page_title: Coat of arms of Lithuania
section_title: Use as a state symbol
hierarchical_section_title: Coat of arms of Lithuania / History / Use as a state symbol
caption_attribution_description: Close-up view of the coat of arms of the President of Lithuania, displayed on the facade of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius. The sword-wielding knight on horse is the coat of arms of Lithuania.
context_page_description: The coat of arms of Lithuania, consisting of an armour-clad knight on horseback holding a sword and shield, is also known as Vytis.
  Article 15 of the Constitution of Lithuania, approved by national referendum in 1992, stipulates, "The Coat of Arms of the State shall be a white Vytis on a red field". The heraldic shield features the field gules with an armoured knight on a horse salient argent. The knight is holding in his dexter hand a sword argent above his head. A shield azure hangs on the sinister shoulder of the knight with a double cross/two-barred cross or on it. The horse saddle, straps, and belts are azure. The hilt of the sword and the fastening of the sheath, the stirrups, the curb bits of the bridle, the horseshoes, as well as the decoration of the harness, are or.
  The blazon is the following:
  Gules, a knight armed cap-à-pie mounted on a horse salient argent, brandishing a sword proper and maintaining a shield azure charged with a cross of Lorraine Or.
context_section_description: By the 15th century, the heraldic knight became representative of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and of its central part, the Duchy of Vilnius. 
  Its name Pogonia is first recorded in the  Statutes of Lithuania of 1588.
  In the 16th century, the knight's shield was depicted as  blue with a gold double cross, constructed in such a way that all six ends are equal in length. 
  The double cross was attributed to Jogaila, who was said to have adopted it after his baptism as Ladislaus and marriage with Hungarian princess and King of Poland Hedvig Angevin in 1386. 
  It is derived from the Hungarian cross, the assumed coat of arms of  Saint Ladislaus, King of Hungary, which is in turn a derivative of the Patriarchal cross.
  The Renaissance introduced minor stylistic changes and variations: long feathers waving from the tip of the knight's helm, a long saddle-cloth, the horse tail turned upwards and shaped as nosegay. With these changes the coat of arms remained the State symbol of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1795, when Lithuania was annexed to the Russian Empire. Traditional Lithuania's coat of arms was abolished. However, in 1845 tsar Nicholas I confirmed a coat of arms for the Vilna Governorate that closely resembled the historical one. A notable later change was the replacement of the double cross with the red Byzantine cross on the knight's shield.
  At first, the charging knight was interpreted as the ruler of the country. As time passed, he became a knight who is chasing intruders out of his native country. Such an interpretation was especially popular in the 19th century, and the first half of the 20th century, when Lithuania was part of the Russian Empire and sought its independence.
  Following the partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, most of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was absorbed by the Russian Empire and the Vytis was incorporated into the imperial state emblem. The Vytis was the coat of arms of the Vilna Governorate following the incorporation of Vilnius and surrounding lands into the Russian Empire. Statues of the Vytis placed on white columns greeted visitors at the entrances to Vilnius from 1818 until 1840, when the statues were replaced with two-headed eagles – the state symbol of the Russian Empire.
  Uprisings to restore the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth like the 1830-31 November Uprising and 1863-64 January Uprising saw the Vytis used as a symbol of rebellion against the Russian Empire.
  When Lithuania restored its independence in 1918–1920, several artists produced updated versions of the coat of arms. Almost all included a scabbard, which is not found in its earliest historic versions. A romanticized version by Antanas Žmuidzinavičius became the most popular. The horse appeared to be flying through the air (courant). The gear was very ornate. For example, the saddle blanket was very long and divided into three parts. There was no uniform or official version of the coat of arms. To address popular complaints, in 1929 a special commission was set up to analyze the best 16th century specimens of Vytis to design an official state emblem. Mstislav Dobuzhinsky was the chief artist. The commission worked for 5 years, but its version was never officially confirmed. Meanwhile, a design by Juozas Zikaras was introduced for official use on Lithuanian coins.
  The Vytis was the state emblem of the Republic of Lithuania until 1940, when the Republic was annexed by the Soviet Union and national symbols were suppressed. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Vytis, together with the Columns of Gediminas and the national flag, became symbols of the independence movement in Lithuania. In 1988, Lithuania's Soviet authorities legalised the public display of the Vytis. 
  On March 11, 1990 Lithuania declared its independence and restored all of its pre-war national symbols, including its historic coat of arms. On March 20, 1990 the Supreme Council of Lithuania approved the description of the State's coat of arms and determined the principal regulations for its use. The design was based on Juozas Zikaras' version. Th
caption: The presidential version of the arms, as depicted on the Presidential Palace
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