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Lietuvos Heraldika Lithuanian Civic Heraldry
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RIETAVAS
Origin/meaning:
Rietavas received city rights and its own arms on March 20, 1792. The arms showed a lion holding a sword in its beak and the inscription Za Narod Króla y Wolnošč, meaning For Country, King and Freedom. Rietavas was on the border with Prussia and the arms thus showed a lion ready to defend itself against invaders. Only a few months later the city rights and arms were abolished as the Lithuanian State ceased to exist. In 1970 the arms were recreated in a very stylised way, but again soon after banned. Finally the arms were properly restored and granted on September 18, 1996.
Literature : Rimsa, E. : The heraldry of Lithuania, part 1. Lithuanian heraldry Commission, Vilnius, 1998, 192 p. ISBN 9986-861-34-9.
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