New Perger Coat of Arms? Club wants to put the unicorn on a millstone

A white unicorn in front of a red background, which stands with its hind legs on the middle and rear crest of a three-part black hill: This is how the municipality of Perg has represented itself in its coat of arms since time immemorial. There is no fundamental change, but at least an addition to this coat of arms is now suggested by the “Steinbrecherhaus” association.

At his general assembly, he decided to propose to the city of Perg to set up millstones on the main square and also to integrate a millstone into the city coat of arms. Since the origin of the city coat of arms with the unicorn on three hills cannot be fathomed, it seems appropriate to the association to include a millstone in its place as a symbol for the economic and social development of Perg in the coat of arms. This initiative is being taken in coordination with the board of directors of the local history and museum association in Perg,

Unicorn on a millstone

“We would like to initiate a positive debate about the history of Perg. The millstone plays an important role in this history. Our concern is to give the millstone more presence in public space,” says Harald Marschner, chairman of the Steinbrecherhaus association. As a descendant of the Fries-Burgholzer family, Marschner is personally closely connected with the production of millstones in Perg. In the autumn he also published a book on the cultural history of the Perg millstone, which was well received by experts.

Specifically, the association proposes placing the unicorn in the coat of arms on a millstone instead of the three hills. “The change would be deliberately subtle. Most Pergers would probably not even notice if the unicorn was no longer on a hill but on a millstone,” said Marschner in the OÖN interview.

Politicians react cautiously

The topic of changing the coat of arms was received with restraint in the Perger municipal council last week. “Without question, millstone production is an important part of our history, especially economically. Millstones from Perg were sold throughout the monarchy and beyond to half of Europe,” says Mayor Toni Froschauer (VP). But one also has to consider that a change in the city coat of arms does not only affect the appearance of the municipality itself. A number of Perger companies and associations would use the unicorn coat of arms in their correspondence. These would also be affected by a redesign. A quick change would always be a challenge, since it will hardly be possible to use both coats of arms at the same time in a transitional period.

The culture committee should now weigh up the pros and cons and make a recommendation. If there is a majority for a change, an application must be submitted to the Office of Upper Austria anyway. state government to be provided.