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Emblem of NikolaevThere are many countries and even more cities. Though some share a name, it is impossible to confuse them because each has distinctive symbols: a flag, an emblem and even an anthem. City flags are often displayed on streets for holidays. City emblems are always printed on important documents, and anthems are often sung to honor winners in sporting competitions. These symbols of a state, a region, or a city were not invented by an individual or created in a single day. Instead, each represents a deep sense of place and of local history. And each symbol has its own history. Nikolaev has a special flag, emblem and anthem. In the dictionary of V.Dal' it is written that the emblem is "a kind of a shield with a picture of symbols given to the state, city or a noble family on it".
A shield is an important and basic attribute of every emblem.
Since its founding in 1788, the city has had four emblems.
• The first emblem Emperor Alexander the First approved for Nikolaev on 7 October 1803.At that time, Nikolaev was a center of shipbuilding and Russia's outpost in the South of Ukraine. There was a city council, the city duma and a court. Nikolaev Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Black Sea Fleet Marquis de Traverze helped design the emblem, which features a tri-colored shield on a blue background. 
The background represents the rivers and the sea. At the center of the shield, a black triangle represents the fertility for the land, a key source of the region's prosperity. In the triangle is a golden cross on a ball, encircled by rays. The ball rests on a silver incensory. The mitre and crozier (associated with high order members of the clergy) recall the patron of the city, Saint Nikolay. The 1803 emblem was used for 80 years. During those years, many changes occurred in Nikolaev and in Russia. Also during that period, the rules for creation and use of city emblems were formalized.
It is noteworthy that neither the first emblem nor any later emblems refer to Nikolaev as part of the Russian empire. The double-headed eagle, the imperial crown, and other Russian symbols are prominent in the emblems of nearby cities such as Kherson or Odessa, but absent from any of Nikolaev's emblems.
• The second emblem of Nikolaev was adopted on 16 March 1883."The Notes about the Emblem of War-Port City Nikolaev" describe the second emblem this way: "In the sky-blue shield on the silver wavy edge there is a ship with black oars, accompanied with the golden mitre of members of the higher orders of the clergy and the same crossed crozier. In the free part there is an emblem of Kherson province. The shield is decorated with a silver tower with turrets like a crown and surrounded by two golden anchors connected with Alexanderskaya ribbon."
The turret shaped crown is a symbol of self-government. The anchors connected with ribbon denote shipbuilding and port activity. The Kherson provincial emblem represents Nikolaev's role as the chief town of the district. 
• The third emblem of Nikolaev appeared a half century after the October Revolution. In 1967, the municipal authority held a contest for the creation of an emblem for "soviet Nikolaev". A sketch by artist V.S. Kozlovskyy won and the Nikolaev city council adopted this variation in 1969.On a shield at the center of a field of red and blue (the colors of the flag of socialistic Ukraine), a silver sailing ship is depicted. Under its keel, half of a golden pinion gear can be seen. There is also a golden hammer and sickle. The name of the city appears in Ukrainian.
• The fourth emblem of Nikolaev .was adopted on City Day (26 September) in 1997, at a grand meeting of city council. This emblem duplicates the emblem of 1883, but without the reference to Kherson province. 
Variants of the city's emblem Print page » |