Category:Greater coat of arms of the Free State of Bavaria

Basic arms & blazon edit

The modern coat of arms was designed by Eduard Ege, following heraldic traditions, in 1946.

• First Quarter (the "Lion of the Palatinate"): Sable, a lion rampant or armed and langued gules This represents the administrative region of Upper Palatinate. It is identical to the coat of arms of the former Electorate of the Palatinate.
• Second Quarter (the "Franconian Rake"): Per fess dancetty gules and argent, represents the administrative regions of Upper Franconia, Middle Franconia and Lower Franconia. It was the coat of arms of the Prince Bishops of Würzburg, who were also Dukes of Franconia.^[1]
• Third Quarter (the "Blue Panther"): Argent, a panther rampant azure armed or; this represents the old Bavarian administrative districts of Lower Bavaria and Upper Bavaria. (Source: Scheufele) Originally it was depicted in the coat of arms of the Count Palatine of Ortenburg, in Lower Bavaria, in the 12th century. Later, it was adopted by the House of Wittelsbach. Today, the blue panther represents the old Bavarian administrative districts of Lower Bavaria and Upper Bavaria.
• Fourth Quarter (the "Lions of Hohenstaufen"): Or, three lions passant guardant sable armed gules, representing Swabia, being the arms of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, the former Dukes of Swabia.
• Inescutcheon of Wittelsbach, originally adopted in 1204 by the Counts of Bogen, and then adopted in 1242 by the House of Wittelsbach, later Dukes and Kings of Bavaria. "Indisputably the emblem of Bavaria" and today symbolising Bavaria as a whole. On its own and surmounted by the "People's Crown", it forms the Lesser Coat of Arms of the Free State of Bavaria.
• The Volkskrone ("People's Crown"): The whole is surmounted by a golden band inset with coloured gem-stones and topped with five ornamental leaves. "This crown appeared in the coat of arms for the first time in 1923 to symbolize the sovereignty of the people after the dropping out of the royal crown".

(Sources: www.bayern.de [1]; Scheufele, Karl Michael, Coat of Arms and Flags, published by Bavarian State Chancery[2])

1. ↑ Schiering, Timo (2005). Die Wappen der Deutschen Bundesländer. Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg; Fakultät GGeo; Lehrstuhl für Historische Hilfswissenschaften. Retrieved on 2016-02-09.