Coat of arms

edit

What is that strange contraption on the coat of arms?—Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.162.31.249 (talkcontribs)

According to the official description of the coat of arms, the contraption is a "mechanical hammer of a special type, placed on golden buttresses, and a golden anvil with a silver top with a silver ball placed on it". This is supposed to symbolize that there used to be an iron works in Alapayevsk, which was important for the town's development.
The coat of arms itself is modern, but the image of the conraption appeared on the original coat of arms (adopted in 1783), and was carried over to this one almost unchanged.—Ëzhiki (Igels Hérissonovich Ïzhakoff-Amursky) • (yo?); 14:16, June 30, 2009 (UTC)