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Lietuvos Heraldika
Lithuanian Civic Heraldry
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VILNIUS DISTRICT
Origin/meaning:
The arms were granted on December 20, 1999.
The arms comes from the late 14th - early 15th century variations of the
National Arms of Lithuania. In some cases the knight held a lance, not a
sword (e.g. the arms on the King Jogaila's grave).
Though the Vilnius city bears its own arms (St. Christopher), but the
Vilnius region always used the National Arms: the Vilnius prinicipality,
later the Vilnius palatinate, and even the Vilnius (Vilna) governorate of
Russian Empire. The Vilnius region is a kernel of Lithuania, and the usage
of National Arms was very natural. But the modern law of Republic reserves
the official usage of National Arms to state institutions only. So the new
arms were created: fulfilling the law and keeping the tradition.
It is not clear, why the white horse of National Arms was changed to the
black one. Most possible reason is that a white horse is a symbolic
creature, and only a ruler of state could ride it in the past. So this
symbol of sovereignity was not allowed on the municipal level.
Literature : Information and image provided by Virginijus Misiunas, Vilnius.
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coats of arms on-line ! 
