Cheb
 |
Formerly also Eger Country : Czechia  Province : Karlovarský Kraj  District (Okres) :
|
| Czech | |
| English | blazon wanted |
Origin/meaning
The arms were registered on ?
Cheb was first mentioned in 1061/1062 and as a town in 1203. It is not sure if the town had a seal at the time. The oldest known seal dates from a charter from August 21, 1242. The seal was used until at least the end of the 14th century, even though the city had become an German Imperial City in 1275 and, in 1322, became a possession of the Bohemian Kings. For the image see below, there is already a small part with a grid visible. A second seal from 1471 shows the Bohemian (?) King or German Emperor with a small shield with the Imperial Eagle. Behind the shield there is a grid visible.
When the actual city arms were first used is not known. One of the oldest images is on an antipendium from around 1300, but not in colour. The arms also appear on coins of the city from 1349. The oldest coloured image dates from 1500 and only in 1664 the arms appear on the city seals. The arms appear afterwards on a number of seals of the city and the composition did not change until 1961. The shape of the grid has changed considerably, see below, and in some images the eagle appeared crowned.
The eagle obviously is the German Imperial Eagle, but the meaning of the grid is not known. It may indicate a wall or fortification, or it was initially just some decoration with evolved into a grid.
The old arms of Cheb were changed in 1962. The historical eagle was changed to the Bohemian lion and a star (more in line with the Socialist Republic at the time and without the crown) and nine linden leaves were added to the base. One for each century of the existence of the city of Cheb. This prompted the famous Czech heraldist Jiří Louda to wonder if every century a new leaf had to be added to the arms... He also refused to show the new arms in his own publications from the 1970s. The meaning of the 9 leaves also seemed not to have been widely known, as in local newspapers and postcards arms with different number of leaves appeared (see below).
In the late 1980s the old arms were restored.
The oldest seal of Cheb
The seal from 1471
17th century seal with the arms
19th century seal with the arms
Coin of the city from 1516
The arms around 1500
The arms in the late 15th century
The arms in a 16th century manuscript
The arms in a 17th century manuscript
Seal from around 1900.
The arms in an album from around 1905
The arms in an album from around 1905
The arms in the Kurmark Wappenschau album from 1929
The arms in the Coffee Hag album +/- 1935
The arms in the Abadie albums
The arms on a Winterhilfswerk token, 1940s
The arms on a matchbox label (1960s/70s)
The arms in an album from 1955
The arms from 1962
The 1962 arms in a quartett game (1970s), with leaves pointed differently
The 1962 arms on a postcard with different number of leaves
The 1962 arms on a postcard leaves differently
The (correct) 1962 arms on a postcard
Literature: Zelenka & Javore, 1985; Liška, 2013