The coat of arms of Uglich is of interest to any person who is fond of heraldry. The official symbol that the ancient city uses today was approved only in 1999, but its history has been going on for several centuries. Since the coat of arms of the village currently looks like, who is depicted on it and why?
Coat of arms of Uglich: how it all began
Historians have not been able to agree on what the official symbol of the city looked like in ancient times. The most popular version says that the first coat of arms of Uglich contained an image of a rooster. The basis for this assumption was the famous legend, which featured a giant rooster.
Legend claims that the rooster was the inhabitants of the city before misfortunes were to fall on the village. If you believe this tale, the bird flew at midnight, settling on a stone, which was located near the intersection of Proletarskaya and Narimanov streets. The rooster made a lot of noise, flapping its wings, urging the Uglins to prepare for an emergency. He visited the stone so often that even a footprint was preserved on it, the length of which was approximately 30 cm.
The ancient coat of arms of Uglich, according to historians, has ceased to be used with the spread of Christianity. The stone began to be perceived by the inhabitants of the city as a harbinger of misfortunes, the Uglich tried to stay away from it. The stone was destroyed only at the beginning of the 20th century, it was used to pave the streets.
Mysterious death
Uglich is a city that even in the Middle Ages began to be associated with the sad history of the inhabitants of Russia. It was here that the heir to the throne, the son of Ivan the Terrible, Dmitry, tragically died. The circumstances of the death of the Tsarevich were not exactly established by the researchers, thanks to which his death is still surrounded by a frightening halo of mystery.
The heir to the throne lived with his mother in Uglich since 1584, the settlement was granted to Dmitry as an inheritance. In fact, he was expelled from the capital, fearing his rebellion against the crazy brother Fedor, who took the throne after the death of his father. The most popular version of the Tsarevich’s death is that his death was the result of a serious wound received at the time of the epileptic seizure. However, there is another theory according to which the heir was eliminated by order of Boris Godunov.
The eight-year-old prince died in May 1591, after his death he was canonized. Nowadays, the coat of arms of Uglich contains its image.
Infantry Regiment Banners
Over 130 years have passed, but the inhabitants of the city have not forgotten the unfortunate son of Ivan the Terrible. For the first time, the image of a child declared a martyr appeared on the banners that were used by the infantry regiment of the city, this happened in 1727. Further, this pattern began to adorn the seals used to bond official papers. Gradually, the military emblem turned into an official symbol of the ancient settlement, in total it took about fifty years.
The coat of arms of Uglich, whose history is inextricably linked with the death of the heir to the Russian throne, was approved in August 1778. This happened during the reign of Catherine the Great. The empress approved the new emblem of the village along with the symbols of other cities of Yaroslavl governorate.
Coat of arms of 1778: description
The symbol of the city, officially approved in 1778, was somewhat different from the design that adorned the banners of the infantry regiment. Initially, Prince Dmitry was depicted on a red-green background. In the hands of the heir to the throne, who died at the age of nine, held a knife and a lamb. His robe and hat were made in golden colors.
However, the emblem was decided to slightly modify. In particular, the green color was removed, leaving the background red. Tsarevich Dmitry was “dressed” in a purple dress, decorated with gold accents, precious stones. The crown of the innocent victim was also golden purple. It was decided to leave the silver knife in the right hand, while the creators of the symbol of the city refused the lamb, considering this detail superfluous.
Unapproved project
Interestingly, in 1863, attempts were made to slightly modify the coat of arms of Uglich, the description of which is given above. The court’s heraldry specialist Ken, whom the coat of arms seemed imperfect, dreamed of “finalizing” the symbol of the city. He proposed to leave the image of the son of Ivan the Fourth armed with a knife, standing against a scarlet field.
Additions proposed by Ken were mainly in the addition of the coat of arms of the Yaroslavl province. The symbol contained the image of a bear armed with a silver poleax with a red shaft. Kene planned to place him in the free part of the shield. In his opinion, this was supposed to help the inhabitants of Uglich feel themselves part of the Yaroslavl province. Heraldry specialist also wanted to add a silver crown and golden ears, decorated with St. Andrew’s ribbon. However, the government did not find this project worthy of attention, the coat of arms, invented in the eighteenth century, retained its former appearance.
Soviet authority
Of course, the coat of arms of Uglich, whose photo can be viewed in the article, was not used during the existence of the Soviet Union. After the revolution, the village was completely deprived of the coat of arms. However, the symbol of the city was not at all forgotten by its inhabitants, who are anxious about their history. The image of Tsarevich Dmitry, who met his death in Uglich, could be seen on souvenir badges, jewelry.
Talks about the need to return the emblem to the village began around the end of the 60s of the last century. This is due to the fact that in the USSR at that time the concepts of domestic tourism were promoted. Of course, the coat of arms of Uglich, approved in 1778, whose photo is presented in the article, could not be used. Atheism flourished in the country, and Tsarevich Dmitry was canonized at the beginning of the 17th century, and the heir belonged to the royal family.
For some time, the option of using a drawing of a city bell was considered. The bell was planned to be placed on a red shield. However, the project again did not meet with approval from the authorities, as it was directly related to church subjects, which were not popular during the existence of the Soviet Union.
Emblem Return
Who is depicted on the coat of arms of Uglich today? The symbol of the city still contains the image of Tsarevich Dmitry, who died at the age of eight and was declared a saint. The decree on the return of the coat of arms, approved during the reign of Catherine the Second, was not issued by the Duma in March 1999. Since then, the appearance of the symbol remains unchanged.
Why in 1778 was such a coat of arms of Uglich approved, which means a symbol of the city? As already mentioned, Tsarevich Dmitry, who is the son of Ivan the Terrible, was canonized after death. Therefore, he was assigned the role of a kind of defender of the village. His image called on the inhabitants of Uglich, ravaged by the Pugachev uprising, to stay stoic in difficult times that had come for the country.
Interesting fact
Uglich also has a temple dedicated to the innocent heir to the throne; it was erected in 1962. The Church of Dmitry was created in the place where, according to historical sources, the little prince lost his life. Murals adorning the inner walls of the temple tell of this sad event that occurred at the end of the 16th century.