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Municipalities can choose their coat of arms

Coat of arms Community Shield ElizabethCoat of Arms. Photo: Pixabay.com

Municipalities can henceforth choose their coat of arms

More than a hundred municipalities will merge over the next few years, and the law is changed to allow them to choose their own coat of arms

 

The Governmental committee determining municipal coat of arms and banners is disolved and the responsibility is transferred to the municipalities themselves.

Up until now, there has been the practice that the municipalities’ suggestions of coat of arms were assessed by the Norwegian Archives and then finally approved by the Government and the King.

The municipalities are however still asked to review their choice before making a decision, to avoid confusion with the coats of arms of other municipalities.

Unifying symbol

– The municipal coat of arms is an important unifying symbol, whether the municipality is newly formed or not. The design of municipal coat of arms in merged municipalities will mean a lot in the process of building common culture and identity, says Minister for Municipalities and Modernization, Jan Tore Sanner (Conservatives).

The change in the municipal act and the use of flags of municipal buildings will come into force in 2018.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today