Польшаның мемлекеттік гербі

National coat of arms of Poland

The coat of arms of Poland is a white, crowned eagle with a golden beak and talons, on a red background. In Poland, the coat of arms as a whole is referred to as godło both in official documents and colloquial speech, In later legislation only the herb retained this designation; it is unknown why.

The coat of arms of the Republic of Poland is described in two legal documents: the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997 and the Coat of Arms, Colors and Anthem of the Republic of Poland, and State Seals Act (Ustawa o godle, barwach i hymnie Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej oraz o pieczęciach państwowych) of 1980 with subsequent amendments (henceforth referred to as "the Coat of Arms Act"). The Crown was restored on December 31, 1989 by the Act of December 29, 1989 amending the Constitution of the Polish People's Republic  (Article 1, point 19). However, the new emblem design was introduced only on February 22, 1990, by the Act of February 9, 1990 amending the provisions on the coat of arms, colors and anthem of the Republic of Poland. Legislation concerning the national symbols is far from perfect. The Coat of Arms Act has been amended several times and refers extensively to executive ordinances, some of which have never been issued. Moreover, the Act contains errors, omissions and inconsistencies which make the law confusing, open to various interpretations and often not followed in practice.

According to Chapter I, Article 28, paragraph 1 of the Constitution, the coat of arms of Poland is an image of a crowned white eagle in a red field. When he looked at the bird, a ray of sunshine from the red setting sun fell on its wings, so they appeared tipped with gold, the rest of the eagle was pure white. He was delighted and decided to settle there and placed the eagle on his emblem. He also named the place Gniezdno (currently Gniezno) from the Polish word gniazdo ("nest"). The symbol of an eagle appeared for the first time on the coins made during the reign of Bolesław I (992–1025), initially as the coat of arms of the Piast dynasty. Beginning in the 12th century, the eagle has appeared on the shields, ensigns, coins, and seals of the Piast dukes. It appeared on the Polish coat of arms during Przemysł II reign as a reminder of the Piast tradition before the fragmentation of Poland. The eagle's graphic form has changed throughout centuries. Its recent shape, accepted in 1927, was designed by professor Zygmunt Kamiński and was based on the eagle's form from the times of Stefan Batory's reign. It was adapted to stamps or round shields rather than to a rectangular shape. The arms of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was quartered, with Polish eagle and Lithuanian Pogonia on opposite sides. Kings used to place their own emblems in escutcheon point (i. e., House Vasa). Despite the fact that new emblems were given to provinces established by the invaders after the partitions of Poland, the White Eagle remained there with or without crown and occasionally with face turned towards left and in some exceptions with Pogonia. But in most cases they were combined with the invader's emblem. The Poles conscientiously collected coins from the pre partitions period with the eagle on their obverse and reverse. The symbol of the eagle, often with Pogonia, appeared on numerous flags and emblems of the November Uprising. The resurrection of the Polish Kingdom (Polish Regency) in the territories of the former Congress Poland (which had been partitioned and annexed by the Russian Empire as the Vistula Land in 1867) was approved by Austria Hungary and Wilhelm II's Germany in 1916. A year later, the first Polish banknotes (Polish Marka) with Crowned Eagle on an indivisible shield were introduced. After regaining total independence and the creation of the Second Polish Republic (1918–1939) the White Eagle was implemented by the act of 1919. Official image of the coat of arms (which resembled the emblem of Stanislaus Augustus) was used until 1927 when Zygmunt Kamiński designed a new one. According to the research of Polish heraldist Jerzy Michta published in 2017, the version designed by Kamiński was actually plagiarized from a 1924 medal by Elisa Beetz Charpentier made in honor of Ignacy Paderewski. After World War II, the communist authorities of the Polish People's Republic removed the crown from the eagle's head. Still, Poland was one of the few countries in the Eastern Bloc with no communist symbols (red stars, ears of wheat, hammers, etc.) on either its flag or its coat of arms. The crownless design was approved by resolution in 1955. To counter that, the Polish government in exile introduced a new emblem with a cross added atop the crown. After the fall of communism in 1989, the crown came back, but without the cross. The eagle appears on many public administration buildings, it is present in schools and courts. Furthermore, it is placed on the obverse of Polish coins. However the issue on which conditions it should be exposed and how it should be interpreted is the topic of numerous debates in Poland. The eagle was formerly on the Poland national football team's shirts; a new shirt without the eagle was introduced in November 2011, prompting complaints from fans and president Bronisław Komorowski. Due to this overwhelming public pressure, the football shirts were redesigned with the eagle reinstated in the centre of the shirt in December 2011.

Period Dates used Coat of arms Banner of arms Description and blazon Duchy of Poland966–1025Emblem of Civitas Schinesghe (1000 AD) from Coins of Boleslaus I of Poland. Kingdom of Poland1295–1371Coat of arms of Piast dynasty. Union of Poland and Hungary1370–1382Coat of arms used under Louis I of Hungary. Party per cross, quarterly 1st, barry of eight Gules and argent (for Árpáds) and azure semé de lis or with label gules (for Capetian Anjou); 2nd, Gules, an eagle argent, crowned or; 3rd, impaling Gules on a Mount Vert a Crown Or issuant therefrom a double Cross Argent (for Hungary); 4th, azure three Lions' Heads affronté Crowned Or (for Dalmatia) Kingdom of Poland1217–1371The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania joined in a personal union established by the Union of Krewo (1385). Quarterly 1st and 4th Gules, an eagle argent, crowned or; 2nd and 3rd, Gules, Pogonia. Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth1573–1575Throughout the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth, the inescutcheon was changed to contain the Coat of Arms of the monarch. The inescutcheon here, Azure, three fleurs de lis or, belonged to Henry III of France1587–1668House of Vasa (Waza).1669–1673Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki1674–1696John III Sobieski1697–1704 1709–1763 House of Wettin1704–1709Stanisław Leszczyński1764–1795Stanisław August PoniatowskiDuchy of Warsaw1807–1815Coat of arms of House of Wettin and Polish eagle. Kingdom of Poland1815–1832Coat of arms of Congress PolandGrand Duchy of Posen1815–1848Prussian eagle inescutcheon with Polish eagle. Polish National Government1830–1831Polish eagle and PogoniaPolish independence movement1846Polish National Government1863–1865Archangel Michael represents RutheniaVistula Land1867–1915Government General of Warsaw1915–1918Seal of the Government General of Warsaw, includes a Prussian eagle. Kingdom of Poland1916–1918Eagle with the seal of the Regency Council Second Polish Republic1919–1927First modern coat of arms of Poland. Second Polish Republic and Polish Government in exile1927–1939 1939–1956Zygmunt Kamiński's current project Polish Government in exile1956–1990The crown was redesigned as close crown. Polish People's Republic1955–1980Crown was removed.1980–1990Current colors.

Used since 1944, legalized in 1952 , the Emblem of the Polish People's Republic was valid until February 21, 1990. In addition to the lack of a crown and other rosettes, there is a significant deformation of the eagle's head and eye compared to the pre war eagle.

The current version of the Emblem is consistent with the Act of February 22, 1990. Significant modifications by Andrzej Heidrich are visible compared to the pre war eagle created by Zygmunt Kamiński.