Debrecen

Heraldry of the World
Civic heraldry of Hungary

DEBRECEN

Province (county) : Hajdú-Bihar

Origin/meaning

The arms were first granted on April 11, 1693 and re-adopted in 1989.

The oldest known seal of the city dates from the 16th century and shows the Paschal Lamb. Whether the city already used the lamb as aarms is not known, but in 1600 King Rudolf added the crest with the phoenix, its meaning is not known.

In 1693 Emperor Leopold I made Debrecen a free Royal town and officially grante dthe arms. The palm tree and the sun were new elements to the grant. The palm symbolises the city which gains strength from the burdens, while the sun represents the divine providence guarding the town.

The arms were used until the 1950s, when the city adopted a more 'modern' communist logo, as shown below. Only in 1989 the old arms were restored.