Current Coat of Arms
The current coat of arms exists in two forms: the coat of arms proper and the so-called "big" coat of arms.
Its basic element is a cartouche-decorated Spanish shield bearing the symbols found on the current flag of Kirovohrad and topped with a golden mural crown. The shield follows the colours of the flag and is divided into three parts by a reversed dark blue pall, the first and the second fields being yellow and the third being crimson. Overall there is a yellow six-bastioned fort one point up superimposed by the red monogram of St. Elizabeth.
The big coat of arms of Kirovohrad adds to this two supporters: silver storks set on the compartment made up of four wheat ears and a dark blue scroll with a motto in Ukrainian: "З миром і добром" (English "With peace and good").
The composition of the shield uses the elements found on the old coat of arms of Yelisavetgrad (see below). The golden colour symbolizes the affluence and the fertility of local lands, while crimson one is the traditional colour of Ukrainian cossacks to whom the lands of present-day Kirovohrad once belonged. Three dark blue bands are said to symbolize the junction of three rivers: Inhul, Suhokliya and Bianka in whose vicinity the precursor of the city, Fort of St. Elizabeth was founded. The latter is represented on the coat of arms by means of the golden six-bastioned fort with black rim. The red monogram of St. Elizabeth is directly influenced by the one of Elizabeth of Russia depicted on the previous emblem of the city. The silver storks are allegoric figures hinting at the personality of cossack Stepan Leleka ('leleka', "лелека" is a Ukrainian for "a stork"), the founder of zymivnyk (settlement) Lelekivka, now within the city boundaries. A mural crown is a usual element for the regional centre coats of arms in Ukraine.
The coat of arms of Kirovohrad can be blazoned in the following way:
- ARMS: Per Pall reversed Azure Or and Gules (Crimson), a six-bastioned Fort, axis crosswise, Or fimbriated Sable, overall a Monogram of St. Elizabeth Gules.
- CREST: a Mural Crown Or.
- SUPPORTERS: On either side a Stork Argent beaked Gules all resting on a Scroll Azure and four Ears of Wheat Or.
- MOTTO: 'З ДОБРОМ І МИРОМ' – With peace and good.
The coat of arms was designed by the architect and heraldry expert Vitaliy Kryvenko and adopted by the Kirovohrad City Hall on February 28, 1996.
Read more about this topic: Coat Of Arms Of Kirovohrad
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