Coat of arms of the City of Banja Luka: concept design by Draško Bošnjak
First place
Winning design in the public competition
for the coat of arms of the City of Banja Luka (2014).
Selected by the jury
from 47 submitted entries.
Gold plaqueand ducat of theBanja Luka arms
On December 23, 2013, the City of Banja Luka launched a public competition for a concept design of its coat of arms. It received 47 entries; 17 did not meet the requirements, and from the remaining 30 the jury chose this one as the best. The City Assembly accepted it and sent it to public debate.
The coat of arms is made up of the shield, the silhouettes of Banski Dvor and City Hall, Kastel Fortress, a chestnut leaf, the bows of dajak boats and the Vrbas River.
Symbols
of the coat of arms
The shield brings together what Banja Luka is known for: Kastel, the Vrbas and its chestnut avenues.
The blue field, a symbol of loftiness, justice and serenity, is edged by a gold band. At the top are the silhouettes of Banski Dvor and City Hall, buildings from the time of the Vrbas Banovina. In the center is Kastel Fortress, below it the bows of two dajak boats and a chestnut leaf, and at the bottom the Vrbas River.
Shield
Spanish shield with a blue field, edged by a gold band.
Banski Dvor
The silhouette of Banski Dvor forms the top edge of the shield.
City Hall
The thin line below it is the silhouette of City Hall.
Kastel Fortress
Main gate of the oldest cultural and historical monument in the city of Banja Luka.
Chestnut leaf
Symbol of Banja Luka's chestnut avenues.
Dajak boats
Bows of boats from the Vrbas, set symmetrically.
Vrbas
Stylized line of the river at the very bottom of the shield.
Symbol descriptions from Draško's presentation of the coat of arms. Kastel Fortress at night: Wikimedia Commons, ArhistefoBL (CC0).
Lesser, middle
and greater coat of arms
By the rules of heraldry, a coat of arms is made in three tiers, from a simple shield to a ceremonial coat of arms with a crown and wreath.
Lesser coat of arms
The shield with no additions, for the widest use. All citizens may use it.
Middle coat of arms
A gold mural crown with four merlons and a ribbon with the city's name in Cyrillic and Latin script. For official institutions.
Greater coat of arms
A wreath of oak branches with five acorns each, a symbol of resilience and strength. For ceremonies and the highest city bodies.
Heraldic
colors
The coat of arms has one color and two metals: blue, gold and silver. For black-and-white printing, heraldry draws each with hatching: blue with horizontal lines, gold with dots and silver with an empty field.
Blue
#0C1A55
Field of the shield: loftiness, justice and serenity
Gold
#FCB958
Frame, tower roofs, chestnut, dajak boats and the Vrbas
Silver
#FFFFFF
Stone walls and towers of Kastel
Application
of the coat of arms
City flag
Seal
Coat of arms on a pillar
