Warszawa

WARSZAWA

Official blazon

Origin/meaning

The oldest recorded form of Warsaw's Coat of Arms dates from 1390 AD. At the time, Warsaw was known as Warszowa and was the second most important city in Mazovia, a region north of the Polish Kingdom.

The mermaid on coat of arms was originally male in form, with two fins as legs. Its head was covered by a golden helmet. After the Polish King moved his capital to Warsaw, the mermaid on the coat of arms was altered. It was given feminine features (this was porbably because of the fictional story behind Warsaw's founding by a fisherman who caught a mermaid) and it's helmet was replaced by a golden shield and curved sword.

The arms from 1870-1918	The arms in the Abadie albums (1930s)
The arms in the Continentale Verlags-Anstalt album, +/- 1910	The arms in the Kawa Hag album +/- 1932
The arms as shown in 1963	The arms on a quartett card (+/- 1900)
The arms on a matchbox label	The arms on a first day cover