The coat of arms of Copenhagen was granted 24 June 1661 by king Frederick III of Denmark in appraisal of its citizens' efforts in repelling the Swedish siege and attack on Copenhagen in 1658-1659. An accompanying royal letter of privilege granted the citizens of Copenhagen the same rights to own fixed property as applied to the Danish nobility.
The central feature of the full arms are three towers rising above water, a symbol also appearing in the town's seal from 1296. The water element also refers to the city's original name Havn meaning "Harbour" (Latin: Hafnia). The left and right towers represented Absalon's castle and the central tower a church building inside the castle. By the 16th century, the central tower was no longer depicted as a church tower, instead it had a gateway with a portcullis. The version granted by King Frederick III modified the original symbol by adding a knight carrying a raised sword in front of the gateway. The central tower features an oval with the king's F3 cypher above the city gate, both elements in gold.
The greater coat of arms features three helmets, banners and a wide assortment of war equipment. An oversized golden crown is shown above but not affixed to the central helmet. Two lions act as supporters.
Today, the full arms is reserved for representative purposes. A lesser coat of arms featuring only the central shield is more commonly used by the city. In recent years, this symbol has in turn been simplified to a logo omitting the frame of the shield featuring only the three towers over three waves.
Famous quotes containing the words coat of, coat and/or arms:
“Commit a crime and the world is made of glass. Commit a crime, and it seems as if a coat of snow fell on the ground, such as reveals in the woods the track of every partridge and fox and squirrel and mole.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Americans living in Latin American countries are often more snobbish than the Latins themselves. The typical American has quite a bit of money by Latin American standards, and he rarely sees a countryman who doesn’t. An American businessman who would think nothing of being seen in a sport shirt on the streets of his home town will be shocked and offended at a suggestion that he appear in Rio de Janeiro, for instance, in anything but a coat and tie.”
—Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939)
“For every parcel I stoop down to seize
I lose some other off my arms and knees,
And the whole pile is slipping, bottles, buns ...”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)