Guipuzcoa Province (Basque Country, Spain)

Guipúzcoa, Gipuzkoa

Last modified: 2008-12-26 by eugene ipavec
Keywords: guipúzcoa | guipuzcoa | gipuzkoa | basque country | coat of arms (trees: 3) | coat of arms (trees: green) | coat of arms: base (water) |
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by Jens Pattke

• Description
• Municipality of Donostia-San Sebastián
• Municipality of Antzuola
• Municipality of Gaviria/Gabiria
• Municipality of Legazpi

See also:

• Provincial Flags (Spain)
• Basque Country (País Vasco / Euskadi, Spain)
• Spain

Other sites:

• Arms and Flags of the Province of Gipuscoa by Aingeru Astui
• Flags of Guipuscoan Municipalities by Aingeru Astui

According to the Manual del Estado Español (Handbook of the Spanish State, Spanish text only) by Editorial Lama:

• historical flag [meaning there is no known adoption date] "De color blanco, figurando en el centro de la misma el escudo del Territorio Histórico" i.e. white with the coat-of-arms of the Historical Territory in the center;
• historical coat-of-arms (meaning there is no known adoption date):

  Escudo en un solo cuartel que tiene sobre campo de oro tres árboles tejos verdes, uno en medio y los dos a los lados en igual proporción, y al pie de estos árboles ondas de agua de plata y azur y abrazado, este escudo, con dos salvajes que le apoyan y tienen uno por cada lado y debajo la leyenda "Fidelissima bardulia nunquam superata". Al timbre corona real abierta o tradicional.

Pascal Vagnat, 16 July 1999

The source for Jens Pattke's image is Ministerio para las Administraciones Públicas 1992.

Falko Schmidt, 25 January 2002

Guipúzcoa had a different coat of arms to the one depicted today, adopted in 1977. Up to 1466, the Juntas Generales de Hermandad (brotherhood assembly) had its own seal: in the chief, a crowned king of Castile and Leon sits on the throne, with a sword on the right; he is supposed to be either Alphonse VIII of Castile, who conquered Guipúzcoa from Navarre with the help of the local nobility ca. 1200, or maybe Henry IV who ruled in 1466. Below, three yew trees (Spanish tejos) over three waves.

Queen Joan I gave a Privilege on 28 February 1513 to Guipúzcoa, having the locals conquered 12 French cannons during the battles of Velate and Elizondo (two little villages). So from 1513 to 1977 the coat of arms of Guipúzcoa was divided into 3 sections: dexter chief, the king, whose identity is uncertain, sinister chief, the 12 French gold cannons on red, and below, the yew trees over three blue sea waves on white.

This coat of arms is related to that of two villages of Guipúzcoa: Antzuola, which retains the king and the cannons and Lezo, which nowadays seems to be have adapted its arms to the new arms of Guipúzcoa, eliminating king and cannons.

Ramón Otegui, 5 September 2002