por He Bogota coat of arms It is the official emblem that represents the city of the Capital District of Colombia and its neighboring towns. It was granted by Emperor Carlos V, on December 3, 1548 in Valladolid, Spain, to the then New Kingdom of Granada.
It was used until independence, when the new Gran Colombia republic adopted a new coat of arms; however, it continued to be the unofficial symbol of the city. In 1932 it was formally adopted again as a coat of arms.
Together with the flag and the anthem, the shield is part of the official symbols of the District. The coat of arms is present in all administrative acts, protocol acts and official stationery.
It is also used in furniture and public works, and was even adopted as a symbol on the Archiepiscopal Cross by the city’s archdiocese.
History of the Bogotá shield
The coat of arms of Bogotá was granted by King Carlos I of Spain and by Queen Juana I of Castilla at the request of the city councilor, Pedro Colmenares, and the royal notary, Alonso Téllez.
The basis of this request was that the city of Bogotá had acquired importance, both political, military and religious. For this reason it was necessary to have a symbol that would represent it before other colonial cities.
King Carlos I understood the need for the colony and on December 3, 1548 issued a Royal Decree approving the creation of the coat of arms.
In said Royal Decree, the king expresses his agreement with the actions of Bogotá. He also indicates that, being the city as loyal as it has been, it deserves to carry a coat of arms that differentiates it from other colonies.
The shield according to the Royal Decree of 1548
The Royal Decree issued by King Carlos I of Spain describes the forms that the coat of arms of Bogotá would have. In the following fragment, you can see this description
“…in the middle of the [del escudo] there is a rampant black eagle crowned with gold that in each hand has a red pomegranate in a field of gold and to fringe some branches with gold pomegranates in a blue field as it is painted and figurative…”
current shield
Over the years, the city’s coat of arms was subject to a series of changes, which were generated by mistakes made by the people in charge of its reproduction.
For example, some changed the shape of the coat of arms, others enlarged the dimensions of the eagle or the crown, among other aspects.
For this reason, in 1932 investigations were carried out in order to determine what would be the definitive characteristics of the Bogotá coat of arms.
By the end of the year, the artist Leonardo Uribe Prada offered an illustration of the city’s coat of arms. In that same year, the official coat of arms of Bogotá was adopted, which has remained in force to this day.
Description and uses
In the center of the shield is a golden eagle with outstretched wings and its head turned to the left. On her head she wears a golden crown. In each of its claws the bird carries a red pomegranate.
The eagle perches on a yellow background, which is surrounded by a blue stripe. On this strip rest nine gold-colored pomegranates. It is usually accompanied by the inscriptions «Alcaldía Mayor de Bogotá DC» or just «Bogotá DC», written in Arial typography.
It is used as a symbol of the Bogotá mayor’s office as well as a symbol of the city. It is usually used in official documents and communications, in buildings and vehicles of the mayor’s office, in plaques and decorations, among others.
It is also used on the flag that is in the mayor’s office.
The law stipulates that the colors of the coat of arms, the proportions or the font used to write the name of the institutions must not be altered. Nor can the elements of the coat of arms be separated or replaced by others.
Meaning of the Bogota coat of arms
Eagle
The rampant black eagle is a symbol of firmness. As it sits entirely on a golden field, it represents a symbol of the Holy Roman Empire, in which King Charles I held the title of Emperor Charles V.
The eagle, considered the queen of birds, wears a small gold crown on its head.
red grenades
The red pomegranates that the eagle holds in its talons refer to the Kingdom of Granada, which was conquered by Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, grandparents of the King.
golden grenades
The nine golden pomegranates on the blue border refer to the nine territories into which the New Kingdom of Granada was divided at that time.
They symbolize courage, intrepidity, love and charity to their own and to strangers, values with which this city receives and welcomes those who live in it and visit it.
References
Mayor of Bogota. Retrieved from bogota.gov.co
Coat of arms of Bogota. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org