Talk:Administrative divisions of Denmark

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[edit] Insignia after 2007

Hello folks. Does anyone have information on the effects of the administrative reorganization on the use of official emblems such as the coats of arms currently used by municipalities and counties alike? Will enlarged municipalities that inherit the name of an existing municipality also retain the logo of the original titular municipality, or will new arms have to be adopted? // Big Adamsky • BA's talk page 14:36, 5 April 2006 (UTC)

In Norway the Heraldic Authority (The National Archives) assumes (see this page in Norwegian)that new municipalities resulting from the union of older ones will choose one of the old arms. That has mostly been the practice so far anyway. I suppose this also could be assumed to happen in Denmark. It will presumably be up to each municipality to decide. Inge 14:55, 5 April 2006 (UTC)
In the case of the enlarged Vindafjord municipality, a new emblem was designed modelled on the those of the two constituent old municipalities, even though the name of only one was passed on to the new entity. I think the the colour on one of them was implemented on the pattern of the other. // Big Adamsky • BA's talk page 15:52, 5 April 2006 (UTC)
In Denmark, any municipal / county coat of arms is first suggested / approved by the local council, and then sent to the Ministry of the Interior for approval. This is the only method enabling the symbol to become registred as an "official symbol". Registration requires that the coat of arms is first approved by the National Archive's expert in heraldry, to ensure that the symbol complies with heraldic practice. Currently, Niels Bartholdy occupies this position [1] However if he turns down a symbol - or demands a change to it subsequently rejected by the municipal council - the municipality is effectively free to use the symbol anyway, only it cannot be registred as an official symbol. This has happend in a few cases; most notably, Haarby municipality has used a rejected symbol for more than 20 years.
Regarding the current situation. Most municipalities will probably choose the symbol of one of the components; e.g. Faaborg-Midtfyn has adopted the medieval coat of Faaborg. In other cases - e.g. Ærø and Langeland - the new municipality has consulted an advertisement agency (Ærø) or a heraldic artist (Langeland) and placed an order for a new symbol. With mixed results; Langeland's new coat is very good, Ærø's coat is - well, I hope they didn't pay too much for it. Only a "real" coat of arms might be registred by the Ministry, so if a mere logo is chosen, it will merely be protected by copyright. A small annoyance to the new Regions is that they've been denied the right to carry a coat of arms. Region Syddanmark inquired the Ministry about the procedure for aquiring a new coat of arms, but was told that only municipalities will be granted registration for a coat of arms (unlike the (soon to be) former counties). This is why Region Nordjylland has adopted a mere logo, and the other four will follow suit. The entire process is still very far from complete, and most of the new symbols are not yet in place. I've tried to find a comprehensive list / status regarding the situation, but so far in vain. Valentinian (talk) 20:10, 5 April 2006 (UTC)