Coat of Arms
Description of the coat of arms
The coat of arms of Bolyai Farkas Theoretical High School is a triangular shield crowned by an open golden book. In the shield's blue field — the most common colour in the heraldry of Transylvania and the Székely Land — rises an arm bent at the elbow, in silver armour, holding in its hand a silver goose quill, ready to write.
The pages of the golden book above the shield bear the letters B and F — the monogram of Bolyai Farkas. In the black field between the shield and the book stands the founding year, 1557, in golden numerals.
The coat of arms was designed by the heraldist Szekeres Attila István, who drew on the school's historical seals and on the heraldic traditions of the city.
The meaning of the symbols
The blue field
Colour of the shield
Heraldic blue is the most common colour in the coats of arms of Transylvania and the Székely Land. It is usually read as a sign of purity, loyalty and perseverance — values that have accompanied the school ever since its foundation.
Blue also symbolises wisdom and the striving towards the heavens — the infinity of knowledge, in which generations have been raised within the school's walls.
The armoured arm
Main heraldic element
The right arm in silver armour, bent at the elbow, was inherited from the coat of arms of the city of Târgu Mureș — a symbol of strength, protection and the capacity to act.
What makes it special is that in the city's coat of arms the hand holds a sword, while in the school's coat of arms the sword is replaced by a goose quill — the weapon gives way to the tool of knowledge, proclaiming peaceful intent.
The silver goose quill
The symbol of continuity
The quill, ready to write, symbolises recording and acquiring knowledge. The Reformed College, founded in 1557, already had a goose quill on its seal.
This heraldic thread of more than 460 years makes the coat of arms the finest evidence of intellectual continuity — today's school carries the same value its founders dreamt of.
The open golden book
Above the shield
The open golden book crowning the shield is the symbol of sharing knowledge — its openness says that knowledge is not a locked-away treasure but a heritage open to everyone.
The letters B and F on its pages form the monogram of the school's namesake, Bolyai Farkas — the polymath teacher who served the school for 47 years and wrote his name into its history for ever.
The heraldic thread: from 1557 to the present day
The first seal
The seal of the Reformed College of Marosvásárhely already shows a goose quill — as the symbol of recording knowledge. This motif runs through the school's entire history.
Taking the name
The school takes the name of Bolyai Farkas. The B and F monogram is placed in the golden book of the coat of arms — linking the school for ever to the intellectual heritage of its great teacher.
Today's coat of arms
Born of the city's armoured arm and the college's goose quill, the emblem still proclaims on the school's façade, documents and flag: the pen has taken the place of the sword.
“In the city's coat of arms the hand holds a sword — in the school's, a goose quill: the weapon gives way to the tool of knowledge.”
The flag and the colours
The school's official colours come from the coat of arms: heraldic blue and gold. These two colours appear on the school's flag, with the coat of arms in its centre.
The flag is raised on ceremonial occasions, at the opening of the school year, at graduation and at the school's anniversary events — as a sign of the community's unity and pride.
Loyalty, perseverance, wisdom
Knowledge, excellence, tradition
Purity, truth (armour and quill)
Background of the year (dignity)
Discover the school's past
Nearly five centuries of history, outstanding teachers and famous students — follow the school's path from 1557 to the present day.