Coat of arms of Togliatti: description and meaning

Stavropol, in 1964, renamed theTogliatti is a large city, founded in 1737 by the efforts of Vasily Tatishchev. Initially, this settlement was conceived as a city-fortress, intended for defense against the raids of nomads. Togliatti's coat of arms is of interest to everyone who finds fascinating science such as heraldry. The first symbol of the city was approved in 1780, the modern version is significantly different from it.

Togliatti coat of arms: how it all began

The author of the first symbol of the settlement washerald-master Wolves. His proposed coat of arms Togliatti (in those days the city was called Stavropol) fully arranged the Empress Catherine the Great. The ruler of Russia approved the project in December 1780. The picture invented by Volkov, Stavropol claimed in the status of the fortified city, and also symbolized the strengthening of Orthodoxy.

What did the first coat of arms of Togliatti look like? In the days of the Russian Empire, the settlements of the provincial subordination were traditionally endowed with arms, divided into two parts. In the lower part the symbol of the city was displayed, at the top - the coat of arms belonging to the province.

Until 1851, Stavropol was part of the Simbirskprovince, so there was a tower in the upper part of the emblem. In the lower part you could see a fortress in the form of a triangle, in the middle of which there was a black cross. Why the cross? The word "Stavropol" is borrowed from the Greek language, the name of the settlement is translated as "the city of the Holy Cross". The bottom part was made in gold, the upper part is painted in a light blue tone. In 1857, the coat of arms of Tolyatti was firstly modified, as the city began to belong to the Samara province. The tower, located at the top, was replaced by a goat.

Coat of arms of the USSR

As is known, heraldry was not one of thepopular science in the days of the USSR. The coat of arms of Togliatti, approved under the tsarist rule, was abolished. For a while the settlement had no official symbol at all. The authorities were interested in this issue only in 1979, which was connected with the celebration of the 250th anniversary of Stavropol. There was a competition for the best drawing, which was attended by 30 people.

Only in 1982 the city of Togliatti gotown coat of arms. The best was the option, the author of which was the artist Arsen Korzh. In the figure proposed by this person, there was a reference to the previous coat of arms. The modern status of the settlement was also taken into account.

At the bottom of the image there were fourrhombus, in which were painted Kuibyshevskaya HPP, gear and the machine "Lada". In the upper part you could see the modern name of the city, as well as the date of its foundation. So the coat of arms of Togliatti began to look like, the photo can be seen above. The new symbol was approved by the government in April 1982.

New version

When the USSR officially ceased itsexistence, the question connected with the coat of arms again arose. The government could leave the current version, revive the coat of arms of 1857, or approve a new version of the symbol of the former Stavropol. It was decided to take as a basis the picture of 1982 and make certain changes to it, taking into account the requirements of heraldry.

The Togliatti coat of arms, whose meaning and appearanceconsidered in this article, began to represent a composition of three emblems. The background became completely blue, the pattern was executed in golden yellow tones. In the center was an unfolded square, one of whose parts was decorated with a cross. Symmetrical rooks, which are easy to see, carefully looking at the picture, serve as a reminder of the Volga volnitsa of the 17th century. There is also a sign representing the mountain range of the Zhiguli.

The final version

New coat of arms of Togliatti, photo, description of whichproposed above, unfortunately, fell in love with not everyone. The heraldic service, desperately trying to revive historical values, required certain changes to be made to the drawing. In 1996, the demands of its representatives were met. The appearance of the symbol of the former Stavropol again underwent a number of changes.

The new version is a shield dividedinto four parts. In the first and fourth, the background is in blue, as an option, approved a few years earlier. In the second and third parts the background became golden yellow, there is an overturned red triangle with a black cross in the middle.

Interestingly, the latest version of the coat of arms is practicallyimmediately acquired the status of "festive", it is remembered only during the celebrations. In everyday life the inhabitants of Togliatti prefer a symbol approved after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which does not look so pretentious.

A few words about the flag

Togliatti coat of arms, description and meaning of whichdiscussed above, was also used when creating the flag. It is interesting that for more than two hundred years of existence, Stavropol did not have its own flag. It was decided to correct it in the beginning of the 21st century, when the competition for the most original sketch was organized. The contest was attended by more than one hundred people who presented various options.

As a result, none of the sketches participating in thecompetition, was not approved. It was decided to borrow the elements of the emblem when creating a flag. Of course, the form of the shield was not used, while the other elements were reproduced exactly. Officially, the flag was approved in the second half of 2003.

Anthem of Togliatti

Arguing about the coat of arms and the flag of the former Stavropol,It is impossible to ignore the hymn of the village. During the organization of the competition, whose participants presented their vision of the drawing of the flag, the anthem was not forgotten. Having studied the proposed options, which also turned out to be more than a hundred, the jury members did not stop at any of them.

Thus, the official anthem in the city of Togliattiis still absent and is unlikely to be selected in the near future. However, the residents of the former Stavropol have long corrected this mistake, recognizing the famous composition of Oleg Mityaev, called "Listen, buddy!". Needless to say, the song is dedicated to the city of Togliatti.