The coat of arms of Verkhnedvinsk
The coat of arms was registered in the Emblem Cadastre of the Republic of Belarus on July 26, 2002 under No 94. It features a rider in steel armour against a background of the golden French shield with a sword in his right hand and an oval red shield in his left hand with the image of the silver patriarchal cross. The horse is covered with a blue triangular horsecloth. For the first time the coat of arms was approved by Yekaterina the Great on September 21, 1781 as one of the emblems of the Polotsk vicariate. In contrast to the coat of arms of the town of Drissa the modern heraldic symbol of Verkhnedvinsk has no double eagle of the Russian Empire and the Caesarean crown in its head. The rider armed with a sword and a shield drawn against a background of the golden French shield lost the image depicted on the coat of arms of Polotsk, which was also approved by the Empress.
The coat of arms of the settlement of Osveya, the Verkhnedvinsk region
The coat of arms was approved by the President of the Republic of Belarus on January 20, 2006 under No 36. It features a red-coloured baldric with three silver leaves against a background of a Spanish shield.
Osveya started blossoming in 1749, when it was purchased by Minsk voevode Yan August Gilzen (1744-1754). He built the famous palace and the Roman-Catholic church, laid out a park and invited sisters of charity, who found a conventual hospital there. The building of the former Osveya hospital survived and is one of the most ancient architectural monuments of the region. The family coat of arms of Yan August Gilzen, which is a historical value, has been adapted to the modern conditions. The silver field is the colour of the dateless antiquity of the settlement of Osveya, which tuned 500. Red colour of the baldric symbolises courage, firmness and long-sufferance of Osveya residents, who repulsed many invasions and showed inflexible courage during the Great Patriotic War. Leaves on the baldric are bay leaves and is a symbol of wisdom, glory and nobility of people living on the Osveya land. That is a why the coat of arms, created on the basis of the family emblem of Yan August Gilzen, is an original link between the past and the future, between forefathers and grandchildren.
Author of the coat of arms and artist is V.I. Shchastny.
