Last modified: 2009-01-24 by eugene ipavec
Keywords: la laguna | laguna (la) | tenerife | coat of arms | volcano | achangel michael | spear | castle (red) | coronet | lion (red) | castille and leon |
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![[Municipality of La Laguna (Tenerife Island, Santa Cruz de Tenerife Province, Canary Islands, Spain)]](../images/e/es-tf-lg.gif)
image by José Manuel Erbez and Santiago Dotor
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La Laguna, the former capital of Tenerife (formerly Santa Cruz was simply its harbour), has a purple (neither crimson nor purpure etc.) flag with the coat-of-arms in the centre, though smaller than on other Tenerife flags, about only one fourth of the flag's height, certainly much smaller than in José Manuel Erbez's website. I took a picture of it flying from the Town Hall.
Santiago Dotor, 3 May 2000
La Laguna's flag is Tenerife island's (and probably the Canary Islands') oldest flag. However it is not regulated by Law, and thus I believe there is no legislation on its proportions. Even if the one flown at the Town Council shows a very small coat-of-arms indeed, in my pages I preferred to show it somewhat larger to make it more visible.
José Manuel Erbez, translated by Santiago Dotor, 4 May 2000
[Click on image for full size]
![[Municipality of La Laguna (Tenerife Island, Santa Cruz de Tenerife Province, Canary Islands, Spain)]](../misc/es-tf-lc.jpg)
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 15 Apr 2007
I spotted this ceremonial flag (probably from the 16th century) in Casa Lercara (Museo de la Historia de Tenerife) on C/ de San Agustín in (San Cristobal de) La Laguna on 25 January 2007. The flag was made of purple velvet. The coat of arms was made of white brocat with golden embroideries. You can already recognize all the elements of the current coat of arms except the inscription on the border. (I chose my photo instead of making a picture in order to keep the essentials of that flag better)
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 13 May 2007
[Click on image for full size]
![[Municipality of La Laguna (Tenerife Island, Santa Cruz de Tenerife Province, Canary Islands, Spain)]](../images/e/es)tf-lg.jpg)
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 15 Apr 2007
In the dexter chief of the golden field flies the Archangel Michael pointing his spear to a fire-spitting mountain, which symbolizes the Pico del Teide. St. Michael wears a blue robe, has red and green wings. At the spears end is a red banner. In his left hand he holds a white shield with a red cross. The mountain is brown right in the middle of a green island representing Tenerife. The island lies in a blue field with four fessy wavy lines of silver (white) representing the sea. Above the sea are a red castle with three towers on the right side for Castille and a red lion on the left side for Leon. The shield has a red border with a golden inscription in Latin: "Michael Arcangele, veni in adjutorium populo dei, Tenerife me fecit." or "Archangel Michael, come to aid the people of God, Tenerife has made me."
Above the shield is a coronet.
Queen Juana la Loca (i.e. the insane) granted the CoA to the city on 23 March 1510. In 1514 the municipality applied for the title of a city, aware of the fact of being "the most populated city, better like no other city of the other Canarian Islands." After the Spanish Cortes closed on 21 July 1521, the municipality granted itself the title of city, which was confirmed by the court of Carlos V in 1531. The title "de Noble" was added on 8 September 1534. (my translation from Spanish)
Source:LaLagunaMensual no.2 Enero 2007
La Laguna was capital of Tenerife for a long time until 1821, when Santa Cruz, which had simply been the port of La Laguna, gained that title. The lagoon from which the city's name came was drained in 1837.
Source: Lonely Planet, Canary Islands, 1st edition, ISBN 0-86442-522-8, p.185ff
Note that La Laguna and the Island of Tenerife share the same coat of arms.
Appendix: Spanish source text:
Desde 1510 la reina Doña Juana "La Loca" concede por Real Cédula de 23 de marzo el escudo de armas de la Ciudad, representándose al Arcángel San Miguel dominando una peña que simula el Teide. En 1514 el Ayuntamiento solicita el titulo de Ciudad por considerarla "mucho mas poblada e mejor que ningun pueblo de las otras islas de Canarias, e que de la ciudad de Las Palmas". Ante el silencio de la corte el 21 de julio de 1521 el Ayuntamiento se autoconcede el titulo de Ciudad, que fue corroborado por la corte de Carlos V en 1531. Posteriormente, se la añade el titulo de Noble el 8 de septiembre de 1534. Actualmente ostenta los titulos de Muy Noble, Leal, Fiel, y de Ilustre Historia, Ciudad de San Cristobal de La Laguna.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 15 Apr 2007
