The lion has long been a part of the Czech Republic’s identity, with the majestic animal already depicted on the small as well as the large national coat of arms.
Now there is even talk that the Czech lion will return as the main symbol of the Czech Republic, given that is already set to become a uniform logo for all the country’s ministries.
The Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade is behind the idea of using the Czech lion symbol just as it came up with the country’s new slogan “Country for the Future”.
Karel Havlíček (ANO), the head of the ministry, confirmed the proposal, saying that a lion symbol is an option as well as the national colors – red, blue and white – for the introduction of a uniform identity of the state administration.
The unification of the visual identity of Czech ministries and subordinate institutions is now being prepared and will be discussed across individual ministries.
The recently formed national marketing team is likely to be in charge of the graphic unification.
According to a member of this team and also the spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Robin Čumpelík, the most likely variant of the logo would consist of a dominant symbol of the Czech lion, separated by a line from the name of a specific ministry.
It is not yet clear whether the lion will be placed on a red shield as usual or stand alone.
One of the proposals under consideration is the current logo of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the prominent Czech graphic designer Aleš Najbrt.
Countries like Slovakia, Germany, and Spain have already similarly established their national identity with their own symbols.
According to a recent study by the Czech Union of Graphic Design, a unified identity of state authorities would contribute to building the brand of the Czech Republic as one team. The study points out that at present, Czech state institutions use hundreds of poor quality brands and graphic manuals.
Moreover, according to the authors of the study, the authorities should suppress their ambitions to differ from each other, because they are primarily intended to serve citizens who appreciate clarity and simplicity.
The lion, as a symbol of Czech statehood, completed the original black eagle in the 13th century. Later, of course, a lion appeared on the symbols of the First Czechoslovak Republic after the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918 and is still being used today.
The Czech lion even managed to survive the Communist era, which lasted from 1948 to 1989, when it went through the greatest stylization.
In 1960, the communists placed a five-pointed star above the head of the Czech lion instead of a crown, and a new emblem of the Slovak Socialist Republic on the lion’s chest, where a stylized flame was used instead of a two-arm cross.
