On the main square of Amstetten, a three-dimensional depiction of the coat of arms of the town of Amstetten has been erected in 1998. The so-called "Passauer Wolf" (Wolf of Passau) is a common heraldic animal, which was originally the coat of arms of the Bishop of Passau.
On the lower half, a flowing body of water (most likely the Ybbs) can be seen. A panel on the pedestal of the monument shows the coat of arms two-dimensionally and the following information on a second panel:
The "Passauer Wolf", the heraldic animal of the coat of arms of Amstetten
History of the conferment of the town coat of arms
By imperial resolution of 29 November 1897 the market town Amstetten was raised to a town. Just a few weeks later, the authorities were trying to obtain the permission of a town coat of arms. With regard to the heraldic animal one wanted to go back to the ibex of the last led market town coat of arms. However, it was not possible to enforce this request by heraldic law.
Around the middle of 1913, the town council of Amstetten undertook a further advance and made further heraldic investigations. They did not lead to any clear results. Finally Amstetten, with the decree of the k.k. Ministry of the Interior of 20 February 1914, was urged to propose the coat of arms, which the municipality regards as correct and which it intends to lead in the future.
The heraldist Hugo Gerard Ströhl, whose expert opinion was now being collected, had already held up in his book about town coat of arms, published in 1904: A seal stamp from 1568 shows no ibex in the shield, rather a wolf - the heraldic animal of the bishopric of Passau. This interpretation was confirmed by reference to the former Passau rule over the Amstetten market town.
On March 11, 1914, the mayor of Amstetten, Carl Kubasta, and the members of the "Coats of Arms Committee" (Dr. Karl Teutschmann, Anton Hanl, and Ludwig Resch) were invited to a decisive meeting. The town of Amstetten then applied for the following coat of arms:
A shield partied per fess in silver over blue. In the upper field, a red, also langued and golden armored wolf emerges from the division line. The lower panel is covered by a corrugated water. The shield is surrounded by an ornamental, bronze-colored bordering, on the main rim of which a silver coping with five visible crenelations rests.
(Design and execution: coat of arms painter Fritz Junginger, Vienna)
The Amstetten town edict of April 6, 1914, authenticates the town status and at the same time grants the right to use the requested coat of arms.