National and historical symbols of Hungary

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Nagyatád

(The County of Somogy)

The history of Nagyatád has always been extremely eventful. It used to be possessed by queens as well as by private landowners, and served as the dwelling place of messengers and settlers; at times it was a wealthy settlement, at other times it got depopulated. From a village it grew into a market town, then it became a municipality, and finally a town; it welcomed and accommodated mendicant friars. In spite of all this, it lasted almost a century that its church was finally built. Consequently, there were a large number of motifs to choose from when its coat-of-arms was designed.

Nagyatád's coat-of-arms is a spade shield erect, the base curved to a point. In field azure on a ground vert a church argent borne with the chancel to the dexter and a single-windowed tower to the sinister, roofed and spired gules, the spire and the chancel termination surmounted by a cross on an orb respectively, all or. The door and window frames are emblazoned azure, adumbrated argent. On the sinister a tree trunked proper and leaved vert.

Across the top a tournament helmet proper at a slant, bordured and barred or, lined gules, and adorned by a medaillon or. The helmet is ensigned by a five-pointed (three verdures and two pearls argent) open crown verdured or, adorned by gems vert and gules, and crested by the diminutive copy of the church emblazoned in the shield, borne on the crown's lining vert. Mantling: to the dexter azure and or, to the sinister gules and argent.

The church first borne on the seal in the early 19th century may refer to the Franciscan church built in the 18th, although, according to our knowledge, its tower was only completed as late as 1843. That is why the following historical approach bears significance.

Although the settlement's first written mention can be dated 1190, its birth and name must have come from a period prior to that. We may not be mistaken if we consider the original proper name Atha as the basis of the settlement's name, to which later the possessive derivative affix -d was added. Thus the name expresses the settlement's belonging to a particular landowner, and this way it exemplifies the typical early Hungarian practice of giving names to places. If this is so, the denominator can also be identified as Ottó, bailiff of Somogy from the clan of Győr, later palatine, who was often referred to by sources as Atha and who, by founding the monastery of Zselicszentjakab in 1061, proved to be a very religious man. Consequently, it cannot be excluded that he also had churches built on other owners' possessions, and the memory of this is recalled by the seal, for the donators must have known our chronicles well. It was only later, when the tower of the Franciscan church was completed, that the interpretation got altered according to the version first described above.

Homepage: www.nagyatad.hu