Coat of arms of Austria

The establishment of the Second Republic in 1945 saw the return of the original arms, with broken chains added to symbolise Austria's liberation.

In 1981 the Wappen der Republik Österreich (Bundeswappen) described the blazon in the Federal Constitutional Law (Austrian act) (Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz, B-VG).

Der Adler trägt auf seinem Haupt eine goldene Mauerkrone mit drei sichtbaren Zinnen.

2 B-VG bestimmt und entspricht der Zeichnung des Bundeswappens in der einen Bestandteil dieses Gesetzes bildenden Anlage 1.This artistic version as above described with the drawing in attachment 1 of Wappengesetz 1984 in which the eagle's feathers are grey and detailed, with the colours of bluegrey for the chain and dark gold for the other signs, is the actual official coat of arms of the Republic of Austria.

2 B-VG, in which the eagle is represented plain black, the undefined colour of the chain and the yellow as heraldic gold.

On 31 October 1918, the council of state agreed upon the colours of the republic (red-white-red) as well as the new emblem composed personally by chancellor Karl Renner.

However, the new emblazon was withdrawn as it was met with heavy criticism from, for example, Adolf Loos and heraldists; the proposal was seen as too similar to commercial advertising.

Coat of arms of the First Republic of Austria, 1919–1934.
Coat of arms of the First Republic of Austria, 1919–1934, like the current version but without broken chains, here in a heraldic version
Coat of arms of the Bundesstaat Österreich, 1934–1938.
Coat of arms of the Bundesstaat Österreich (Federal State; "Corporate" State), 1934–1938, in an imperial-style double-headed eagle
Reconstruction of the tower emblem