Etelä-Karjala

ETELÄ-KARJALA REGION

Former province : 1997-2009 Etelä-Suomi, until 1997 Kymi

Official blazon

Punaisessa kentässä alainen aaltokoroinen hopeinen hirsi; yllä kaksi toisiaan vastaan iskevää käsivartta, joista oikea, haarniskoitu pitelee miekkaaja vasen, rengaspanssarin peittämä paljaassa kädessä käyrää sapelia; kaikki hopeaa, paitsi aseiden kahvat ja haarniskan liitosvanteet kultaa; alla musta tyviö.

Origin/meaning

The arms were granted in 1984 and again on September 1, 1997.

Etelä-Karjala (South Karelia) was part of Karelia and became a region in the Finnish province of Kymi after 1945, when Karelia was split between Finland and the Soviet Union. In 1997 it became a region within the Etelä-Suomi province and after the abolishment of all provinces a separate region in 2010.

The arms show the two arms holding swords from the old arms of Karelia. The base shows a silver bend for the many rivers in the area.

In the 1980s other arms were designed for the region, but not adopted: