Coat of arms of Moravia

The coat of arms of Moravia is charged with a gold-crowned, white-red-checkered eagle with golden claws, beak, and tongue.

The second coat of arms, used from 1233 to 1239, was a typical equestrian one-sided design with the rider bearing an eagle (rather than a lion) on the shield.

The seal's equestrian image with an eagle instead of the traditional lion signified the Přemyslid margrave's resistance against Wenceslas I his older brother and king of Bohemia.

The eagle's chessboard is documented on the oldest known seal of Znojmo, from September 1, 1272, the coat of arms of King Ottokar II of Bohemia (who had been the Moravian margrave since 1247).

In the description of the battle of Kressenbrunn on July 12, 1260, in which troops of Ottokar II of Bohemia defeated those of the Hungarian King Bela IV, the ekphrasis of the Bohemian banner ("in einem rȏten samît ... ein lewe wîz"; a white lion on a red field) is followed by that of the Moravian banner ("ein geschâchzabelten arn von rȏter und von wîzer varbe"; a white-and-red chequered eagle).

[18][19][20] The charter of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, published by him on the initiative governor of Moravia and marshal of the Kingdom of Bohemia Henri de Lipá on December 7, 1462, changed the Moravian eagle's original silver to gold ("color albus in glaucum sive aureum transmutetur"; white color changed to yellow or gold).

[26] The coat of arms described in Frederick's charter was later misused by authors, politicians and political parties at the end of the 18th century and during the 19th; removing the colors corresponding to the Bohemian lion could disrupt state unity.

The silver-and-red chessboard eagle with a golden crown and armor on a blue shield was centuries old, and the charter of December 7, 1462, allowed its use by provincial authorities.

The Moravian provincial administration gradually became aware of the charter during the 1830s and 1840s, which led to increased efforts to have the coat of arms recognized by the emperor.

In October of that year, the chessboard of the Moravian eagle in the medium-sized coat of arms was officially changed from red-and-silver to red-and-gold.

[38] After their creation on Jan 1, 2000, each of the fourteen new regions of the Czech Republic obtained the right to ask Parliament to approve their coat of arms and their flag.