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Roztoky u Křivoklátu (Czechia)

Praha-zapad okres, Central Bohemian region

Last modified: 2018-09-13 by kryštof huk
Keywords: roztoky | crow |
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Roztoky town flag

[Roztoky flag] by Blas Delgado Ortiz, 11 May 2002, after image by Petr Exner; flag adopted 9 Nov 2010

The real flag may have finer details of the crow's plumage.
Blas Delgado Ortiz, 17 May 2001

According to "La Faune de France", published by the National Museum of Natural History in 1992, the only member of the family Corvidae with a red beak and feet is the Red-billed Chough "Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax", in French "crave á bec rouge", which is neither a crow nor a raven (both are members of the Corvus genus). A more common "Pyrrhocorax" is P. graculus, with a yellow beak ("chocard á bec jaune" - not to be confused with "choucas", the jackdaw, which is another Corvus), common in the mountains.
Ivan Sache, 11 May 2002

Petr Exner's VexLex 1991-1994 has "černá vraná s červenou zbroji" = black crow armed red. Mind you: that is a *heraldic* committee giving the prescriptions, not the *ornithological* committee. And perhaps it is to keep the Roztoky crow-painter busy...
Jarig Bakker, 12 May 2002

Crows and ravens are among the animals the ethologists prefer. Very serious study have shown that crows and ravens have extremely complicated social structures and seem to be able to lie and feign. Therefore, I guess the crow used by the Roztoky crow-painter as a living model dripped its beak and feet in red paint in order to spoof in the painter (who was probably busy with a more interesting model).
Ivan Sache, 12 May 2002

The flag is derived from the coat of arms. The official Czech description is as follows:

"Prapor tvoří bílý list, na němž stojí černá vrána s červenou zbrojí; poměr délky k šířce je 3 : 2."

This translates to:

"In a white field a black crow, armed red; the proportions of the field's width to its length are 2 : 3."

Source: https://rekos.psp.cz/detail-symbolu/id/8b4b07f1-c428-4d26-a4eb-9e5ed719c043

According to the town site the flag was designed by heraldist Jiří Louda.
Special thanks to Jose Antonio Jimenez Ruiz, who pointed out the mixup with Roztoky, Praha-západ okres. The relevant information has been moved here.
Kryštof Huk, 13 Sep 2018


Roztoky town coat of arms

[Roztoky town coat of arms] image from the Czech Register of Communal Symbols, spotted by Kryštof Huk, 13 Sep 2018

According to the Register of Communal Symbols, the arms were granted 12 Mar 1992 by Decision no. 804 of the Chariman of the Czech National Council.
The official Czech blazon of the arms is:

"Ve stříbrném štítě stojí černá vrána s červenou zbrojí."

According to the town site the arms are derived from the arms of Sir Jíra z Roztoky, discovered on a seal from 1398. The arms were designed by heraldist Jiří Louda.
Kryštof Huk, 13 Sep 2018