Złotów

Heraldry of the World
Civic heraldry of Poland - Herbarz Miast Polskich

ZŁOTÓW

Origin/meaning

The arms of the city show a deer in front of a forest. The oldest known seal of the city dates from 1665 and shows already the deer. In 1809 it was decided to add above the deer the Prussian eagle, as the town at the time belonged to Prussia. In 1929 the eagle was removed, but the red colour of the deer reamined. Only in the middle of the 20^th century the colour changed to gold (which may be a canting element, Zlaty=gold). The meaning of the arms is not known. It is not unlikely that these simply represent the rich forests in the area.

The arms shown in the late 19th century	Seal from around 1900	The arms by Hupp in the Kaffee Hag albums +/- 1925
The arms shown in the 1960s	The arms shown in the 1970s