City of Kragujevac
Šumadija District, Region of Šumadija and Western Serbia
- Bearer
- City of Kragujevac
- Adopted
- 17 April 1996
- Author
- Dragomir Acović
- District
- Šumadija District
- Region
- Region of Šumadija and Western Serbia
- Eparchy
- Eparchy of Šumadija
- Official website
- kragujevac.rs
The City of Kragujevac uses arms in three levels — lesser, middle and greater — and a banner, adopted on 17 April 1996. The insignia were produced by the Serbian Heraldry Society, and their author is Dragomir Acović; they are an example of the new Serbian territorial heraldry. The banner is white and square, with a sparrowhawk on a gold oak branch and the Serbian cross with firesteels in the upper corner next to the lance. The greater arms are completed by a mural crown with a diadem, sparrowhawks as supporters and decorations above the crown and beneath the ribbon; in practice, contrary to the rules, the greater arms alone are most often used.
Blazon
A silver field with a chief divided vertically in two: on the dexter, on red, a silver cross with four firesteels; on the sinister, on red, two crossed silver cannon barrels with their muzzles upwards; in the field an erased black boar's head with gold tusks and a red tongue, wounded diagonally in the forehead by a red arrow.
A gold mural crown with four visible crenellations and a gold diadem set with precious stones; above it is the star of a decoration.
Two brown sparrowhawks ready for flight, of which the dexter holds the flag of Serbia and the sinister the banner of the city. Each wears a small shield on a blue ribbon around its neck: the dexter blue with an open silver book bound in gold, and the sinister black with three gold pales and an inverted silver chevron over all.
A green hillock overgrown with forest.
A silver ribbon with the red inscription “КРАГУЈЕВАЦ”, from which hangs the Order of Saint Sava, 1st class.
A white square flag with a brown sparrowhawk standing on a severed gold oak branch with acorns; in the upper corner next to the lance the Serbian cross with firesteels (silver cross and firesteels on red).
Symbolism and meaning
The boar's head pierced by an arrow is one of the oldest arms attributed to Serbia; from 1804 and the uprising, in which it gained great popularity, it became the unofficial arms of Šumadija. The Serbian cross with firesteels in the chief recalls that Kragujevac was the capital of Serbia in the first half of the nineteenth century, and the crossed cannon barrels the cannon foundry, the beginning of modern Serbian industry. The diadem on the mural crown also refers to the period as capital.
The sparrowhawk (“kraguj”) on the banner and as supporter of the arms recalls the name of the city, so the insignia are canting. The small shields at the supporters' necks mark Kragujevac as a university centre (the book) and preserve the memory of the executed class V-3 (the black shield). The Order of Saint Sava, 1st class, hanging from the ribbon, was awarded to the city by the Holy Synod of Bishops.
