Notėnai
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Historical data: Notėnai town, Skuodas district. The centre of Notėnai eldership is located by the stream of Notė from which the name of the town came. It is believed that Notėnai were first mentioned in historical sources in 1253.Thanks to priest M. Šaikūnas and parishioners, a new wooden St. Catherine's Church was built in 1906-1909. This church is decorated with the original gate of the churchyard, which has become a symbol of the whole town
Considering the possible motives of the Notėnai coat of arms, it was precisely the churchyard gates of St. Catherine's Church that were chosen as the main symbol. The red gate is not just a direct reference to the town of Notėnai. They symbolize the religiosity of the inhabitants of the Notėnai, the church behind these gates represents - the source of spiritual strength, and the red colour of the gate means love for national and moral values.
The gate of the churchyard is closely related to other symbols - the three golden apples, which were decided to be depicted at the bottom of the shield's black part. Apple is a fruit known since Neolithic times. Throughout the historical epoch for the apple has been given various (sometimes contradictory) meanings: fertility, peace, discord, knowledge, progress, and so on. Gold colour in heraldry means honesty, and black is wisdom.
The silver colour of the shield reflects the localization of Notėnai by the Notės River, symbolically marking the hydronymic origin of the town name and the businesses of the population related to the stream.
The benchmark sketch of the Notėnai coat of arms was created by the artist Rolandas Rimkūnas. It was approved by the Lithuanian Heraldry Commission on 19 of May, 2011.
Description of the coat of arms: red gate in the silver field. Three golden apples at the bottom of the black shield.
