The arms were approved by Emperor Charles V.[1] In the centre is the severed head of John the Baptist, the city's patron saint.

The crowned lion rampant in the first (upper left) quarter represents the Kingdom of Bohemia, which Wrocław became part of upon the death of Duke Henry VI of Silesia in 1335.

"[citation needed] The first version of the coat of arms was created in 1292, and featured only the head of John the Baptist.

It was replaced by a "purely German" coat-of-arms, a shield parted horizontally, with a black Silesian eagle on the top without Christian crosslet on the breast, and an Iron Cross in red field on the bottom.

Wrocław, as part of the People's Republic of Poland, changed the coat of arms again as the authorities now considered the original version as too Germanic.