Kaunas (county)
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KAUNAS COUNTY
Official blazon
Origin/meaning
The arms were granted on July 16, 2003.
The early origin of Kaunas county shall be considered the Kaunas district (pavietas), established in 1564-1566 in the Trakai province. The seal of land court was allowed for the district, showing the National Arms. In the 18th century the actuary's personal arms was shown under the National Arms.
During the first years of rule of Russian Empire, the Russian eagle was shown in the upper part, and the Lithuanian knigth was shown in the lower part. This symbolics was used till the uprising in 1831.
In 1842 the new Kaunas province (governorate) was established by joining some lands of earlier Vilnius province.
The first project of its arms showed the obelisk in the castle yard, the Lithuanian knigth and the Samogitian bear, also the confluence of Nemunas and Neris rivers. However the granted arms lost the historic symbols, and only the Russian imperial and Orthodox symbols were left. The prototype of obelisk was the copy of monument of Borodino battle, opened in Kaunas in 1843.
The design of arms was slightly improved in 1878.
 The arms from 1878 |
The arms were used till 1915.
In 1919 the Kaunas county (apskritis) was established. In 1950 it was abolished, and the Kaunas province (sritis) was established. It was abolished in 1953 as well as the other provinces of Lithuania.
In 1994 the Kaunas county was re-established.
Both former symbols had no use for the arms of Kaunas county: neither the National Arms nor the Russian imperial symbolics could be used. Therefore the arms of Kaunas city were citated: the head of wild ox with the Latin cross.
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Literature : Information and image provided by Virginijus Misiunas, Vilnius.