Coat of arms of Bulgaria

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The current coat of arms of Bulgaria was adopted in 1997. This coat of arms was the first used by Bulgaria since Communist rule was ended in the country in the early 1990s. Agreeing on the coat of arms was a source of great controversy in the Bulgarian government, as different parties argued over what to put in the arms.

The emblem has two lions supporting a shield with a lion rampant on it. It is topped by the crown of Bulgarian tsar Ivan Asen II. At the bottom of the shield is the Bulgarian national motto, "Unity Makes Strength", in the native language.

The three lions represent the three major portions and historical regions of Bulgaria — Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia. The crown on top of the shield, and thus upon the shielded lion, is not that of the last Bulgarian monarchy, but that of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396). This empire was established by the brothers Peter and Asen, after it was freed from Byzantine control in the end of the 12th century, and before it was subjugated by the Ottomans in the very end of the 14th century.

[edit] Historical coats of arms

Coat of arms of Bulgaria from Stemmatographia by Hristofor Zhefarovich, 1741	1879-1886	1887-1908	1908-1946
Coat of arms of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, 1967-1971	Old coat of arms on the facade of a 19th-century building in Rousse

[edit] See also

• Flag of Bulgaria

[edit] External links

• Law for the coat of arms of the Republic of Bulgaria
• History of the Bulgarian coat of arms (in Bulgarian and English language)
• Bulgarian Heraldry and Vexillology Society

bg:Герб на България ca:Escut de Bulgària de:Wappen Bulgariens es:Escudo de Bulgaria ko:불가리아의 문장 hr:Grb Bugarske he:סמל בולגריה mk:Грб на Бугарија pl:Godło Bułgarii pt:Brasão de armas da Bulgária sr:Грб Бугарске fi:Bulgarian vaakuna tr:Bulgaristan Arması