Penza - a city with a population of about 520 thousand inhabitants, the administrative center of the region of the same name. The history of the city is perfectly emphasized by the coat of arms of Penza. What does this symbol mean? How long ago did he appear? You will learn about this from our article.
Penza: a brief biography of the city
The river on the banks of which this city was founded was called Penza. Most researchers suggest that this hydronym has Indo-Iranian roots. "Fiery River" - so you can literally translate it. However, it is not entirely clear why the river was given this name.
The city of Penza was founded in 1663 as a fortress, the purpose of which was to protect cities and villages from the periodic devastating raids of the nomads of the Golden Horde. And so the first settlers of Penza were precisely the Cossacks, who were endowed with large land plots.
For more than a century, Penza remained an exclusively military settlement. The heyday of the city fell on the era of the reign of Catherine the Great. At this time, the border with the rebellious Wild Field is moved far to the south, and the city itself is gradually turning into a major agricultural center. It was then that the coat of arms of Penza appeared with the image of three wheat sheaves.
Today Penza is a multinational city where Christians, Jews, Muslims and even pagans coexist peacefully. This important industrial center is home to about three dozen factories that manufacture products ranging from small parts to steel pipes.
Coat of arms of Penza: description
The symbolism of the city is made in accordance with all the rules of heraldry, based on the principle of continuity of the historical traditions of the territory.
The coat of arms of the city of Penza is quite unusual, since it is based on a traditional green shield, which depicts three sheaves. One of them is composed of wheat ears, the second is made of barley, and the third is made of millet. All sheaves stand neatly on a small hill of golden color.
Thus, the emblem of Penza very well emphasizes the main historical feature of this region, namely, developed agriculture.
History of the coat of arms of Penza
It is known that the idea of the city coat of arms was borrowed from the military emblem of the Penza regiment, drawn up in 1730. Based on this, the coat of arms of Penza is one of the oldest city emblems of Russia. But it was approved in May 1781. In the same year, a dozen more cities in this province received their symbols.
It was under this emblem that the Penza regiments fought in the Russian-Turkish war.
With the advent of Soviet power, Penza received its new symbols. But in this particular case, the city was lucky - the updated coat of arms of Penza turned out to be quite successful and adequate (which cannot be saidabout Soviet emblems of other cities). It retained the image of three sheaves, but added to them an anchor hour wheel (in the days of the USSR, Penza was famous for the production of good watches) and a swallow, as a symbol of a happy and promising future.
The Soviet version of the coat of arms was so successful and beautiful that the inhabitants of Penza after the collapse of the superpower could not immediately say goodbye to it. However, in 2002, the townspeople still regained the historical emblem of the sample of 1781.
Coat of arms of Penza and its meaning
There is a lot of golden color in the city coat of arms of the city of Penza - all the sheaves and the hill below them. Gold in heraldry always symbolizes abundance, prosperity, prosperity and we alth. Therefore, it is unlikely that the residents of Penza should complain about this.
Besides golden tones, the coat of arms also has a green color - a heraldic shield. It, in turn, symbolizes joy, nature and hopes for a brighter future (in the Soviet version, this role was successfully performed by a swallow).
The coat of arms of Penza is just the case when the historical traditions and features of the territory are fully taken into account. After all, it was developed in the XVIII century. Three golden sheaves of wheat, millet and barley symbolize the we alth of the city, and also remind that Penza was once a major agricultural center.
Flag of Penza and its description
Another national symbol is the flag. This attribute is based on the city coat of arms - the same three sheaves are present on the cloth.
The flag of Penza was officially approved in autumn 2004. Here is its description: on a rectangular panel of standard parameters (2:3), sheaves of golden color are depicted - wheat, barley and millet. The canvas itself is green, bordered on the left by a vertical golden stripe, which is located along the shaft.
Unlike the coat of arms, the sheaves on the flag are not located on a hill, but seem to hang in the air in the center of the green part of the canvas.
Conclusion
So, from this article you learned that Penza is a large Russian city with a population of over half a million people. Today, steel pipes, various equipment, bicycles and medicines are produced here. However, earlier this area was famous for its beautiful wheat fields. And it is this feature of the city that is reflected in its official coat of arms and flag.
