GKS Piast Gliwice
The club now known as GKS Piast Gliwice was created in March 1964 following a merger between two local sides, KS Piast Gliwice (formed 1945) and GKS Gliwice (formed 1956).
Following the merger, the colours of KS Piast Gliwice were adopted by the new club, along with the crest elements of GKS Gliwice, albeit with certain modifications.
The club crest now in use (shown top right) contains the club name and elements of the city's coat of arms. A half-eagle represents the local Silesia region, while a tower represents the very first symbol to appear on the city's official documents back in the 13th century.
An updated version of the coat of arms of Gliwice was officially adopted by the City Council in 1991 and hence minor alterations to the football club's crest were also made at this time. However, proposals to also add a football to the crest (to mark the sport played) were rejected by club members, who saw the idea as a cliché!
With the club also running a fencing section, some versions the crest additionally show three swords, which represent this activity.
The crest used by KS Piast Gliwice until March 1964 (shown left) featured a red-blue coat of arms taken from the crest of the legendary pre-war club, LKS Pogon Lwow. Removed from that club's crest was the figure of a knight - a traditional symbol of eastern Polish lands that also appears on some older Lithuanian and Belarussian crests.
Thanks to Andrzej Potocki, President at GKS Piast Gliwice, for the above crests and information.
Football Crests of Poland