The coat of arms of Nizhny Novgorod is the official symbol of the city, whose central element is the image of a deer. The coat of arms has a history spanning several centuries and reflects the changing state heraldic traditions from the era of Ivan the Terrible to the present day.[1]
History of the symbol's formation
The first images of an animal on the Nizhny Novgorod seal date back to the 16th century: Ivan the Terrible, which was associated with royal hunting in these lands. In the 17th century, under Alexei Mikhailovich, the deer was replaced by an elk — according to one version, because by that time deer had died out in the Nizhny Novgorod region, giving way to the elk. In the late 17th — early 18th century, under Peter I, the elk turned back into a deer, but for a different reason this time: coats of arms for Russian cities were drawn by the Italian Francesco Santi, who had simply never seen an elk and perceived the animal as a poorly drawn deer. Since the deer traditionally symbolized noble blood in European heraldry, and its antlers were interpreted as the tree of life, the Italian heraldist "raised the degree of nobility" of the Nizhny Novgorod symbol.[1]
In the 18th century Catherine II legislated a coat of arms for every vicegerency. The Nizhny Novgorod vicegerency was assigned the deer — according to a popular version, the empress considered it more elegant than the elk. The coat of arms was approved on 16 August 1781 and, after a series of re-approvals, has been in use ever since; its official blazon reads: "a red deer on a white field."[2][1]
The "goat" page of history
The popular history of the coat of arms also contains a curious episode. When coats of arms were drawn hastily or without proper skill, the deer would turn into something resembling a goat with a raised leg. The 19th-century local historian Gilyarovsky described how the people of Nizhny Novgorod nicknamed a restaurant with a spontaneously drawn coat of arms "under the goat." This image later entered Urban Legends): in the 20th century, theatrical revues appeared, and a horned sculpture was installed on the city's central street as an unofficial symbol. To explain the goat's presence in the city's symbolism, a legend also emerged — that it was a goat that saved the city during a fire.[1]
The question of the prototype
The zoological identity of the heraldic animal remains a subject of debate to this day. Nizhny Novgorod Region are found everywhere, whereas the coat of arms officially depicts a deer. There is also testimony from a Makaryev-district hunter about a reindeer that once lived in those parts and which grandfathers were specially trained to hunt. In the modern version of the coat of arms, a crown has been added to the deer's image as an indicator of the city's status, along with a ribbon signifying that Nizhny Novgorod has been awarded the Order of Lenin.[2][1]
Sources
- lenalens-gid-nn.ru — "Elk, Deer or Goat?" — the history of the Nizhny Novgorod coat of arms — Guide Lena Lens Nizhny Novgorod (archive)
- calend.ru — Nizhny Novgorod — The coat of arms of Nizhny Novgorod was approved on 16 August 1781 and, after a series of re-approvals, has been in use ever since with minor additions. Its… (archive)
- behance.net — Ekaterina Nesterets — artist in Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation