Bremen coat of arms

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Free Hanseatic City of Bremen
city-state
Middle state coat of arms
Blazon
Red and white of the Hanseatic League
Basic data
Introduction: 1891
Legal basis: Seal tour: around 1220
Supporting documents:

November 17, 1891:
Announcement of the Senate

October 21, 1947:
Constitutional resolution 1

April 16, 1948:
Decree 2

Changes: 1811, 1833, 1891
Coat of arms elements in districts
since 1939: Vegesack

The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen now has the Bremen key as a small coat of arms . It is also part of the medium and large coat of arms.

description

The coat of arms of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen shows on a red background a slanting to the right heraldic , with the beard facing to the left, a silver key of Gothic shape with a four-pass horse ("Bremen key"). A golden crown rests on the shield, which shows five prongs in the shape of a leaf above the ring adorned with precious stones (in the hierarchy of the Holy Roman Empire German nation a "margrave crown " , "middle coat of arms"). With the “small coat of arms” only the key is shown without a crown. The “Great Coat of Arms”, on the other hand, also has a console or a ribbon-like base on which the shield rests. The shield is held by two erect, backward-looking lions with their front paws.

history

The emergence of the Bremen key coat of arms as a national emblem can be traced back to the development of the city seal. The earliest tradition of a seal of the city of Bremen dates from the 13th century, it was first mentioned in a document in 1229, but it is highly likely that it existed some time earlier. It was created when the Bremen council (it is first documented in a document in 1225) wanted to conclude independent contracts, for example with the Rüstringer Frisians in 1220. The fact that the council acquired a seal is a sign of its status as a legal entity and proves its increasing Independence of the citizenry from the bishop.

Seal of the city of Bremen, 1230–1366
Seal of the city of Bremen, 1366–1833

On this first Bremen city seal you can see a bishop with a bishop's cap on the left and a crook in his right hand (since 780 the city was the seat of the bishop ), and on the right an emperor with a crown and orb in his left hand, who hold the Bremen Cathedral above them. Between the two you can see the crenellated city ​​wall with the gate opening in the middle. The two are undoubtedly Willehad and Charlemagne , as medieval tradition ascribes the origin of the city and the cathedral to them. The inscription of the seal reads SIGILLVM BREMENSIS CIVITATIS ( lat. 'Seal of the City of Bremen'). As a result of conflicts between the council and guilds within the city, but also with Albert II of Braunschweig-Lüneburg , the then Archbishop of Bremen, who was expelled from the city on June 28, 1366 by the citizens and Count Konrad von Oldenburg, the stamp of this probably first seal was destroyed in 1366. The council stated on August 9, 1366: “Unde dat inghezegel let wy ok enttwey slan, do it only in unse wolt wedder quam” (we also had the seal broken when it came under our control again).

1 thaler gold: Bremen coin from 1863
Coat of arms of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen in the German Empire

Immediately after the old one was destroyed, a new seal was introduced in 1366. On it sat the emperor with a crown, scepter and orb on the left, and on the right Saint Peter with the tiara , the pope's hat, a sword in his right hand and a key in his left. The form of the representation is based on the seal of the Bremen cathedral chapter with Mary with the child and Peter sitting together on a bench, which was common at that time. The desire for freedom of the Bremen people is clearly expressed by their turning away from the bishop: The emperor takes the more important place on the left and the bishop, who stood for the old, archbishopric city lords, is replaced by the patron saint Peter as the apostle of Christ and predecessor of the popes. This seal was used for more than 460 years, in modern times mainly to seal real estate transactions, until it lost its function completely through the enactment of a new inheritance and handicraft order of December 19, 1833 and was handed over to the State Archives by the higher court. It is in the archive today.

While the big seals always showed bishop and ruler, little Peter could be seen with the key. Already on the small secretion seal , which has been in use since 1366, Peter can be seen enthroned above a coat of arms with the key, which appears here for the first time. The key has appeared on Bremen coins since 1369, when the city's archbishop pledged the right to mint, and later also on cityscapes.

The Bremen key comes as an attribute of Peter , the patron saint of Bremen Cathedral . It is the " key to heaven ", derived from the Bible quote "I want to give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven". Regarding the coat of arms variants on Bremen coins : The Archbishop of Bremen also had a key coat of arms , but mostly in the variant with crossed double keys; he only had the individual key set predominantly on his coins, albeit with the characteristically different beard shape (mirrored double S) that has been used on both municipal and episcopal coins since 1369. Exactly this image was used for a long time, also since 1541 the city had finally taken over the right to mint coins from the archbishopric. It was not until 1634, when the operational management of the Bremen coinage was passed from the mint master to the council, that the key permanently assumed its “official” form (beard with four-fold curling) on ​​the coin images.

The colors of the coat of arms were those of the Hanseatic League and the Old Reich : red and white. Shield-bearers are mostly only found from the 16th century, but angels as shield-bearers were depicted as early as 1405 in the St. Peter's cheek of the council stalls. After the Reformation, in the second half of the 16th century, the angels used up until then were gradually replaced by lions, who after 1650 always turn their heads outwards. A helmet was also added in 1617, which was to be omitted according to the Senate resolution of 1651, but remained very popular in unofficial representations, was officially sanctioned again in 1891 and still adorns the flag's coat of arms today. The crown on the coat of arms dates from the 17th century.

Napoleonic coat of arms of Bremen, 1811

The coat of arms was fundamentally changed by Napoleon in 1811 . This is the only coat of arms in Bremen in which the colors differ from the historical ones. It showed three golden bees in a red shield head, including a black key in gold. Napoleon I made the bee his heraldic animal in 1804 to represent his Franconian tradition. Representations of bees were found in Tournai in 1653 at the grave of Childerich I , who founded the Merovingian dynasty in 457 . They are therefore the oldest symbol of France and stand for immortality and rebirth. Bremen had to submit to this “award”, which cost a lot of money, with 50 other cities. In addition, red and gold are the colors of the Bonaparte family coat of arms.

With the Coat of Arms Ordinance of 1891, the Bremen coat of arms is described as "by a silver key of Gothic shape in a red shield , which is inclined to the right and the beard is turned to the left ".

Since then, Bremen has had both a small, medium and large coat of arms. The latter can be found, for example, on the sleeves of the Bremen police officers and members of the Bremen fire brigade. There is also a flag coat of arms. In this form it was the great coat of arms of Bremen in the German Empire. Today it can only be seen on flags and in the seal of the President of the Senate.

  • Small state coat of arms
    "Bremen Key"

  • Middle state coat of arms

  • Large coat of arms

  • Flag crest

District coat of arms

Since districts are not independent units and therefore do not have their own national emblems, district "coats of arms" can only be identification symbols and have no official function. The local offices only have an official seal with the Bremen key coat of arms. Nevertheless, in the years around 1980 a "wild growth of communal heraldry" developed. In addition to the districts that had lost their independence through incorporation (such as Vegesack and Blumenthal ), whereby the official character of their coat of arms was lost, also districts that had no heraldic tradition have acquired coat-of-arms-like symbols, but none in the official or sovereign area May be used.

Use protection

Heraldic sign

Coats of arms are generally protected for free use, i. H. their use requires special approval. The weekly newspaper Die Zeit , published in Hamburg , used the Hamburg coat of arms in the headline from the first edition (February 1946) to issue no. 13 (May 1946) after the newspaper was founded. But the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg refused the subsequent approval. DIE ZEIT turned to Bremen's mayor Wilhelm Kaisen , who permitted the use of the Bremen coat of arms on June 10, 1946. DIE ZEIT still uses the Bremen key and the golden crown today.

Today many cities and countries design so-called coats of arms , which are not subject to this special protection, but can be used freely. There is also one for the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. However, these heraldic symbols do not have the status of a coat of arms.

Key and coat of arms as a symbol of identity

Beck's
North German Lloyd
Public Insurance Bremen
The time
Postage stamp from 1992
  • Company : The Bremen key is or was used by various companies as a company logo or part of the company logo:
    • Kaiserbrauerei Beck & Co : From 1876, the then Kaiserbrauerei Beck & Co (Beck's) used the Bremen key from the coat of arms as a trademark. The company later changed the logo and now uses a trademark that does not correspond to the blazon of the Bremen coat of arms. The key on it no longer has a Gothic shape and is tilted to the right from the viewer's point of view (in heraldic terms, it is tilted to the left with the beard to the right).
    • Norddeutscher Lloyd : Tilted to the left like on the original coat of arms, the key can be found in the logos of Norddeutscher Lloyd
    • Beilken : The Beilken sail maker has used the Bremen key as a company symbol since it was founded in 1919.
    • Louis Delius & Co .: The trading company, founded in 1832, also uses the Bremen key as a company logo.
    • Public insurance Bremen : The ÖVB uses the Bremen key in the coat of arms.
    • Schünemann Verlag : The key is framed by a Fraktur S in the Schünemann Verlag logo .
    • Die Zeit : The Hamburg weekly newspaper Die Zeit has been using the Bremen key on its front page with the permission of Mayor Wilhelm Kaisen since 1946 .
  • Newspaper : The Bremen Key was also the name of a newspaper that Friedrich Ludwig Mallet (1792–1865) had founded.
  • Hymn : at the end of the 19th century there was a song Der Bremer Schlüssel , in which one probably wanted to see a Bremen hymn . Officially, the song never became an anthem, in the 20th century it was forgotten.
  • Differentiation from Hamburg : The city coat of arms of Hamburg is often referred to as the gateway to the world, in Bremen the only reply is: "And Bremen has the key to it".
  • Sovereign rights over the Weser : Since April 20, 1664, the key bucket has marked the entrance to the Weser.
  • Branding : Criminals were often branded with the Bremen key coat of arms with a glowing iron. 1820 was branding banned in Bremen.
  • Hallmark : Bremische silver temple , Zinnmarken and Tuchplomben with the keys were in the guild period prescribed basis.

Use in flags

Since variants of the Bremen coat of arms were and are always part of the Bremen flag (with the exception of the pure bacon flag ), the coat of arms was also always used in flag variants used by the state or official.

  • Maritime Service Flag (1893–1921)

  • Service flag of the pilot administration (1895–1918)

  • Official flag of the customs administration (1895–1918)

  • Navy Service Flag (1921–1933)

  • Official flag of the customs administration (1921–1933)

  • Maritime Service Flag (1933–1935)

  • State service flag of Bremen shipping (1952)

  • Maritime Service Flag (1891-1892)

  • State flag in the German Empire

  • Current state flag ( Bacon flag without coat of arms)

  • Current service flag with medium coat of arms

  • Current state flag with flag coat of arms ( Senate flag )

The coat of arms on Bremen buildings

Others

Since Bremen used to have a fairly large territory for a long time , other municipalities also have elements of the coat of arms of Bremen , such as the municipality of Hagen im Bremischen in the district of Cuxhaven, whose key symbol is derived from the coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Bremen .

literature

  • Constitution of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen : Article 68: "The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen has its previous coat of arms and flags."
  • Official seal decree (DienstSErl) of Bremen with effect from January 1, 2001; Abstract:
    • § 2: The large Bremen seal is an embossed seal and shows the large Bremen coat of arms with the deviations intended for the flag coat of arms (Article 6 of the announcement, regarding regulations on the Bremen national coat of arms). The great Bremen seal is used by the Senate as the state government and by the President of the Senate. The President of the Citizenship can also use the great seal.
    • § 3: In addition, all authorities carry the small Bremen seal. This is used as an embossing seal, seal mark or color printing stamp (made of metal or rubber). The small seal should have a diameter of 3 ½ cm.
  • Hermann Tardel : The Bremen key. To the history of the landmark . Bremer Schlüssel Verlag Hans Kasten, Bremen 1946.
  • Fritz Lohmann: The Bremen coat of arms. From the sky key to the city sign. Edition Temmen , Bremen 2010. ISBN 978-3-8378-1008-0 .
  • Andreas Röpcke : Bremen's city and city coats of arms in a historical perspective in: Der Herold, quarterly journal for heraldry, genealogy and related sciences. Vol. 11, Volume 29 1986, Issue 9, pp. 270 ff.
  • Andreas Röpcke: The oldest Bremer Bürgersiegel In: Bremisches Jahrbuch Volume 57, 1979, p. 9 to 14.

See also

Web links

Commons : Coats of arms of Bremen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  • www.ngw.nl - International Civic Heraldry site
  • www.bremen.de - On bremen.de: Flag and coat of arms of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ After Wilhelm von Bippen: The development of the Bremen coat of arms . In: Yearbook of the Bremen Collections , Volume 4, Bremen 1911, p. 11.
  2. ↑ See: Historical maps of Bremen
  3. ↑ first around 1366 on one cheek of the Bremen cathedral choir stalls
  4. ^ Hermann Jungk: The Bremen coins. Bremen 1875, p. 274.
  5. ↑ Andreas Röpcke: (about the Bremen coat of arms) In: Der Herold. Quarterly for heraldry, genealogy, and allied sciences. 11, 29th year 1986, issue 9, p. 268.
  6. ^ Fritz Lohmann: The Bremen coat of arms. From the sky key to the city sign. Edition Temmen, Bremen 2010, p. 36.
  7. ^ For the first time on the large mural in the Upper Town Hall, 1532.
  8. ^ Fritz Lohmann: The Bremen coat of arms. From the sky key to the city sign. Edition Temmen, Bremen 2010, p. 53, shows the crown on the Bremen thaler from 1650.
  9. ^ The coat of arms of Napoleon: www.napoleon.org
  10. ↑ See: Coat of arms of the Buonaparte family
  11. ↑ Announcement of the Senate of November 17, 1891. - The description of a coat of arms is generally made - as here too - according to the rules of blazon , i.e. from the point of view of the person wearing the coat of arms and not from the point of view of the beholder.
  12. ↑ See: Bremen police sleeve arms
  13. ↑ See: Bremen fire brigade sleeve arms
  14. ^ Transparency portal Bremen - Decree on official seals for the Bremen offices and authorities of April 16, 1948. Retrieved on April 5, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Andreas Röpcke : Bremen's city and district coats of arms in a historical perspective in: Der Herold, quarterly journal for heraldry, genealogy and related sciences, vol. 11, 29th year 1986, issue 9, p. 267 ff., Here p. 271 ff.
  16. ↑ Röpcke, p. 272.
  17. ↑ mik.nrw.de
  18. ↑ Our coat of arms . In: The time . No. 19/1946 ( zeit.de ).
  19. ↑ According to Erika Thieß, In: Weser-Kurier June 10, 1996, the request came from Josef Müller-Marein , who, however, did not become editor-in-chief until 1956.
  20. ↑ To the flags of North German Lloyd: www.crwflags.com
  21. ↑ beilken.de Website of the Beilken company
  22. ^ Website of the company Louis Delius & Co.
  23. ^ Website of the ÖVB
  24. ^ Fritz Lohmann: The Bremen coat of arms. From the sky key to the city sign. Edition Temmen , Bremen 2010, pp. 116–123.
  25. ^ Herbert Black Forest : The Great Bremen Lexicon . Volume 1: A-K. 2nd, updated, revised and expanded edition. Edition Temmen, Bremen 2003, ISBN 3-86108-693-X , p. 100. - A branding iron with a key symbol is in the Focke Museum .
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on March 2, 2007 .