Last modified: 2015-11-22 by ivan sache
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The municipality of La Puebla del Río (12,207 inhabitants in 2013; 37,438 ha; municipal website) is located on river Guadalquivir, 15 km south-west of Seville.
La Puebla del Río was granted after the Christian reconquest to the Council of Seville by King Ferdinand III the Saint. Originally intended as a base of military surveillance (guardia) of the river access to Seville, the place was transformed by Alfonso X in a settlement (puebla). La Puebla del Río was settled by 200 knights and granted its own municipal administration, separating from Seville. The territory was increased with the incorporation of Villanueva, Puebla Vieja, La Torre, Abenmaffón and the three islands in the Guadalquivir.
Ivan Sache, 24 May 2014
The flag of La Puebla del Río is horizontally divided blue-red with the municipal coat of arms in the middle.
The coat of arms of La Puebla del Río is prescribed by Decree No. 906, adopted on 26 March 1964 by the Spanish Government and published on 13 April 1964 in the Spanish official gazette, No. 89, p. 4,618 (text). This was confirmed by a Decree adopted on 30 November 2004 by the Directorate General of the Local Administration and published on 20 December 2004 in the official gazette of Andalusia, No. 246, pp. 28,986-29,002 (text).
The coat of arms is prescribed as follows:
Coat of arms: Rectangular, ending in point. Quarterly per a saltire or superimposed by a cross argent ending in chief like a "P" and in base like a "S". The upper quarter gules, the lower quarter, azure, the right [dexter] and left [sinister] quarters, argent, the first charged with a Greek letter "Α" gules, the second charged with a Greek letter "Ω" azure. The shield surrounded by two rice panicles. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown.
The coat of arms in actual, single-standing use features different colours: "Quarterly per a saltire or superimposed by a cross argent ending in chief like a "N" and in base like a "S". The upper quarter gules, the lower quarter, purpure, the right [dexter] and left [sinister] quarters, azure, the first charged with a Greek letter "Α" gules, the second charged with a Greek letter "Ω" azure. The shield surrounded by two rice panicles. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown.
The coat of arms used on the flag (photo) matches the legal description, the shield being placed, however, on a golden cartouche not specified in the Decree.
The letters "N" and "S" mean that La Puebla del Río is located north and south of Seville, being the guard of the river. The letters "Α" and "Ω" mean that La Puebla del Río is the beginning and the end of Seville, since the capital could not survive without the grounds and port of La Puebla del Río. The cross recalls that La Puebla del Río defended the Christians against the Moorish raids. The saltire, or St. Andrew's cross, may allude to the day the place was reconquerred or was granted a settlement charter.
The rice panicles recall that rice cultivation is a main source of income for the town.
[Municipal website]
The coat of arms was derived from the rounded seal used in 1292 by Sancho IV to confirm the privileges originally granted to the town by Alfonso X. In subsequent seals, the letters "N" and "S" were substituted by "P" (principio) and "F" (fines). The design is credited to Manuel Alarcón Martín, Secretary General of the Municipal Administration.
[Juan José Antequera Luengo. Heráldica oficial de la provincia de Sevilla]
Ivan Sache & Klaus-Michael Schneider, 24 May 2014