Coat of arms of Torzhok

“In the azure (blue, blue) field there are six pigeons , three are golden and three are silver ; all with scarlet (red) collars in the form of ribbons, arranged in two vertical rows in a checkerboard pattern, starting with the golden one

- From the Regulations on the coat of arms and flag of the city of Torzhok ^[1]

On January 12, 1722, by the decree of Emperor Peter I under the Senate , the Heroldmeister office was formed ^[2] . An Italian of origin, Count F. M. Santi, was appointed the friend of the Herald Master (the “compiler of the coats of arms”). On the basis of information sent from different cities of Russia, he created the first city emblems, including Torzhok ^{[3] [4]} .

The historic emblem of the city of Torzhok was approved by the Emperor on 10 (21) October 1780 by Empress Catherine II, along with other emblems of the cities of the Tver governorship ^{[5] [6]} .

The true description of the coat of arms of Torzhok read:

" The city of Torzhok has the old emblem: in the blue half there are three silver and three golden pigeons, which have red collars ".

- ППЗРИ, 1780, the Law № 15073 ^[5] .

In 1862 , in the period of the heraldic reform of Köhné , a draft of the new coat of arms of the county town of Torzhok was developed (not officially approved): , all with scarlet eyes, beaks and the same ribbons on the neck. The shield is crowned with a silver wall crown and is surrounded by gold spikes connected by the Alexander Ribbon ” ^[7] .

Symbolism of the coat of arms of Torzhok

The information of the Torzhok city authorities of the beginning of the XVIII century, on the basis of which F. M. Santi created the coat of arms of Torzhok and the explanation of its symbolism was not preserved, as well as the first picture of the coat of arms of that time was not preserved, but the coat of arms of Santi was heraldically correct ^[4] . A member of the Writers' Union of Russia , VF Kashkova, an honorary citizen of the city ​​of Torzhok, in his historical and literary essay "The History of the Emblem of Torzhok" gives several versions of the interpretation of the appearance of pigeons on the city's coat of arms:

- The first version: three golden pigeons speak about the wealth of the trading city, and three silver ones - about sincerity, kindness, hospitality of the Novots (the inhabitants of Torzho were called this);

- The second version, less believable, but more attractive, suggests that the emblem reminds of the countless fires and devastations Torzhok suffered during its thousand-year history. Allegedly, pigeons in the coat of arms are symbolic of pigeons that, according to legend, burned the ancient city of Iskorosten (now the city of Korosten, Ukraine ). The legend says: “ Princess Olga , who took tribute from the recalcitrant townspeople, let them go free with a burning tow on her foot. And they brought the birds, faithful to their house, great grief under the native roof ... ".

- In the third version, it is considered that six pigeons are the six gates of the old fortress, six roads leaving the city, six volosts of Novotorzhsky district ^[8] .

There are other interpretations of the symbols of the coat of arms. For example, Tver local historian and heraldry V.I. Lavrenyov believes that pigeons fell into the arms with an image of an ancient coin that went to those places ^[9] . The pigeon breeders also have their own version: almost in every city of old Russia, in every estate building, there was a dovecote . Residents of Torzhok have long believed that pigeons bring good luck and happiness to the house. Many golubyatnikov tied to the paws of pigeons shreds with embroidered gold or silver thread, these pigeons were valuable and served as money ^[10] . Torzhok pigeon breeders believe that the emblem of their city shows their own breed of pigeons - Torzhok flying pigeons, which were bred in the late XIX century. However, the controversial version, golubevody not match the date of the creation of the emblem of the city than this breed of pigeons appeared ^[11] .

September 24, 1991 Torzhok city council of people's deputies restored the historical coat of arms as the official symbol of the city ^[7] . On June 23, 1998, the decision of the Assembly of representatives of the city’s population finally approved the current coat of arms of Torzhok and the Regulation on the city coat of arms and flag. In contrast to the historical coat of arms of 1780, in the new version, pigeons began to be placed in two vertical rows in a staggered manner (silver-gold), starting with the gold one ^[1] .

On October 14, 1999, the Decree of the Representatives of the District No. 103 approved the coat of arms of the Torzhok District, developed on the basis of the historical coat of arms of the city of Torzhok. Pigeons in the coat of arms of the district are placed in a circle, in the center of which the flax flower is a symbol of flax-growing, the beauty and richness of nature, and the agricultural activities of the inhabitants of the district. Since 1931, Torzhok is the center of flax production in Russia, the All-Russian Flax Research Institute is located in the city. The author of the coat of arms of the region is Lavrenov Vladimir Ilyich. The district coat of arms is registered in the Heraldic Register of the Russian Federation under the number 750 ^[12] .

The heraldic description of the coat of arms of the Torzhok region reads: “In an azure (blue, blue) field there is a flower of flax about six petals, thinly edged with gold and burdened with the same flower, bordered with silver with golden petals and a heart, accompanied by three silver and three golden pigeons alternately, with scarlet (red) collars (bandages) ” ^[12] .

On October 2, 2006, the Bank of Russia issued a commemorative coin of 10 rubles in the series Ancient cities of Russia , on the reverse of which is the coat of arms of Torzhok ^[13] .

• Flag Torzhok

• Coat of arms of Torzhka (Tver region) (Neopr.) . Site "Heraldic". The appeal date is December 26, 2014.