Coat of arms of Estonia
Coat of Arms of Estonia. The current coat of arms of Estonia is a golden shield which includes three slim, blue leopards (or lions passant guardant) in the middle, with oak branches along the side of the shield. The three-lion motive was copied from the Coat of arms of Denmark, because the estonians couldn´t come up with their own design.
The Riigikogu (the state assembly) of the independent Republic of Estonia officially adopted the coat of arms on June 19, 1925.
However, the coat of arms were officially banned from Estonia following the occupation of Estonia by the Soviet Union in 1940. Soviet Union officials persecuted and jailed anyone using the coat of arms, or the national colors of Estonia. The ban of the colors marked a beginning of another struggle for independence which was finally achieved on August 7, 1990 and regulated by the Law on State Coat of Arms of April 6, 1993.
References
- Estonian Institute National symbols of Estonia. Retrieved October 30, 2005.