The coat of arms and the seal as specific historical resources reflect most faithfully in symbolic abbreviations the level of development achieved by a town. The character of its economic, cultural, but above all legal status appears here in its most concentrated pictorial form. Especially in its initial stages, this „picture" is a certain form of self-reflection, an effort to express the town’s identity, in a form which is generally recognisable, clearly distinguishable, easy to identify, but which at the same time contains some significant internal or external reference that is perceived as being unchangeable.
As a city, Košice is unique in that it was the first city in Europe to gain a royal warrant for a coat of arms in 1369,. The city is further unique in that by the year 1502, in the period of active heraldry, it had obtained altogether four armorial warrants from four monarchs.
The pre-heraldic period
• The lily, or fleur-de-lis
• St. Elizabeth
The heraldic period .jpg "1369 - The first armorial warrant")
.jpg "1423 - The second armorial warrant")
.jpg "1453 - The third armorial warrant")
.jpg "1502 - The fourth armorial warrant")
The Arms of the City after the year 1502
