Poland is a country with a rich, often militant past. Its flag and coat of arms are quite simple in execution. But what does the Polish heraldic eagle mean? And why is its flag composed precisely of these colors?
To official state symbols of the PolishStates include the flag, coat of arms and anthem. The coat of arms of Poland was approved in 1997. On the red shield is a figure of a white or silver eagle. The shield slightly narrows downwards. On the head at the golden eagle crown. His beak and claws are also golden.
Изображение орла часто используется в геральдике, rival with him except that only a lion. In ancient times the eagle personified a monarch or a deity. Often in Greece the bird was a symbol of Zeus, and in Rome - of Jupiter. According to one version, the figure of the eagle decorates the coat of arms of Poland as a symbol of power and strength.
There is also a more fabulous version of the imageeagle. It relates to legends about three brothers: Cech, Lech and Rus, the forefathers of the Slavic peoples. According to one of the legends, three brothers wandered with their people in search of a place to settle, but then decided to split up. So, the brother of Rus decided to go to the east, and brother Cech to the west towards Bohemia, until he reached the mountain of Rzip. Lech decided to go north. On the way, Lech met a white eagle flying over a nest on an oak tree. Eagle's flight in the rays of the setting sun so delighted Lech that he decided to settle in this place, and chose the eagle as a symbol on his coat of arms. His city he called the Nest.
Красивые и романтичные истории нравятся всем, но officially the eagle was not depicted for a long time on the Polish coat of arms. Initially, he attended the personal distinctive signs of Przemysl II in the 13th century, and only after his coronation the figure of the white eagle becomes a symbol of the whole state. The silver eagle meant a lot to the Polish people: as an image of not only strength, but also purity, it symbolically opposed the black double-headed German eagle - the sign of the hostile Germanic Empire in those days. The whole coat of arms showed Poland's superiority over German, and the red background additionally indicated readiness for the struggle.
The appearance of the emblem changed when Speech was formedThe Commonwealth. Then he took the form of a shield, and his composition included the Lithuanian coat of arms. The space of the shield was divided into four parts: in the upper left and lower right corners there was a Polish white eagle, and at the top right and bottom left was a Lithuanian knight on horseback.
In the period from the XVIII to the XIX century, due to the frequentchange of power, the crown on the head of the bird was often absent, and in 1943 it was officially removed. The crown was present only on the coat of arms of the expelled Polish government (supporters of the tsar).
At the end of the 20th century, a new, democratic path of development began in Polish politics. In confirmation of this, the coat of arms again changes, and the eagle finds its crown.
A symbol, no less important for the Republic of Poland,the coat of arms is a flag. His canvas is divided into two identical horizontal strips. The upper band of the flag is white, which often in symbolism means purity, spirituality, purity. On the Polish flag this color is also a symbol of the eagle depicted on its coat of arms. In the center of the white strip is a miniature coat of arms. The lower band of the flag is red. Usually this is the color of aggression, belligerence, courage and correlates with the image of fire. The red strip on the flag of Poland, as well as the white one, corresponds with its coat of arms.
В Средневековье, на белой полосе флага there was an image of the shield with an eagle. Later on the flag appeared another red band on top. And in the days of Jan Kazimir the flag consisted of four bands.
The modern form of the flag was officially approved in 1980.
The coat of arms of Poland often changed, but always on itremained the figure of a white eagle. Recalling the legendary historical past, the eagle personified the purity and strength of the Polish state, supporting the spirit of the people.
