territory. About him and talk later.
The coat of arms is based on the traditional French shield,divided into two identical parts. The top has a blue (azure) color, and the bottom one is red. The shield is surrounded by a massive wreath of golden wheat ears, which is wrapped in blue ribbon 16 times.
The upper part of the shield shows the workingblast furnace of the XVIII century. In the lower field there is a stylistic image of the Great Kolyvan Vase. This work of art from jasper weighing 19 tons is now stored in the Hermitage. Over the creation of the "queen of vases," the master stonemasons labored for about 15 years (from 1828 to 1843).
The current coat of arms of the Altai Territory was adopted by the relevant law of June 1, 2000. It is interesting that the image of the blast furnace on it was borrowed from the main city symbol of Barnaul.
Let's try to figure out what is the meaning of the symbols depicted in the coat of arms of the region.
The smoking blast furnace representsmetallurgy of the region. In the middle of the XVIII century, the first copper smelting plants were established in the region. The "queen of the vases" shown below, in turn, accentuates our attention on the fact that the Altai region remembers its history and honors its traditions.
A few words worth mentioning about the color design of the coat of arms. Red color traditionally symbolizes courage and courage, azure - greatness, and yellow - wealth and fertility.
Wheat ears, framing the shield, symbolizeagriculture is one of the key economic sectors of the region. Initially, it was planned that the number of turns of the ribbon on the wreath should be twelve (the total number of cities in the province). However, later they decided to abandon this idea, so as not to overload the coat of arms with excessive symbolism.
Like the coat of arms, the flag of the region was officially approved in 2000. Looking at it, it is not hard to guess that the banner of the RSFSR of 1954 was based on it.
The flag of the Altai Territory is arectangular panel with a rather rare ratio of sides - 1: 2. Most of it has a red tint. A vertical strip of blue color is located at the pole, occupying 1/6 of the total length of the flag. It depicts a yellow ear of wheat - a symbol of the developed grain economy of the region.
In the center of the red flag field is placed in the exact and unchanged form the coat of arms of the Altai Territory. There is also a wreath of ears, framed heraldic shield emblem.
