Westphalia flag
| Flag of the Prussian Province of Westphalia | |
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| Officially accepted: | October 22, 1882 |
The flag known today as the Westphalia flag was introduced for the Prussian province of Westphalia on October 22, 1882 and officially existed until September 15, 1935.
description
The flag of Westphalia consists of two horizontal stripes of the same size in the national colors of white and red and thus resembles the Polish and Thuringian flags . The coloring is derived from the Westphalian coat of arms.
history
Green-white-black
In 1794 members of the Corps Guestphalia Halle took part in the foundation of the Corps Guestphalia Erlangen, which established a country-style cartel relationship between the two corps, which the Corps Guestphalia Jena joined in 1795 . This laid the foundation for the so-called "Westphalian Cartel ", which was founded in 1799 on the Cartel Day in Halle (the cartel existed until 1820; corps of the same name from the universities of Würzburg, Göttingen and Bonn were added in the course of the process). There the representatives of the Westphalian wreaths decided to introduce a uniform color in the tricolor green-black-white, which has been worn in the order green-white-black since 1822.
This color combination was adopted by Renoncen Westphalian corps at most German universities and is still in use today, for example at the Corps Guestphalia in Berlin , Bonn , Erlangen, Greifswald , Halle, Heidelberg (until 1935), Göttingen , Jena, Würzburg and Marko -Guestphalia Aachen ; sometimes they can also be found in other corporate associations, such as B. ( Landsmannschaft Guestphalia Braunschweig , Turnerschaft Guestphalia Breslau or the AV Guestfalia Tübingen ).
In the public consciousness, the opinion soon prevailed that these were the official colors of the province, and so the colors were also adopted by other Westphalian associations and bodies, flagged accordingly at festivals and official occasions. The large Westphalian commemorative festivals that took place between 1819 and 1830 under the direction of the district judge Friedrich Wilhelm Rautert at various locations in Westphalia also contributed to the spread of this conviction . At these meetings the green-white-black colors were emphasized.
In 1880 Roger Wilmans , from 1854 to 1881 as director and secret archivist of the State Archives in Münster from Berlin in the course of the intended new regulation of the Prussian provincial colors, brought clarity to the research of the historical basis for the supposed provincial colors green-white-black. He found that the colors were not based on any state award act or other official orders, but had gradually developed from student colors to the national color.
Nevertheless, green-white-black, as well as the other way around, horizontally or vertically, are still widespread in Westphalia today, for example in shooting and sports clubs, student associations, districts and municipalities. B. in the flag of Gelsenkirchen , that of the Recklinghausen district or the club colors of Prussia Münster .
White blue
After Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord had been commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte to design the symbols of the Kingdom of Westphalia on June 6, 1807 , the French emperor should use the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Westphalia as a "ménagerie" - figuratively as a zoo or Zoo - have judged. Talleyrand has endeavored to integrate the heraldic animals of all parts of the colorfully assembled kingdom, some of them completely different from one another , in the coat of arms . A horse , an eagle and eight lions and leopards of various colors are therefore representative of the former rulers and states . In contrast, the flag is abstract and does not resemble any previous state. From 1807 to 1813, the Kingdom of Westphalia introduced this under Jérôme Bonaparte as a sovereign symbol with two horizontal stripes in white and blue. The bicolor is believed to be a scaled down version of the French tricolor . The Kingdom of Westphalia was proclaimed by Napoléon Bonaparte on December 7, 1807 , its constitution made known by royal decree and entry into the Confederation of the Rhine regulated. On the same day, Jêrôme and his glittering court arrived at Wilhelmshöhe in Kassel, which from then on was called Napoleonshöhe . He entered his rule with an oath on the new Westphalian flag. Louis Dupré captured the moment in his unfinished painting. Jêrôme publicly swears in front of officers and the greats of the country on the steps of Wilhelmshöhe Castle . But the rule of "King Lustig", as his new Westphalian subjects call him, did not last long. After the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig (1813), the Kingdom of Westphalia dissolved. On September 28, 1813, Cossacks stood in front of Kassel, who took the city under Alexander Tschernyschow on October 1 and declared the kingdom dissolved. When the city was left by the Cossacks after only four days, it was again occupied by French troops and Jérôme returned for the last time on October 16, only to evacuate Kassel ten days later. A little later the Electorate of Hesse, Prince William, and a Russian corps moved into the city. With the arrival of Elector Wilhelm I , which did not take place until November 21, the restoration was finally initiated.
White-red
Since the empire was reserved when it came to adopting both the student and the French colors , a new flag was devised in place of the traditional one , similar to black-white-red . The heraldic old state coat of arms with the Sachsenross , a white horse on a red background, was seen as decisive. But it is also assumed that the Hanseatic tradition of Westphalia is expressed in this way. With a decree of October 22nd, 1882, the “sovereign” white-red flag legitimized, in a color arrangement that contrasts with the flag of Brandenburg .
On September 15, 1935, the flag was officially abolished by the Reich Flag Act. After the Second World War , all symbols of the National Socialist dictatorship were banned by the victorious powers. Due to the resulting lack of symbols, the President of Westphalia, Rudolf Amelunxen , decided on December 21, 1945 to use the old Westphalian coat of arms as a seal. At the same time, the use of the old provincial flag was allowed again. The coat of arms has now been inserted into the jack of the flag. The flag was used until the creation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1946. Ultimately , the flag of North Rhine-Westphalia developed from the flag of Westphalia, with the colors white-red and the flag of the Rhine Province with the colors green-white , with the colors green-white-red.
The Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe has been using the Westphalia flag since 1986 in conjunction with and without the Westphalian coat of arms in the center.
literature
- Albert Franz: Flag Studies. Braunschweig 1953.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe ( Memento of the original from November 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ An afterword by the editor (= Erich Bauer ) to Hans Lippold: The origin of names and colors of the Corps Masovia. In: Einst und Jetzt 6 (1961), p. 127 f.
- ↑ Flags of the World - Kingdom of Westphalia 1807-1813
- ↑ LWL ( Memento of the original from September 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Flags of the World - Westphalia 1945-1946 (Germany)
- ^ Flags of the World - Westphalia-Lippe (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)
