Scania - Heraldry

Heraldry

During the Danish era the province had no coat of arms. In Sweden, however, every province had been represented by heraldic arms since 1560. When Charles X Gustav of Sweden suddenly died in 1660 a coat of arms had to be created for the newly acquired province, as each province was to be represented by its arms at his royal funeral. After an initiative from Baron Gustaf Bonde, the Lord High Treasurer of Sweden, the coat of arms of the City of Malmö was used as a base for the new provincial arms. The Malmö coat of arms had been granted in 1437, during the Kalmar Union, by Eric of Pomerania and contains a Pomeranian griffin's head. To distinguish it from the city's CoA the tinctures were changed and the official blazon for the provincial arms is in English: Or, a Griffin's head erased Gules, crowned Azure and armed Azure, when it should be armed.

The province was divided in two administrative counties 1719–1996. Coat of arms were created for these entities, also using the griffin motif. The new Skåne County, operative from 1 January 1997, got a CoA which is the same as the province's, but with reversed tinctures. When the county arms is shown with a Swedish royal crown, it represents the County Administrative Board, which is the regional presence of central government authority. In 1999 the two county councils (landsting) were amalgamated forming Region Skåne. It is the only of its kind using a heraldic coat of arms. It is also the same as the province's and the county's, but with a golden griffin's head on a blue shield. The 33 municipalities within the county also have coat of arms.

The Scania Griffin has become a well-known symbol for the province and it is used also by commercial enterprises. It is e.g. included in the logotypes of the automotive manufacturer Scania AB and the airline Malmö Aviation.

Coat of arms: