Pec pod Sněžkou

PEC POD SNĚŽKOU

Province: Královéhradecký Kraj
District (Okres) : Trutnov

Official blazon
Czech	V modrém štítě nad sníženým hrotem tři (1,2) sněhové vločky, vše stříbrné.
English	blazon wanted

Origin/meaning

The arms were granted on March 14, 2002. They were designed by heraldist Stanislav Kasík. Allegedly, a derisive nickname used for the arms in the town is "Caution, snow" - "Pozor, sněží".

For a short period of time after the Velvet Revolution, the town used an ungranted, unofficial coat of arms designed by fromer mayor Milan Vích and refined by Karel Liška, a prominent figure in Czech modern heraldry. A key element of the emblem was the silhouette of a now-vanished arsenic smelter that once stood at the site of today’s U Kapličky parking lot.

The smelter was historically linked to ore mining in Obří důl, with documented activity dating back to the 16th century. Mining in the area included copper, lead, silver, and arsenic extraction, notably under Jakub de Waggi, who initiated arsenic mining for vitriol production after the Battle of White Mountain. By the 19th century, the operation expanded under Gustav Heinrich Ruffer, reaching an annual output of up to 26 tons of copper and 71 tons of arsenic. However, with the depletion of ore deposits and changing shipbuilding technologies, the smelter ceased operations in 1876 and was eventually demolished in the 1930s.

Although the smelter no longer stands, its historical significance was briefly reflected in the town’s post-Velvet Revolution coat of arms.

Image gallery

Arms used without a grant for a short time after 1989.

Literature: Image of modern arms obtained from here. Information and image of historical arms obtained from here

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