To understand the meaning of the image on the coat of arms, you need to study the history of the city to which it belongs and find out what was the idea behind its foundation. This may be the need to build a fortress, the development and prosperity of some kind of craft, or the religious affiliation of the inhabitants. And also one of the reasons for choosing an image for the coat of arms can be a legend - as it happened in Yaroslavl.
Image on the coat of arms of Yaroslavl
The coat of arms of Yaroslavl looks like this: on a silver shield, a black bear is standing on its hind legs turned to the right and holding a golden ax with its left front paw.
This image was approved by the "Regulations on the coat of arms of the city of Yaroslavl" dated August 23, 1995.
The story behind the creation of the coat of arms
The legend tells how Yaroslav the Wise, traveling with his squad across the Rostov land, fell behind his army and got lost. Stopping on the banks of the Volga, he decided to rest. And then he saw that a fierce bear was running at him. The prince grabbed an ax and hit the beast with it. On that day, the great ruler decided to found a church in this place. And then houses began to be built around it, which were settled by settlers from Rostov.
The very appearance of the coat of arms is a natural process of the formation and development of the city. But the image on the emblem of a bear with his hatchet, or poleaxe, has always tormented the researchers of heraldry. Some were adherents of the legend of Yaroslav the Wise, others argued that this is a reflection of the pagan cult of bear worship.
Changes to the emblem over time
All changes in the heraldic emblem of Yaroslavl can be traced back to historical artifacts. For the first time, the coat of arms appears in seals on documents of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. But then the bear was depicted wearing an oval shield with a staff, trident or hatchet. The appearance of the coat of arms and its approval in official documents showed the importance and significance of the city for the state.
From the very beginning, a bear was depicted on the emblem with some changes: the position of the bear's head, attributes, heraldic design. And in 1730 the shape of the shield was changed - it became rectangular with a sharp point at the bottom. In the end, having undergone numerous changes, only one version of how the coat of arms of Yaroslavl should look like was approved. The last changes were made in 2011.
Decision of November 7, 2011 No. 554 on amendments to the regulation on the coat of arms of the city of Yaroslavl and the regulation on the flag of the city of Yaroslavl.
Then the version of the coat of arms of 1778 was adopted, with a small addition: the cap of Monomakh appeared above the shield, this indicates that the reigning persons once lived in this city. Thus, today Yaroslavl has its own official symbol of the city.
