National and historical symbols of Hungary

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Deszk

(The County of Csongrád)

When designing the coat of arms of Deszk we were looking for an authentic historical motif which had already been used as a symbol. In the archival documents we found the seal which was used after the village was rebuilt. On the seal can be seen a wading bird looking right, holding a spring of tobacco in its beak. Tobacco growing used to play an important role in the life of the northen region of Torontal county, and in particular in Törökkanizsa district, to which Deszk used to be belonging.

By 1746 Deszk's population had grown to the extent that it was declared to be a village. It is very likely that from that time the coat of arms with the bird was used to certify documents. This is the oldest historic element of he shield.

The other elements of the coat of arms are: the orthodox and catholic church towers which symbolize the ethnic composition of the present population. Serbs and Hungarians have been living together in total peace here for a considerable time. The shape and the colour of the coat of arms is reminiscent of the device of the Gerliczy family, who were the owners of the village from 1804.

A coat of arms is usually described from the point of view of the person holding it, so that the right and the left sides are inverted. The description of Deszk's coat of arms meets these requirements.

It depects a vertical shield with a point at the bottom, divided into two fields by a wavy silver line. In the right, red field there is a white bird looking right. Its wings are raised and it stands on a green hill holding a tobacco spring with green leaves in its beak. In the left blue field can be seen the outlines of the baroque orthodox church tower and the catholic church tower of Deszk. The wavy silver line which separates the fields symbolizes the River Maros.

Pictures:

1. The Roman Catholic church

2. The Serbian church

3. The Village Hall

4. The World War I memorial