Zgodovina in pomen grba
Grb Kočevja je prvi petek po veliki noči 1471 z listino podelil Friderik III., prvi habsburški cesar. Poleg grba so bile takratnemu trgu podeljene še mestne pravice in zastava. Podatkov o tem, kdo je bil prvotni avtor grba, ne zasledimo.
Grbi so simbolne podobe ali znamenja mest, držav, občin, družin, organizacij ipd. Prvič so se pojavili v 12. stoletju med evropskim plemstvom. V 13. stoletju so že imeli svojo dokončno obliko. Grb sestavljata 2 glavni komponenti. To sta ščit in okrasje. Veda, ki jih preučuje, se imenuje heraldika ali grboslovje.
Kočevski grb se nahaja na sredini zastave s tremi vodoravnimi trakovi. Srednji trak je bel, ostala dva sta svetlo modra. Grb ima svetlo moder ščit z belim robom. Na desni strani je z belo barvo upodobljena t. i. utrjena hiša, ki predstavlja utrditev mesta, lahko pa bi bil to tudi Fridrihštajn. Na spodnjem delu je rjava ograja. Tudi ta predstavlja utrditev mesta. Na levi strani se nahaja sv. Jernej z rdečim plaščem, rumenim svetniškim krogom, nožem v levi roki in knjigo v desni. Nož naj bi simboliziral njegovo mučeništvo, saj naj bi ga živega odrli iz kože med širjenjem krščanstva v Indiji in Armeniji. Hkrati pa predstavlja obrambno sposobnost Kočevja, knjiga pa širjenje evangelija.
Kočevje je svoj grb dobilo leta 1471, v času gotike. Takrat so se začeli turški vpadi, zato je bila obramba krajev zelo pomembna. Kočevju so po požigu Turkov izboljšali obrambo in ga utrdili z obzidjem. Ta utrjenost mesta je tudi prikazana na grbu.
Po mojem mnenju ima Kočevje primeren grb. Pred nekaj leti smo bili z družino na Rabu, kjer so bili izobešeni vsi grbi pobratenih občin. Med njimi je bil tudi kočevski. Lepo ga je bilo videti, saj smo se takoj spomnili na dom in menim, da bi se enako počutili tudi drugi prebivalci Kočevja.
Viri in literatura:
Slovenska heraldika. (2021). O grbu. [Online]. [Datum zadnjega popravljanja: neznano]. [Citirano 9. decembra 2020; 17:51]. Dostopno na spletnem naslovu: http://www.grboslovje.si/grb.php
Slovenska heraldika. (2021). Zgradba in glavni sestavni deli grba. [Online]. [Datum zadnjega popravljanja: neznano]. [Citirano 9. decembra 2020; 17:54]. Dostopno na spletnem naslovu: http://www.grboslovje.si/sestavnideli.php
Občina Kočevje. (2021). Simboli in grafična podoba. [Online]. [Datum zadnjega popravljanja: neznano]. [Citirano 9. decembra 2020; 18:12󠅬]. Dostopno na spletnem naslovu: https://www.kocevje.si/objave/187
Grb. (2021). [Online]. Čas zadnje spremembe: 8. januar 2021; 10:34. [Citirano 9. decembra 2020; 18:27]. Dostopno na spl. naslovu: https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grb
Coat of arms. (2021). [Online]. Čas zadnje spremembe: 29. januar 2021; 1:26. [Citirano 9. decembra 2020; 18:31]. Dostopno na spl. naslovu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms
Umetnost za mlade: delovni zvezek (interno gradivo). (2020). Str. 9, GOTIKA
THE COAT OF ARMS OF KOČEVJE
On the first Friday after Easter in the year 1471, Frederick III, the first emperor of the Habsburgs, bestowed a coat of arms on Kočevje with a charter. Its original author remains unknown. In addition to the coat of arms, Kočevje, still a square at the time, also got a flag and town privileges.
Coats of arms are symbolic figures or symbols of towns, countries, municipalities, houses, organizations, etc. They first appeared in 12th century among the European aristocracy. Their form was already finalized in the 13th century. Coats of arms are composed of two main components – a shield and decorations. The science that studies coats of arms is called heraldry.
Kočevje’s coat of arms is located in the center of the flag with three horizontal stripes. The middle stripe is white, the other two are pale blue. The coat of arms has a pale blue shield with a white edge. On the right side, there’s the so called white fortified house, which represents the town’s fortification. According to some interpretations, it could also represent the castle Fridrihštajn. At the bottom, there is a brown fence which represents the town’s fortification as well. Located next to the fortified house is Saint Bartholomew, dressed in a red coat with a yellow halo around his head. He’s holding a knife which symbolizes his martyrdom and Kočevje’s defense capability in the left hand, and a book which symbolizes expansion of the gospel in the right hand.
Kočevje got its coat of arms in the year 1471, during the Gothic period. At that time the defense of towns was very important because of the Turkish invasions. After Kočevje was burned down during the Turkish invasions, it was fortified with a rampart and its defense was improved, which can be seen on the coat of arms.
In my opinion, Kočevje has a suitable coat of arms. A few years ago I visited the island of Rab in Croatia with my family where we saw coats of arms of twinned municipalities exhibited. Among them, there was Kočevje’s coat of arms. Seeing it felt good, it reminded us of home and I think other inhabitants of Kočevje would feel the same way we did.
Sources and literature:
Slovenska heraldika. (2021). O grbu. [Online]. [Last refreshed: unknown]. [Cited 9 December 2020; 17:51]. Available at:
http://www.grboslovje.si/grb.php
Slovenska heraldika. (2021). Zgradba in sestavni del grba. [Online]. [Last refreshed: unknown]. [Cited 9 December 2020; 17:54]. Available at:
http://www.grboslovje.si/sestavnideli.php
OBČINA KOČEVJE. (2021). SIMBOLI IN GRAFIČNA PODOBA. [Online]. [Last refreshed: unknown]. [Cited 9 December 2020; 18:12]. Available at:
https://www.kocevje.si/objave/187
Grb. (2021). [Online]. [Last refreshed: 8 January 2022; 10:34]. [Cited 9 December 2020; 18:27]. Available at:
https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grb
Coat of arms. (2021). [Online]. [Last refreshed: 29 January 2021; 1:26]. [Cited 9 December 2020; 18:31]. Available at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms
Grbi kranjskih mest–Valvasor. (2021). [Online]. [Last refreshed: 4 February 2007]. [Cited 9 December 2020; 18:49]. Available at:
https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slika:Grbi_kranjskih_mest-Valvasor.jpg
Valvasot – Grad in mesto Kočevje. (2021). [Online]. [Last refreshed: 9 August 2013; 17:00]. [Cited 9 December 2020; 19:25]. Available at:
https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slika:Valvasor_-_Grad_in_mesto_Ko%C4%8Devje.jpg
UMETNOST ZA MLADE: delovni zvezek (interno gradivo). (2020). Page 9, THE GOTHIC PERIOD
Pablo Porenta