Coat of arms of Hoorn

[1] The actual coat of arms, the shield, shows a horn held by a blue ribbon.

[2] The horn has always been part of the coat of arms, but during times there have been several supporters, during the 15th century both Mary, with baby Jesus, and John the Baptist (patron saint of the city), have been supporters of several official coats of arms.

More normal pieces had Mary seated on a Gothic throne on top of the coat of arms.

As soon as the Batavian Republic was there the coat of arms from before French rule was reinstalled; this time it was also requested at the High Council of Nobility (Dutch: Hoge Raad van Adel), so it became official.

In 2007 big unicorns were painted by several artists to celebrate 650 years of town privileges.