State coat of arms of Hamburg

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The small state coat of arms of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Postage stamp from 1992 from the series Coats of Arms of the States of the Federal Republic of Germany

The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg has three coats of arms , three flags , a freely usable coat of arms ("symbol"), a logo and a stand .

The coat of arms of the country (city-state), as well as the flag and the national colors white-red are set out in the constitution of Hamburg (Article 5). Only the national flag and the coat of arms may be used and freely used by every citizen.

The small national coat of arms, which can be traced back to the city ​​seal from the twelfth to thirteenth centuries, shows a white castle in a red shield. The middle tower with the cross is interpreted as a representation of the medieval cathedral, which was dedicated as Mariendom to the patron saint of the city. The two stars above the side towers are therefore considered " Mariensterne ". The castle was initially shown in red and the fund in white. Today's color scheme was first specified for the flag in a Senate resolution in 1751. The design of the towers and the gate in the middle also varied considerably over time: it was soon closed, soon open; sometimes it was shown with, then again without a portcullis. In the years 1834/1835, the depiction of the gate and towers was standardized by the Senate based on the example of the medieval seal and has been retained until today with only minor changes. At the same time, the current color scheme for the coat of arms and flag finally prevailed.

Small national coat of arms

The coat of arms of the small state coat of arms, which is used today as the state coat of arms and state emblem by the Hamburg authorities and institutions under public law, has remained essentially unchanged since the beginning.

Origin and city seal

As early as the 12th century, there were various hollow pennies in northern Germany that show a three-towered building and were probably coined by the city lords of the time, the archbishops of Bremen and the counts of Schauenburg and Holstein . It is assumed that one of these hollow pennies, in which the central tower is depicted with a crown, is an imprint of the bishops and the crown above the church tower symbolizes the city's rule over the old town.

Even before the use of any coats of arms, but after the city's citizens had increasingly self-administered the city, the oldest surviving seal imprint of the city (1241) shows the famous castle with a tower in the middle, the cross and two stars. A comparison with other city seals suggests that the cathedral is actually depicted in the middle of the castle, i.e. instead of the archbishop's old town, the city seal now represented the entire city that was united in the 13th century. It is not clear whether the castle or city wall represents the Hammaburg or one of the city's castles built in the 10th century (e.g. the bishop's castle ) or the city fortifications that were renewed and expanded in 1240. The castle and city wall with the gate closed is generally interpreted as an expression of the citizens' ability to defend themselves after the Counts of Holstein had lost their military sovereignty. The stars of the Virgin Mary can only have served as placeholders before they received this interpretation in relation to the patron saint of the city and the cathedral.

  • Imprint of the first known city seal from 1241 (replica)

  • Imprint of the second known city seal from 1253/55 (replica)

  • Partially restored imprint of the third known city seal from 1264

  • The fourth known city seal from 1304 ( Archaeological Museum Hamburg )

Coat of arms on a Hamburg coin from 1619

The so-called fourth city seal is basically the same as the oldest seal. The seal area is round and measures 8.9 centimeters in diameter, surrounded by a pearl wreath. The inscription of the seal reads: "+ Sigillum + Burgensium * de * Hammenburch". The seal picture shows the castle with a locked gate and three towers. The right tower has four, the left five battlements, the middle, narrower tower towers over the side with its elongated dome, above which a cross rises. A six-pointed star hovers over each of the two side towers. For over half a millennium, this seal was a visible symbol of the independence of the self-determined Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg . The oldest document with an imprint of this fourth seal comes from Christmas Day 1304 and regulates the security of the highway between Hamburg and Lübeck .

Until 1811, the seal was used to authenticate all financial and foreign policy contracts. The type of the fourth Hamburg city seal, cast from bronze and fire-gilded on the front, is no longer in the city's possession today. It had been moved to a salt mine with other valuables during World War II, then disappeared and appeared on the art market in the 1980s. The city sued the acquirer for surrender, but was defeated in several lawsuits. In 2012 the Typar was offered again in an auction by the Cologne auction house Lempertz . The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and the Association for the Promotion of Hamburg Economic History then organized a return campaign: The Hubertus Wald Foundation and a consortium of Hamburg merchants and companies each assumed half the cost of purchasing the seal. Since April 29, 2013, the city seal can be viewed by the public in a showcase in the effects room of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce. This seal also served as a model for a new city seal in 1835.

In the centuries before, there were different variants of the city arms. The gate was open or a staircase led up to it. The towers took on the most varied of shapes. The cross and stars were left out or a moon or the nettle leaf from the coat of arms of the Holstein counts were added.

The first colored representations of the coat of arms in the 15th century show the castle in red on a white shield. This color scheme, which takes up the red brick construction typical of Hamburg, has been preserved through the centuries and appears on various images. Some coats of arms, especially those created outside of Hamburg, show the castle as a white building. In contrast, the castle in Hamburg was z. B. on uniforms of the city military or the barrels laid out in the Elbe verifiably drawn in red until the beginning of the 19th century.

It was not until 1835, after the corresponding Senate resolutions to standardize the national flag, that the coat of arms was officially shown in the current, now reversed, color scheme. The colors white and red are definitely the colors of Hamburg. The coat of arms has only changed slightly since then. The last time there was a slight simplification was in the 1950s, in which the indicated masonry was again omitted.

In the 20th century, the closed gate also gave rise to discussions as to whether this is appropriate for a cosmopolitan city and whether the representation of an open gate, as can be found in the coat of arms of Altona (part of Hamburg since 1937), would be preferable. The Hamburg logo developed in 1998 took up this objection. The open gates of Altona did not originally stand for the tolerance of the city, but for the right of the sovereign to access at any time - a right that historically does not correspond to Hamburg's centuries-long efforts to maintain its independence from foreign rule.

The large national coat of arms may only be used by the citizens , the Senate , the Hamburg Constitutional Court , the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court and the Hamburg Regional Court .

It shows the red heraldic shield with a white or silver-colored castle . This is held by two erect, looking away, golden (or yellow) lions standing on a pedestal. Above the coat of arms is a helmet with a silver-red helmet cover and bead, adorned with three peacock feathers and lance flags in the shape of the national flag. The helmet with feather headdress and flag (originally also white with a red castle) appears for the first time in the 16th century and forms the middle coat of arms . The large coat of arms, including the lions holding shields , was probably created as an imitation of princely coats of arms at the latest in the 16th century. It was first used on coins in 1695. The representation of the large national coat of arms was simplified between 1952 and 1955 in connection with the writing of the constitution of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg , leaving out some details. The outstretched tongues of the lions are shown a little more drastically and for reasons that are not clear, the position of the lions was reversed.

In addition, there is the Hamburg logo designed by the designer Peter Schmidt in 1998 , it shows a red castle with an open gate, based on the coat of arms, as an expression of the cosmopolitanism of the city and underneath a blue wave, which the dynamism of the city and the port with its symbolizes maritime tradition. The logo is intended to give the city a uniform appearance through its use by the authorized state institutions. It is also protected as a trademark.

  • Large coat of arms of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, 1897

  • Middle coat of arms of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg

  • Large national coat of arms above the entrance to the Museum of Hamburg History , built 1914–1918

  • The great national coat of arms after 1950

  • Official logo of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg

The freely usable "Hamburg symbol"

Freely usable coat of arms: "Hamburg symbol"

Since the state coats of arms as national emblems may only be used by the Hamburg state and its authorized institutions, the Senate commissioned the development of a coat of arms . In doing so, he complied with the request of private individuals, associations and companies to document their affiliation or attachment to “their country”. The Hamburg symbol , which can be used freely by everyone, is a modification of the small national coat of arms, in which the simplified castle can be seen completely in the middle of the shield.

In 1946 the weekly newspaper Die Zeit added the somewhat changed large national coat of arms to its head, which the Hamburg Senate at the time did not want or could not tolerate. The two variants drawn by Carl Otto Czeschka and used up to issue 18 of 1946 did not receive any subsequent approval. Czeschka then had to change the header. Since no.19 it has been showing the Bremen coat of arms (with the permission of Bremen's Mayor Wilhelm Kaisen ) .

Flags

Country flag

State flag of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg

The national flag, which can be freely used by the citizens, shows the white castle of the coat of arms on a red background. The basic colors correspond to the colors of the Hanseatic League (see also: Hanse flags ).

Emergence

As early as 1270, city law stipulated that the citizens' ships should lead a red wing (vlugher). It is thus the oldest known law on the use of flags on ships. It was renewed several times up to the town charter of 1605. This wing or later pennant was carried on the mast tips of the ship, and later also partially supplemented by standards or signs on the hull walls with the city coat of arms. Finally, the coat of arms itself, i.e. the red castle on a white shield, was added to the red flag. In the 17th century the uniformity of the flag was lost and the red castle was depicted on a white flag cloth or a white castle on a red cloth. There were also different blue variants with different shapes of the castle.

A maritime law commentary on the city law of 1605, written by Senator Herman Langenbeck (1668–1729) in 1727, at least restored the old uniformity on the ships of the Hamburg state. He writes: "On our Convoyen the pennant Roht, as well as the great flag from the back, also is the Goßgen [...] Roht, and the Hamburg Wapen know Being Solte silver, rohten field [...]. In the Admiralty flag, the coat of arms is set on the means of an anchor. ”However, the confusion in the merchant fleet remained. On May 14, 1751, the Senate decided on the occasion of a peace, trade and shipping treaty with Algiers that the citizens of the city "are required to fly a red wing and a red flag with a white city coat of arms on their ships". In addition, a sample was made on a sheet metal and exhibited at the stock exchange , which was changed again after some objections and approved in June 1751. But even this decision was largely ignored, despite the threat of punishment, because office flags were still unknown and the merchants and shipowners tried to differentiate themselves from one another by using different flags. During the French period in Hamburg , the French flag was hoisted and the port was closed by the English blockade anyway.

In 1829 there were renewed negotiations with Algiers and Morocco , while the Free Hanseatic Cities of Hamburg, Lübeck and Bremen briefly considered a common trade flag. With the Senate resolution of December 19, 1829, however, the flag was set again, based on the pattern from 1751. Since the negotiations with Algiers and Morocco failed, the flag question was not taken up again until 1834, after inquiries from Russia and Holland about its exact form, and finally decided on June 6, 1834 with the sample drawn up in 1829 by the Senate. In contrast to 1751, this flag prevailed everywhere. Only at the celebration of the move out of the old stock exchange building in 1841 were isolated white flags with a red castle to be seen.

Until 1861, the representation of the castle in the flag was based on the pattern from 1751, a castle with an open gate and portcullis, several windows in the towers, without a cross or star. It no longer corresponded to the taste of the time, especially since coats of arms and seals as well as, since 1841, the coins of the local currency ( Courantmark ) were borrowed from the medieval city seals. The Senate commissioned the shipping and port deputation with a "better drawing" and received the proposal for a new admiralty flag, which was then also adopted as the trade flag in 1861, with the anchor removed.

The castle now resembled the model of the old seal and adopted its cross and stars, which did not appear on any previous flag. Even the different number of battlements on both towers was initially recorded based on the seal. The color of the cloth also changed from purple again to a lighter red, as it was already used at the time of the red wing.

In 1894, the Senate again issued a new flag plaque in which the castle is narrower and taller and is represented by brickwork with rounded walls. However, the masonry fell away when it was revised again in the 1950s.

State flag

The state flag or Senate flag

The state flag (Senate flag) is reserved for the Senate as head of state. It shows the large national coat of arms with a white frame on a red background. It was created for the inauguration of the Hamburg City Hall in 1897 and is placed out of the arbor when the flags are displayed at the City Hall (on the tower above the balcony). It can be seen there for the time of the Senate sessions or is placed on watercraft for representative occasions, provided that Senate members are on board.

Stander

The stander, a smaller state flag placed in the middle on a black, red and gold background, is carried by the mayor and the mayor on official state visits on the vehicle.

Admiralty

Admiralty coat of arms
Admiralty flag

The Admiralty coat of arms is carried by state vessels. The Hamburg Admiralty , which was founded in 1624 and was initially responsible for the pilotage as well as the war and convoy ships, evidently had its own coat of arms by 1642 at the latest, consisting of an anchor with the three-tower Hamburg castle. Apart from small changes, in particular the depiction of the castle typical of the time, this coat of arms still exists today.

The admiralty flag is used exclusively by authorities and is placed on state buildings that are used for maritime shipping. It is carried out on the watercraft used by Hamburg on the Göschstock , if this is possible. In 1657, according to the pilot regulations (pilot regulations), the Admiralty coat of arms was first transferred to the flag for certain vehicles subordinate to the Admiralty.

A war flag was also created at the same time, but it disappeared again in the 18th century and there are no records of any images. In the 18th century, all state ships were finally flagged exclusively with the admiralty flag (still with a black anchor).

See also

literature

  • Heinrich Reincke: History of the Hamburg flag . In: Friedrich Stichert in connection with the Überseeklub Hamburg (Hrsg.): Hamburger Übersee-Jahrbuch . Übersee Jahrbuch, Hamburg 1926.
  • Helga Kutz-Baur: Some comments on the Hamburg coat of arms. In: Paul O. Vogel: Little history of Hamburg from 1918 to the present and two other contributions. State Center for Political Education, Hamburg 2000, pp. 32–38; hamburg.de (PDF; 392 kB)
  • Michael Zander: The Hamburg symbol. A modified city and state coat of arms. In: The Herald. Quarterly for heraldry, genealogy, and allied sciences. Vol. 55, No. 3, 2012, pp. 360–363.
  • Cipriano Francisco Gaedechens: The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg coat of arms, seal, flag and cocarde . (PDF; 16 MB) Hamburg 1855

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erik Verg: The adventure that is called Hamburg. The long way to the cosmopolitan city. Hamburg 1977, p. 25.
  2. ↑ Tim Albrecht, Stephan Michaelsen: Development of Hamburg City Law ( Memento from December 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Annex IV.
  3. ↑ Gothic typar of the IV Hamburg State Seal , announcement by the Lempertz auction house, auction 995, old art, May 12, 2012.
  4. ↑ Court ruled: Cologne woman may keep Hamburg city seal. In: Hamburger Abendblatt , September 14, 1993.
  5. ↑ BGH, ruling v. October 5, 1989 - IX ZR 265/88 (Cologne) ( Memento of the original from January 8, 2008 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jura.uni-duesseldorf.de
  6. ↑ Finally brought home ( Memento of the original from June 14, 2012 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. On the website of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, June 14, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.hk24.de
  7. ↑ The historic city seal is now open to the public. In: Kieler Nachrichten , April 29, 2013.
  8. ↑ Illustration of a Hamburg coat of arms with nettle leaf (left, next to it the Bremen coat of arms) from Conrad Bote : Cronecken der Sassen . Peter Schöffer, Mencz (Mainz) March 6, 1492, p. 50 ( hab.de ).
  9. ↑ When the gate to the world opened. In: Hamburger Abendblatt , August 16, 2001.
  10. ↑ The White Castle. In: Hamburger Abendblatt , July 3, 1982.
  11. ↑ Why Hamburg's predators are on the wrong leg. In: Hamburger Abendblatt , July 28, 1988, p. 5, accessed on June 5, 2019.
  12. ↑ a b c Hamburg logo, flags and coat of arms , at hamburg.de , accessed on June 5, 2019.
  13. ↑ Herman Langenbeck: Notes on the Hamburg ship and sea law . Hamburg 1727, p. 25 f. ( online in Google Book Search).
  14. ↑ a b Senate resolution on the ship's flag of May 14, 1751 on the Flags of the World website, accessed on June 5, 2019.