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Teutônia, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil)

image by Ivan Sache, 7 August 2020

Municipality
Symbols

Municipality

The municipality of Teutônia (27,265 inhabitants in 2010; 179.17 sq. km) is located in northeastern Rio Grande do Sul, 100 km north of Porto Alegre.

Teutônia was founded by German immigrants, in the wake of the colonization started in 1824 in São Leopoldo. In 1856, Carlos Schilling led a first expedition; two years later, the creation of Colony Teutônia was made official. The "Empresa Empresa Colonizadora Carlos Schilling, Lothar de la Rue, Jacob Rech, Guilherme Kopp e Companhia", a company set up by Schilling and his associates, purchased on 26 November 1861 from the municipality of Taquari a plot of land for the access to the colony. Lothar de la Rue was appointed in 1862 the first director of the colony. They were subsequently joined by Swiss and German colonists who had originally settled in the Corrientes Province, Argentina. However, the main colonization effort was made by immigrants from São Leopoldo and Santa Catalina, and also from immigrants coming directly from Pomerania, Saxony, Bohemia and Silesia. Teutônia became an independent municipality on 24 May 1981, which was confirmed by State Law No. 7,542 of 8 October 1981. The new municipality was inaugurated on 31 January 1983.

Ivan Sache, 14 January 2012

Symbols

The flag and arms of Teutônia, designed by Selby Wallauer, are prescribed by Municipal Law No. 146 promulgated on 28 April 1986.

Article 2
The municipal flag of Teutônia is divided into three parts: A green triangle, covering the upper dexter part, 9 units in vertical side on 14 units in horizontal side. The other triangle, white, covering the lower sinister part, with the same dimensions as the first one. A white stripe between the hypotenuses, charged with the coat of arms surmounted by three white stars.

Article 3.
The division of the rectangle in three parts symbolizes the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary Powers, of different attributions but balanced.
§1. Green represents the rural estates scattered over the municipal territories, soil fertility, the exuberance of crops and forests. It is also a symbol of honor, civility, courtesy, glee and abundance, and of hope, hope being green since greening plantations in spring promise profuse harvests.
§2. Red is a symbol of patriotic love, dedication, intrepidity, courage, valiance and perseverance.
§3. White is a symbol of peace, friendship, work, prosperity and Christian spirit.
§4. White and red combined with the shield's black border recall the colonist's folklore and tradition, who, under the aegis of the standard of the country they emigrated from, cleared the forests and paved the way to development. Red and white also refer to the Republicans and the Federalists who fought in 1891 for the defense of democratic ideals.
§5. The three stars symbolize the three former districts of the mother municipality, Estrela [Star], which unified during political emancipation to form the 244th municipality in Rio Grande do Sul.

Article 4.
In compliance with heraldic rules, the municipal flag shall have the official dimensions adopted for the national flag, 14 units in width on 20 units in length.

Article 16.
The coat of arms of Teutônia is described as follows.
On a white field in oval shape surrounded by two black line separated by a white space, 7 units in width on 5 units in length, is placed a five-chord lyre. Surmounted by five towers, the lyre shall be divided into five parts. The first, lower left part features on celestial blue a typical colonial hut in half-timbered style, in the background two trees and in foreground a green lawn and small flowering trees. The second, lower right part features, also on celestial blue, a factory with a chimney surrounded by ceramic paving. The third, upper right part features a torch with red flames and an open book resting on a shelf - the field is light yellow. The fourth part features in foreground on a colored fertile soil a planting machine and in the center a maize plant flowering and fructifying on a light yellow background. A pair of shoes on a divergent line are placed on the lyre's base, surmounting a scroll inscribed in Gothic letters "TEUTÔNIA" surrounded by years "1858" and "1981".

The coat of arms has the following symbolic explanation.
a) Teutônia, consecrated as the capital of choral music, deservedly adopts for the shape of its coat of arms a lyre, which has been used as their emblem by choral singers since the beginning of the colonization of the municipality.
b) The crown surmounting the shield is the universal symbol of coats of arms. Argent with five towers, it classifies a town represented as "Choirs' Town".
c) The lateral ornaments made of acanthus leaves of Corinthian origin are the symbols of taste for art.
d) In the first part, the colonial hut with open door and windows, in half-timber style, an architectural legacy of the pioneers of German origin, is the symbol of people's hospitality and benevolence. Celestial blue in the two lower parts symbolizes the municipality's serene sky and the people's religious spirit, which elevates to infinity its thought in search of divine protection. Green, as well as the trees and flowers, is a symbol of flora preservation. Green is a symbol of honor, civility, glee, abundance, and the symbol of hope, since greening fields in spring promise profuse harvests.
e) In the second part, the building that housed the first industry of the former colony symbolizes the business park, the base of the municipality's income.
f) In the third part, the torch with red flames symbolizes light dissipating darkness, referring to the municipality's high rate of alphabetization. The book is a symbol of education and teaching that are provided to all through community, municipal and state schools. Yellow in the third and fourth parts is a symbol of knowledge and resources.
g) In the first part, the planting machine, the plowed land and the maize plant symbolize the smallholder's system and the farmer's basic work, which definitively contributes to the development of secondary and tertiary industries.

Article 17.
The pair of wooden clogs symbolizes pre-industrial arts and crafts and recall the immigration of 300 Westphalian families in 1869.

https://leismunicipais.com.br/a/rs/t/teutonia/lei-ordinaria/1986/15/146/lei-ordinaria-n-146-1986-dispoe-sobre-a-forma-e-apresentacao-dos-simbolos-do-municipio-de-teutonia-e-da-outras-providencias

Photos
http://www.weber-ruiz.com/weber/encontro_bandeira_teutonia.jpg
https://www.facebook.com/camaradeteutonia/photos/a.1054249884613703/3042800385758633/?type=3&theater

Teutônia counts more than 40 societies with more than 1,000 members promoting choral or instrumental music, including the Teutônia Orchestra, the Teutônia Youth Orchestra, the Colégio Teutônia Orchestra, the Municipal Choir, and also diverse groups of folkloric dances and theater.
Teutônia was awarded the title of "National Capital of Choral Music" by Federal Law No. 13,563 promulgated on 22 December 2017.

https://www.teutonia.rs.gov.br/o-municipio/

Ivan Sache, 7 August 2020