Description of Symbols  

 

The Emblem is a symbol of the city which reflects its history and traditions.

The emblem of the city is a heraldic shield of the French shape  (four-cornered, tapered to the down). A cornucopia (filled with fruits and decorated with flowers) and caduceus (a golden rod with silver wings) embraced with silver snakes are crossed on the green field of the shield.

In heraldry the green color is a symbol of hope, joy and wealth.  The cornucopia is a symbol of natural resources. The caduceus is an eternal symbol of god named Mercury, who was considered as a protector of traders, sailors, travelers, parliamentarians in the ancient times. Snakes embracing the caduceus are considered as a symbol of wisdom. Proportions of the emblem are the following: height to width 8:7, rounded parts of the emblem are ¼ of the circle with a radius equal to 1/8 of the height of the emblem. The caduceus and the cornucopia are placed on the diagonal lines of a relative rectangle of the heraldic shield and are crossed in the center of it.

The Flag of the city of Kharkiv is a symbol of city self-government and reflects the history and traditions of the city. The flag of the city is a width of a shape of rectangle (rate of width to height is 2:3) of light green colour with a picture of the city emblem in the center of the flag. The height of the shield of the city is equal to ½ of the width of the flag. The flag of the city is bilateral. The finial of the flagpole is a metallic cone with a height which is equal to 1/10 of the width of the flag. A basement of the cone is equal to two diameters of the flagpole and is fixed on the cylindrical base which height is 1/22 of the width of the flag. Color of the metal of which the finial is made is yellow. The reference sample of the flag of the city is kept in the office of the mayor of the city. The drawing of the flag with its description  is kept in the Kharkiv city hall of records.