Moss

Heraldry of the World Civic heraldry of Norway - Norske Kommunevåpen

MOSS

Province : Østfold
Additions : 1943 Jeløy

Official blazon

En gull kråke på rød bunn.

Origin/meaning

The arms were granted on April 2, 1954.

Moss became a separate city in 1786 and received its first seal in the same year. The seal showed a church under some clouds, the whole placed in a circle. Above the circle there were some fasces, the freedom symbol of the late 19^th century. A later seal, dating from around 1829, shows the same composition, but now also with 6 birds flying around the church.
When in the 1930s the city wanted to adopt arms, the birds were chosen as a possible symbol. The original birds probably were doves, symbol of peace. In 1934 the idea of the crow was launched, as the nickname of the inhabitants was 'crows'. The arms were finally granted in 1954.

The seal of Moss from 1786	The seal of Moss from 1820
The arms in the Coffee Hag album +/- 1930

Literature : Norwegian Municipal Network and Norske Kommunevåpen, Kommunalforlaget, 1987.