Coat of arms of Copenhagen

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Coat of arms of Copenhagen. 1894 illustration.

The Coat of Arms of Copenhagen was granted 24 June 1661^[1] by king Frederick III of Denmark in appraisal of its citizens' efforts in repelling the Swedish siege and attack on Copenhagen in 1658-1659. An accompanying royal letter of privilege granted the citizens of Copenhagen the same rights to own fixed property as applied to the Danish nobility.

Lesser arms of Copenhagen. Illustration from Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4th edition (1885-90).

Seal of Copenhagen, 1296.

The central feature of the full arms are three towers rising above water, a symbol also appearing in the town's seal from 1296. The water element also refers to the city's original name Havn meaning "Harbour" (Latin: Hafnia). The version granted by King Frederick III modified the original symbol by adding a gateway in the central tower in which a knight carrying a raised sword appears. The central tower features an oval with the king's F3 cypher above the city gate, both elements in gold.

The greater coat of arms features three helmets, banners and a wide assortment of war equipment. An oversized golden crown is shown above but not affixed to the central helmet. Two lions act as supporters.

Today, the full arms is reserved for representative purposes. A lesser coat of arms featuring only the central shield is more commonly used by the city. In recent years, this symbol has in turn been simplified to a logo omitting the frame of the shield featuring only the three towers over three waves.