Valga (Estonia)

VALGA (until 2017 City, since 2017 Municipality)

County: Valgamaa
Additions : 2017 Karula, Taheva, Tõlliste, Õru

Official blazon

Rohelisel kilbil hõbedasest pilvest väljaulatuv viimatinimetatud värvi saablit käes hoidev kõverdatud must soomustatud käsi.

Origin/meaning

The arms were officially granted on September 23, 1997.

Valga/Valka was the only ancient city of Latvia, where Knights of the Teutonic Order did not build a castle. Maybe the reason is that it is situated in the center of former Livonia (present Latvia and Estonia). Valka is first mentioned in 1286 as Pedele town at Pedele river. In the 14^th century the town is already called Valka (Walk in German).

In 1419 Valka was chosen as a site of the Landtag (Assembly) of Livonia. The Livonian war (1558-1583) destroyed the city, and it lasted only as town.
The Polish King Stephen Batory granted city rights and arms to Valka in 1584. Although "valka" means "stream" in Latvian, it was seen as German "Wolke" ("cloud"). So the arms show a cloud with armed hand, holding a saber. A hand means strength; also it could symbolize the past dependence to Knights of the Teutonic Order.

The seal of 1580

When Latvia and Estonia became independent states, the ethnically mixed Valka was divided between them in 1920. The Estonian city Valga kept the old arms unchanged, and the Latvian city Valka got new arms in 1925: the same cloud with an armed hand and saber, but shown mirrored.