The Nizhny Novgorod region is located right in the center of the European part of Russia. Its territory is a plain with low hills, forests and numerous rivers. What is depicted on the coat of arms of the Nizhny Novgorod region? And what symbols did you choose for her cities? Let's find out.
A bit of geography
Nizhny Novgorod region is considered one of the largest in the European part of the country. It covers an area of 76,624 km 2 , and its population is 3.2 million people. It is surrounded by the Republic of Mari El, Mordovia, Chuvashia, Ryazan, Ivanovo and Vladimir regions.
Typical Russian landscapes are characteristic of it: plains alternating with hills, lowland marshes, lakes, oak forests and coniferous forests, which are interspersed with meadow steppes. The entire region is permeated by a dense network of nine thousand rivers and streams, the largest of which is the Volga. More than half of its territory is covered by forests in which foxes, wolves, deer, hares, badgers live.
Cereals and vegetables are grown here, poultry and livestock are bred. In the bowels of the earth they mine phosphorites, peat and iron. All this could find reflection on the arms of the Nizhny Novgorod region. This partly happened.
Coat of arms of the Nizhny Novgorod region
The official symbol of the region was first shown on the seal of Ivan the Terrible. Since then, only his style has changed, some minor elements have been added. However, the composition on the heraldic shield always remained the same.
The modern coat of arms of the Nizhny Novgorod region was adopted in 1996. It depicts a deer with beautiful branching horns. The animal is turned to the left, and one of its legs is slightly raised. The shield is framed by golden oak leaves intertwined with a blue St. Andrew's ribbon. From above it is crowned with a royal crown.
The appearance of this particular animal in local heraldry is not at all accidental and goes back to antiquity. Most likely, the symbol is associated with a long-standing deer cult that developed in the region.
Coats of arms of cities
The region has 28 cities and 55 villages. The administrative center is Nizhny Novgorod, located at the confluence of the Oka and Volga. About a million people live in it. After it, the largest settlements are Dzerzhinsk, Sarov, Bor, Kstovo, Vyksa, Pavlovo.
Coats of arms of the cities of the Nizhny Novgorod region reflect the main features of each territory. The main symbol of Semenov, for example, is a pyramid of logs, which shows the importance of forests and woodworking. On the coat of arms of Perevoz, a wooden raft is depicted, indicating that the city was formed next to the crossing on the Piane River. For Lukyanov, the main figure is two plowshares - symbolizing agriculture and land fertility.
Coat of arms of Arzamas - two rafters connected in the form of a letter V in red and green on a yellow background. They designate either two trade routes, or the Russian and Horde forces clashing between themselves in 1552.
In Chkalovsk, a falcon is depicted on a red background as a symbol of the "Stalin Falcon Chkalov." The lower half of the coat of arms is painted in blue, on which is a golden boat, meaning navigation on the Volga.
It is interesting that on many coats of arms of the region there is a deer, for example, the cities of Lukyanov, Sergach, Semenov, Perevoz, Kulebak, Knyaginino, Gorbaty, Bogorodsk. Usually it is depicted in the upper part of the shield and means that the settlement belongs to the Nizhny Novgorod region.