Vilnius (district)

Heraldry of the World
Civic heraldry of Lithuania - Lietuvas Heraldika

VILNIUS (District)

Origin/meaning

The arms were granted on December 20, 1999.

The arms comes from the late 14th - early 15^th 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), 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.