List of flags of the German Empire

The list of flags of the German Empire includes all flags of the Imperial German Empire (1871–1918), its kingdoms, duchies and principalities.

Flags, standards and pennants at the time of the Imperial Navy . The admiral flags have remained unchanged since then.

National and commercial flag

The federal colors of the North German Confederation (black-white-red) were adopted as the imperial colors when the empire was founded in 1871. These colors have also been featured on numerous banners and flags. An officially regulated imperial flag of the empire is mentioned for the first time under the government of Kaiser Wilhelm II on November 8, 1892 in paragraph 1 of the ordinance on the use of the imperial flag .

flag	date	designation	description
	1871-1918	National and commercial flag	Black White Red

Standards of the Imperial House

The first standard of the German Emperor was still on a purple background. On August 3, 1871, this color was chosen at the special request of the then Crown Prince and later Emperor Friedrich III. elected. Apparently the imperial standard should look similar to the Prussian royal standard, which also had a purple background. Soon, however, the protest of the then head of the Herald's Office, Count Stillfried , arose, who managed to bring about a change on October 15, 1871, because he was of the opinion that gold was the actual imperial color. In addition to changing the color of the basic cloth, the Prussian eagles were also removed in favor of imperial eagles without a breastplate . Furthermore, there was a reduction in the imperial crowns shown and a change in color of the central breast shield, which changed from silver to gold.

On December 6, 1888, Kaiser Wilhelm II modified the standard again by changing the shape of the imperial eagle as well as the shape of the imperial crown and the central coat of arms.

flag	date	use	description
	1871	Standard of the German Emperor	The iron cross still on a purple background. Two imperial crowns and two Prussian eagles in each corner. The middle shield in a silver-colored (white) version. This standard was only used for a good two months.
	1871-1888	Standard of the German Emperor	The Iron Cross now on a gold-colored (yellowish) background. In the corners only an imperial crown, plus three imperial eagles each without breastplate. The center shield is now in gold (yellow).
	1888-1918	Standard of His Majesty the German Emperor	“The standard, 4 m square, is made of golden yellow silk and shows the Iron Cross , covered with the smaller coat of arms of Sr. Majesty . An imperial crown and three red-armored, black eagles appear in the corners of the cross . As soon as Se. Majesty embarks on a ship, the imperial standard is hoisted at the top of the main mast and all other command and distinguishing signs are deleted. The imperial crown also shows a somewhat different shape.
	1871-1901	Standard of Her Majesty the Empress Friedrich	The large iron cross was omitted from the empress's standard, which resembled that of the emperor. Instead, a smaller one was placed in the upper, inner corner. The cross of international nursing lies on this. The flag cloth was covered with 26 scattered imperial eagles. The empress's crown was on the coat of arms in the version from 1871. The standard was designed in 1871 for the wife of Wilhelm I , Augusta von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach , and also used by the second empress, Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland , the wife of Friedrich III. After the death of the first two German emperors, the standard was used by both Empress Augusta - until her death in 1890 - and by Empress Friedrich - until her death in 1901.
	1888-1918	Standard of Her Majesty the German Empress	Since the standard of the two "previous empresses" was preserved, a new standard was created for the wife of Wilhelm II. The red cross in the iron cross, which has become slimmer, was omitted, instead a Prussian crown, the letter “W” and the year “1870” were used. The number of newly designed imperial eagles was reduced to 16 and the old crown of the empress was replaced by the current model from 1888.
	1871-1888	Standard of His Imperial and Royal Highness the German Crown Prince	This standard essentially corresponded to that of the German Emperor, but the imperial crown was removed in the corners so that three imperial eagles could be seen. The central shield on which the crown prince's crown was located was bordered in red.
	1888-1918	Standard of His Imperial and Royal Highness the German Crown Prince	This standard essentially corresponded to that of the German Emperor, but instead of the imperial crown, another imperial eagle was placed in the corners. The central shield on which the crown prince's crown was located was bordered in red.

Flags of the German Navy

flag	date	use	description
	1871-1892	War flag	From March 2, 1886, the following group of people were also allowed to fly the German war flag on their private vehicles at sea: the sovereigns of the German states (the federal members ), the princes of the imperial family and other German royal houses, and the first mayors of the free Hanseatic cities.
	1892-1903	Reich war flag	“The white flag cloth (height 3.75 m, length 6.25 m) is divided into two shorter and two longer fields by a black cross, the arms of which are again accompanied by black lines. The first, upper field (1.6 m high, 2.4 m long) shows the imperial colors black-white-red and is covered in the middle with the iron cross . At the crossing point of the arms there is a circular, white medallion with the Prussian eagle. "
	1903-1918	Reich war flag	Already in 1892 it was approved for use by the army and was officially called the Reich War Flag.
	1871-1903	Warship fox	The jack shows the imperial colors black-white-red and is covered in the middle with the iron cross . It "is placed on the bowsprit on public holidays, on festive occasions, inspections, etc. "
	1903-1918	Warship fox
	1871-1918	Pilot flag	The reduced commercial flag is surrounded by a white stripe the width of one of the remaining stripes (i.e. 1/5 of the whole flag). "The pilot signal is used by war and merchant ships as a sign that they want a pilot."
	1889-1918	Flag of the State Secretary in the Reichs-Marine-Amt	Flag of an admiral with two crossed, yellow clear anchors in the inner, lower corner. Since this flag was not a command signal, flags of admirals etc. remained hoisted.
	1871-1889	Flag of the Chief of the Admiralty	Around the reduced cross of an admiral's flag are four clear, red anchors arranged in a cross.
	1889-1899	Commanding Admiral's flag	The red lined imperial crown without ribbons is placed on an admiral's cross. This flag replaced that of the Chief of Admiralty .
	1899-1900	Flag of the Inspector General of the Navy	This flag replaced that of the commanding admiral .
	Around 1900	Flag of the Inspector General of the Navy	The transitional version, apparently used for a short time, was quickly replaced by the following one.
	1900-1918	Flag of the Inspector General of the Navy	Replaced the first flag due to visual improvements. It soon turned out that the narrow red border was barely visible at greater distances and that the flag could not be distinguished from the command flag of an admiral. The admiral's cross was placed within the white square for “aesthetic” reasons.
	1908-1918	Flag of the Chief of the Admiralty's Staff of the Navy with the rank of Admiral	A yellow, upright sword surrounded by a yellow dew wreath placed on an admiral's cross.
	1908-1918	Flag of the Chief of the Admiralty Staff of the Navy with the rank of Vice Admiral	As before, but with the addition of a ball in the inner upper corner.
	1908-1918	Flag of the Chief of the Admiralty Staff of the Navy with the rank of Rear Admiral	As before, but with the addition of two “ranking balls”.
	1900-1918	Command flag of a Grand Admiral	Two grand admiral's staffs laid on an admiral flag . The imperial crown with ribbons is placed on top of this. This highest rank in the Imperial Navy was created in 1900 at the special request of the naval command in order to have an equivalent to General Field Marshal of the Army. Initially, Kaiser Wilhelm II himself accepted this title in 1900. The first Grand Admiral from the Kriegsmarine was Hans von Koester in 1905 .

Broad pennant of the German Emperor

flag	date	designation	description
	1895-1918	Broad pennant of the German Emperor	The Prussian scepter crossed with a sword on top of an admiral's cross. The imperial crown without ribbons is placed on it. This was the highest command mark of the Imperial Navy, which was only put in place of the Imperial Standard on the personal orders of the Emperor.

Broad pennant of the German Empress

flag	date	designation	description
	1908-1918	Broad pennant of the German Empress	Depiction of the empress crown from 1888. The broad pennant was only placed on the orders of the empress. On ships in the main tank, on boats at the bow. When the empress's broad pennant was blowing, there was no parading, climbing, saluting, marching, or decorating a flag. The security guard did not appear, but the crew on deck had to be called “Stand still!” By the horn signal.

Command flags of admirals

Until 1904, the flag of an admiral (without balls) could in principle also be carried by a vice or rear admiral. The different ranks were indicated by the mast on which the flag was hoisted. The admiral hoisted the flag on the main top, the vice admiral this on the front top (through the front top man ) and the rear admiral his on the cross top. If the number of masts was not sufficient, the differences in rank were  made clear by adding one - for the vice admiral  - or two balls - for the rear admiral . From 1904 it was determined that the vice or rear admiral always had to carry flags with balls, whereby - if possible - the positioning on the different masts had to be maintained.

flag	date	designation	description
	1871-1918	Command flag of an admiral
	1871-1918	Command flag of a Vice Admiral
	1871-1918	Command flag of a rear admiral
	1904-1918	Command flag of a vice admiral of the second squadron of the active battle fleet	Until 1904, all flags were only carried with black balls. Flag officers of the first squadron kept black balls in their command flags even after 1904.
	1904-1918	Command flag of a rear admiral of the second squadron of the active battle fleet

Marine stand

flag	date	designation	description
	1871-1918	Commodorestander	Led by a captain z. See and Commodore , when he united at least two ironclads under his command on the highest orders . The stand was to be set on the main top. In the case of less powerful ships , the stand had to be hoisted at the top .
	1871-1918	Commodorestander (for ships of lower capacity)	Led by a captain z. See and Commodore, when he was commanding ships of inferior capacity and there was no way to hoist the stander at the top.
	1904-1918	Commodorestander for a deputy commodore of the second fleet	As previous Stander, but belonging to the second navy.
	1871-1918	Seniority	Corresponded to the Commodorestander. Managed by the senior officer of the same rank on ships in the roadstead or in port if no superior officer was present. In this case the stand had to be placed on the yard of the rear mast.
	1871-1918	Flotilla stand	Led by naval officers who were entrusted with the command of a flotilla , unless they were authorized to show a badge of rank.
	1871-1918	Division stand	Led by naval officers who were entrusted with the command of a division, unless they were authorized to show a badge of rank.
	1902-1918	Driver's stand	Hoisted by leaders of ship groups who were not authorized to use a badge of rank or other stand.

War pennant

flag	date	designation	description
	1871-1918	War pennant	Also called warship pennant. Was operated by all ships that had been put into service for the Kriegsmarine and were commanded by an active or active naval officer, unless he was authorized to show another command signal.

Flag of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces in China

According to the Supreme Order of August 21, 1900, the German Kaiser gave a special command to the Commander-in-Chief of the German intervention force in China, which together with other European powers and the USA provided an intervention force during the so-called Boxer Uprising . The German Field Marshal Count Alfred von Waldersee was appointed as the commander of this force . The command symbol was also used as a square standard. After the return of the German contingent in September 1901, the flag was displayed in a Berlin museum.

flag	date	designation	description
	1900-1901	Flag of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces in China	The jacks of the warships with crossed marshal's batons protruding from under the iron cross.

Other flags of the empire

The jacks mentioned were only used on warships and ships that carried a service flag. They were only set from anchored ships and then only on special, well-defined occasions. Merchant ships could carry any jack.

flag	date	use	description
	1896-1918	Commercial flag with the iron cross	For merchant ships whose captain is a sea officer on leave (today: reserve officer).
	1871-1892	Flag of government vehicles	The German war flag with a blue, clear anchor in the lower inner corner. The exact designation was: Flag of the other government vehicles belonging to the trade department .
	1871-1892	Customs vehicles flag	As before, but with the additional red letters "KZ" between which the anchor was located.
	1871-1892	Pilot vehicle flag	The German war flag with two crossed, blue, clear anchors in the inner, lower corner.
	1871-1892	Flag of the Navy work vehicles	The German war flag with four red, clear, cross-aligned anchors in the lower inner corner. The exact designation was: Flag of the cargo, work and rented vehicles of the Navy .
	1871-1892	Gösch of the government ships	Exact name: Gösch of the other government vehicles belonging to the trade department . The symbol in the white stripe corresponded to that of the rear flag.
	1871-1892	Gösch of the customs ships	The symbol in the white stripe corresponded to that of the rear flag.
	1871-1892	Gösch the pilot vehicle	The symbol in the white stripe corresponded to that of the rear flag.
	1871-1892	Gösch the work vehicle	Exact name: Gösch of the cargo, work and rented vehicles of the Navy . The symbol in the white stripe corresponded to that of the rear flag.
	1893-1918	Imperial service flag of the Imperial Navy	The golden yellow imperial crown with ribbons set over an unclear anchor of the same color in a circular, white central field. Run by navy vehicles that were not authorized to display the flag of war. This flag replaced the four different service flags of the Navy until then. The four associated Göschs were deleted without replacement. The new service flag was allowed to be carried on a smaller scale as a jack on the bowsprit or the forward stem . In the maritime service area of ​​the coastal states, this flag was supplemented with additional emblems of the respective country and the function.
	1893-1918	Service flag for the remaining administrative branches of the empire	The golden-yellow imperial crown with ribbons set in a circular, white central field. Run by government vehicles that were not authorized to display the flag of war, the imperial service flag of the Imperial Navy or the flag of the Federal Foreign Office.

Special flags for water sports

Due to the emperor's enthusiasm for sailing, some sailing and yacht clubs were allowed to fly special flags. Wilhelm II was himself a member of the Imperial Yacht Club in Kiel. A total of six sailing and yacht clubs were allowed to add special emblems to the German national flag. This was done on the very highest decree of the German Emperor and was published in the marine ordinance sheets and thus made official.

flag	date	designation	description
	1893-1918	Flag of the Imperial Yacht Club Kiel	Reichsdienstflagge der Navy with the following changes: a medallion in the shape of an ellipse surrounded by a dew wreath on the right. On the shaft of the anchor lies a yellow shield with the Prussian eagle, which has a Hohenzollern shield on its chest.
	1906-1918	Flag of the sailing club "Rhe" in Koenigsberg	The Prussian eagle placed on a shield, this placed on a shield with the Teutonic Cross .
	1911-1918	Flag of the Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Yacht Club in Rostock	The Rostocker Griffin on a shield below a crown. Both placed on the Mecklenburg flag in the inner Obereck.
	1913-1918	Flag of the Royal Württemberg Yacht Club in Friedrichshafen	The family coat of arms of the Counts of Württemberg placed on a shield, above the royal crown.
	1914-1918	Flag of the Imperial Motor Yacht Club Berlin-Charlottenburg	A gear wheel and a coat of arms with a Prussian eagle are placed on an anchor. Above it the imperial crown without ribbons, everything surrounded by a dew wreath.
	1914-1918	Flag of the German Sailing Association in Hamburg	The Prussian eagle placed on a coat of arms.

Special flags for special occasions

Coat of arms flags

In 1905, the German Emperor designed two coat of arms flags to show the public whether he was on board a ship or whether he was ready to receive visitors. These were briefly referred to as the blue coat of arms flag ("His Majesty did not receive") and the yellow coat of arms flag ("His majesty are not on board"). The coat of arms flags were hoisted halfway up the main mast and were always to be shown accompanied by the imperial standard and the flag of the grand admiral.

flag	date	designation	description
	1905-1918	His Majesty is not on board	Coat of arms of the burgraves of Nuremberg.
	1905-1918	His Majesty does not receive	Breast shield of the Brandenburg eagle for the Arch Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.

Pot flags

The emperor allowed two of his ships to use a special top flag that could be hoisted on special occasions. On the one hand the ironclad Brandenburg , on the other hand the liner Prussia .

flag	date	use	description
	1892-1918	Top flag of the ironclad Brandenburg	The war flag of the former Kur-Brandenburg fleet.
	1906-1918	Top flag of the ship of the line Prussia	The former Prussian war flag with the current eagle of the Reich war flag.

Church pennants

The pennant for ship services was hoisted on board ships of the Imperial Navy when services were held. For this purpose, the rear flag was set to half-mast (dipped) and the church pennant was placed above it.

flag	date	use	description
	1871-1918	Pennants for ship services

Army flags

flag	date	use	description
	1871-1918	Flag for the staff of an army high command
	1871-1918	Flag for the staff of a general command
	1871-1918	Flag for the staff of a division

Colonial flags

→ Main article : Flags in the colonies of the German Empire

The flag usually used in the colonies on land was the national and commercial flag , which was used by both private and state authorities - until special flags were introduced.

flag	date	use	description
	1892-1918	Service flag of the Reich Colonial Office	The imperial eagle set in a circular, white central field. The flag was also the official flag of the Federal Foreign Office .
	1893-1918	Pilot management in the protected areas	The official flag of the Reich Colonial Office with the red letters “LV” in a black stripe, with a yellow, unclear anchor between the letters.
	1893-1918	Customs administration in the protected areas	As before, but with the letters "ZV".
	1892-1918	Reich post office flag	The golden yellow imperial crown with ribbons set over a post horn of the same color in a white, circular central field. The flag was hoisted on the main top. As long as the post was on board and the ship was in the port of arrival, the post flag could also be set as a jack on the bowsprit.
	1871-1892	Flag of the mail ships	The German war flag with a gold-colored post horn in the lower inner corner.
	1871-1892	Gösch of the mail ships	Until 1892, mail ships sailed with their own gösch. A gold-colored post horn in the white stripe.
	1891-1918	Flag of the Governor of German East Africa	The imperial eagle without an imperial crown and without a chain is set in the white central stripe. Governors of other colonies did not fly their own flag. This command signal was only used at sea: on ships of the Imperial Navy or the governor at the stern, in boats at the bow. The government vehicles subordinate to the government had to fly the service flag of the other government vehicles belonging to the department of trade . (Until November 8, 1892, when this official flag was no longer used and in this case was replaced by the official flag of the Reich Colonial Office (possibly with the additional letters “LV” or “ZV”).) On August 21, 1893 determined by the highest order that from this point on all government authorities must use the imperial war flag.
	1898-1918	Flag of the governor of the leased area of Kiautschou	Identical to the governor's flag of German East Africa. In principle, the same provisions as with the previous flag applied, only the salute regulation was slightly different.
	1878-1894	Flag of the Ralik Islands (Marshal Flag)	The flag used "semi-officially" on the archipelago was given to the chiefs there by the German ship's captain Karl Bartholomäus von Werner. In 1894 it was banned by the governor.

Planned flags for the German colonies

For the German colonies, at the suggestion of the then State Secretary of the Reich Colonial Office Wilhelm Solf, drafts for coats of arms and flags were submitted in 1914 . These were examined by the emperor and, for the most part, approved without objection. Since the start of the war was imminent, the plans could no longer be realized. The coats of arms and flags were never used in the colonies. Color images of the coats of arms only exist in a series of postcards published in the 1930s and in the German Colonial Calendar for 1940. An article in the Afrika-Nachrichten from 1933 shows that the shields on the flags have no crown and no one in the Additional field with an imperial eagle should be shown in the heraldic drafts.

flag	date	Part of the country	description
		German East Africa	Silver lion head on a red background.
		German Cameroon	Silver elephant head on a red background.
		Togoland	Stylized oil palm with a heraldic snake on both sides on a greenish to silver colored background.
		German South West Africa	Silver ox head on a blue background with a diamond above.
		German Samoa	Three silver-colored hills with stylized coconut palms on a red background with waves in blue and silver.
		German New Guinea	Heraldic bird of paradise on a green ground.

Reichsland Alsace-Lorraine

The flag officially used in the Reichslanden was the German national flag. Unofficially, the traditional red and white flag was popular in Alsace and was often used for decorative flags and as a postcard motif, but was also seen as a symbol of protest against the German annexation.

In 1911, a separate state constitution for Alsace-Lorraine was introduced; the following year, the newly created state parliament proposed the introduction of an Alsace-Lorraine state flag. On June 25, 1912, the Landtag of the Reichsland Alsace-Lorraine unanimously accepted the proposal of a red and white striped flag that had been drawn up in a committee and carried a yellow Lorraine cross in the upper left corner. The decision was never implemented by the imperial government agencies, so there was no change. The flag was often hoisted privately and on semi-official occasions. It was not welcomed by the German authorities and the military, but was sometimes tolerated even during times of war.

The flight of the German Emperor Wilhelm II and the armistice of Compiègne led to the de facto independence of Alsace-Lorraine in early November 1918. On November 12, 1918, the country declared itself independent and the flag of 1912 became the Alsace-Lorraine national flag. With the occupation of Strasbourg by French troops on November 21, the declaration of annexation to France on December 6, 1918 and the dissolution of Alsace-Lorraine on October 17, 1919 by the French central government, this flag was set. In the following decades it retained a certain significance as a symbol of identification of the Alsatian autonomy movement, whose representatives occasionally continued to use their red and white flags in the shape of the Lorraine cross.

flag	date	use	description
	1870-1918	Flag for the Reichslande	The German national flag.
	1892-1918	Service flag for state institutions in the Reichsland	The Reich Service Flag of the Foreign Office with the crowned coat of arms of Alsace-Lorraine in the inner Obereck, adopted in 1891. The flag was adopted on December 29, 1892.
	1912/1918	Flag design from 1912, national flag in November 1918	On June 25, 1912, the state parliament adopted a flag for the Reichslande that was not introduced by the government; Flag of the independent Republic of Alsace-Lorraine (November 12, 1918 to November 21, 1918).

Decoration flags

Decorative flags were very popular in the German Empire. The most widespread was the so-called imperial eagle flag, which combined the black, white and red colors with the imperial eagle. Instead of the imperial eagle, depictions of the emperor, the imperial family and complex combinations of these elements were also used. In all cases the flags were unofficial and could be used by all private persons in the empire. The flags were used, for example, by hotels to decorate the facade. They were purely decorative flags with no official function.

flag	date	designation	description
		Imperial eagle flag	The national flag with a widened, white central stripe and an imperial eagle inside it, offset to the left.
		Imperial eagle flag (variant)	Flag with a wide white central stripe and an imperial eagle inside it, offset to the left. The upper and lower stripes are replaced by borders with longitudinal stripes in the colors of the national flag.
		Imperial eagle flag (variant)	The national flag with a widened, white central stripe and a central and enlarged imperial eagle.
		Decoration flag	National flag with figure of the emperor.

Kingdoms

flag	date	Part of the country	description
	since 1878 (official)	Kingdom of Bavaria	Country flag
	1803-1892	Kingdom of Prussia	Flag of the kingdom
	1892-1918	Kingdom of Prussia	Country flag
	1892-1918	Kingdom of Prussia	Civic flag
	1894-1918	Kingdom of Prussia	Service flag for state vehicles and state buildings of the Navy
	1894-1918	Kingdom of Prussia	Customs administration flag
	1894-1918	Kingdom of Prussia	Pilot Administration Flag
	1894-1918	Kingdom of Prussia	Fisheries Control Flag
	1906-1918	Kingdom of Prussia	Prussian war and service flag
	(?) - (?)	Kingdom of Prussia	Prussian service flag for inland waters
	1815-1918	Kingdom of Saxony	Country flag
	1896–1918 (before 1896 already unofficial)	Kingdom of Württemberg	Country flag

Grand duchies

flag	date	Part of the country	description
	1871-1891	Grand Duchy of Baden	Civic flag
	1891-1918	Grand Duchy of Baden	Civic flag
	until 1918	Grand Duchy of Hesse	Civic flag
	1839-1903	Grand Duchy of Hesse	State flag
	1855-1918	Mecklenburg	Country flag at sea
	1863-1918	Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz	Country flag
	1895-1918	Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin	Service flag for Mecklenburg-Schwerin state vehicles and state buildings for maritime shipping
	1896-1918	Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin	Customs administration flag
	1896-1918	Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin	Fisheries Control Flag. Mecklenburg-Schwerin made no use of a flag for the pilot administration.
	1900-1918	Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin	Service flag for Mecklenburg-Schwerin state vehicles and state buildings for inland shipping
	1774-1918	Grand Duchy of Oldenburg	Civic flag
	1902-1918	Grand Duchy of Oldenburg	Service flag for state vehicles and state buildings of the Oldenburg Navy
	1902-1918	Grand Duchy of Oldenburg	Fisheries Control Flag. Oldenburg made no use of flags for the customs and pilot administration
	1813-1897	Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach	Country flag, 1885 to 1897 gradual transition to black-yellow-green
	1897-1920	Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach	Country flag until 1920, temporarily lifted in 1918, 1920 to 1922 (hardly used) regional flag

Duchies

flag	date	Part of the country	description
	1863-1918	Duchy of Anhalt	Country flag (in use until 1935)
	1830-1918	Duchy of Brunswick	Country flag (in use until 1935)
	1832-1918	Duchy of Saxony-Altenburg	State flag, originally intended as white-green, but meanwhile predominant use of green-white, 1888 to 1895 gradual transition to white-green, which ultimately remained the national color until 1920, 1920 to 1922 regional flag
	1830-1918	Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha	Country flag from about 1830 to 1920 1920 to 1922 regional flag
	1880-1918	Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha	Flag of the authorities until at least 1918 (but never officially set)
	1835-1918	Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen	State flag from 1818 to 1920, originally set as white-green, but in practice using green-white, which was confirmed by the Duke in 1897, briefly abolished in 1918, 1920–1923 regional flag

Principalities

flag	date	Part of the country	description
	approx. 1858– approx. 1880	Principality of Lippe	Country flag
	approx. 1880-1918	Principality of Lippe	Country flag
	approx. 1820-1918	Principality of Reuss older line	Country flag 1920 to 1922 regional flag
	approx. 1820-1918	Principality of Reuss younger line	Country flag 1920 to 1922 regional flag
	(?) - approx. 1880	Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe	Country flag
	approx. 1880-1918	Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe	Country flag (used until 1935)
	approx. 1815-1918	Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt	Country flag 1920 to 1922 regional flag
	approx. 1815-1918	Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen	Country flag 1920 to 1922 regional flag
	approx. 1830-1918	Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont	Country flag (used until 1929)

Free and Hanseatic cities

flag	date	designation	description
	1891-1918	State flag of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen	“The national flag is striped at least eight times in red and white and lined along the flagstick with the number of alternating red and white cubes corresponding to the stripes in two rows. The number of red and white stripes should always be even. In the middle the flag has a square white field in which, if it is striped at least twelve times, the large coat of arms appears, but with the modification that a crowned helmet with a red and white helmet cover takes the place of the crown; the crest is formed by a growing lion facing to the right, who holds the coat of arms key with his paws, his beard turned to the left, vertically. If the flag has only eight stripes, the middle field receives the middle coat of arms. "
	1891-1892	Service flag for state vehicles and state buildings of the Navy, Bremen	State flag of Bremen with the middle coat of arms and a blue anchor in the upper left corner.
	1895-1918	Service flag for state vehicles and state buildings of the Navy, Bremen	Imperial service flag of the Imperial Navy with the middle coat of arms of Bremen in the left upper corner.
	1895-1918	Service flag of the Bremen customs administration	The Bremen service flag with the additional letters "ZV".
	1895-1918	Service flag of the pilot administration Bremen	The Bremen service flag with the additional letters "LV". Bremen made no use of a special flag for fisheries control.
	since the 18th century	State flag of the Free Hanseatic City of Hamburg	“The red flag cloth in a size ratio of 1: 2 shows the white castle of the coat of arms, the axis of which is about 1/3 the length of the flag from the flagstick. It is hoisted by the merchant ships next to the German national flag. "
	1894 (?) - 1918	State flag of the Free Hanseatic City of Hamburg	“The flag cloth (1: 2) shows the white castle placed on a blue anchor with a yellow anchor stick, the axis of the anchor about 2/7 of the flag's length from the edge of the flag stick. It is carried by the Hamburg state vehicles, which do not or only exceptionally operate in the maritime shipping area. "
	1894-1918	Service flag for government vehicles and buildings of the Hamburg Navy	Reichsdienstflagge of the Imperial Navy with the coat of arms of the Hamburg state flag in the left upper corner. Hamburg apparently made no use of special flags for the customs and pilot administration as well as for the fisheries control.
	1890-1918	State flag of the Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck	"The national flag shows a flag cloth that is divided from white over red, with a white section in the red stripe in which the Luebian double-headed eagle comes to stand."
	1895-1918	Service flag for state vehicles and state buildings for maritime shipping, Lübeck	Reich service flag of the Imperial Navy with the Lübeck double-headed eagle in the left upper corner.
	1895-1918	Official flag of the Lübeck customs administration	The Lübeck official flag with the additional letters "ZV".
	1895-1918	Service flag of the Lübeck pilot administration	The Lübeck official flag with the additional letters "LV"
	1895-1918	Official flag of the Lübeck Fisheries Inspectorate	The Lübeck official flag with the additional letters "FA".
	1903-1918	State flag for state vehicles for inland navigation, Lübeck	State flag of Lübeck with a gold-colored, clear anchor in the lower left corner. This was rotated from "northwest" to "southeast".

Flags of the Prussian provinces

flag	date	province	description
	1882-1918	Brandenburg Province	State flag of the province of Brandenburg .
	1882-1918	East Prussia Province	Country flag of the East Prussia province .
	1882-1918	West Prussia Province	Country flag of the province of West Prussia .
	1882-1918	Pomeranian Province	Country flag of the Pomerania Province
	1882-1918	Province of Silesia	Country flag of the province of Silesia
	1882-1918	Poznan Province	Country flag of the Poznan Province
	1882-1918	Rhineland Province	State flag of the Rhineland province
	1882-1918	Province of Westphalia	State flag of the province of Westphalia
	1882-1918	Province of Saxony	State flag of the province of Saxony
	1882-1918	Hanover Province	State flag of the province of Hanover
	1882-1918	Hesse-Nassau Province	State flag of the province of Hessen-Nassau
	1882-1918	Schleswig-Holstein Province	State flag of the province of Schleswig-Holstein

See also

• Flag of Germany
• Flags and coats of arms of the federal states of the German Empire
• Flags and coats of arms of the states of the Federal Republic of Germany
• List of flags of the Weimar Republic
• List of flags of all of Germany
• List of flags of German countries
• List of flags and coats of arms of the provinces of Prussia

literature

• Jürgen Arndt (ed.): Coats of arms and flags of the German Empire and its federal states (1871-1918). Based on the plates by Hugo Gerald Ströhl (= The bibliophile paperbacks, No. 81). Dortmund, Harenberg Calendar 1979, ISBN 978-3-921846-81-0 (reprint of Ströhl's original tables from 1872/1904).
• Rüdiger F. Dreyhaupt: German national flags from the Middle Ages to the Second World War. Part III: North German Confederation and German Reich until 1918 (with 9 color plates). In: The flag courier. Journal of the German Society for Flag Science , No. 9 (May 1999), Berlin 1999, pp. 4-19. Text with additions and no illustration, published on the website of the German Flag Society , accessed on May 24, 2014.
• Jörg M. Karaschewski : Coats of arms and flags in the German colonies. Wolfenbüttel, Melchior Verlag 2011, ISBN 978-3-942562-51-5 .
• Jörg M. Karaschewski: Flags in the German Empire . Norderstedt, Books on Demand 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-1966-7 .
• Ekkehard Kuhn: Unity and Law and Freedom. The national symbols of the Germans. Berlin, Ullstein Verlag 1991, ISBN 978-3-550-07800-2 .
• Harry D. Schurdel: Flags and coat of arms of Germany. Geography. Regenstauf, Battenberg / Weltbild 1998, ISBN 978-3-89441-136-7 .
• Hild, Jens: Notes on the national color overview of the Thuringian states. In: The flag courier. Journal of the German Flag Society. Volume 20, No. 39 (June 2014) pp. 40–42.

Web links

• Flags of the world - German Empire 1871–1918
• Color table in Meyer's Large Conversation Lexicon , 6th edition (1905)
• Color table in Meyer's Kleines Konversationslexikon , 5th edition (1892)
• Color table in Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon (1892)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Hugo Gerard Ströhl (ed.): German coat of arms roll. Stuttgart 1897, p. 80.
2. ↑ There is an indication from Dreyhaupt flaggenkunde.de that the number of eagles was reduced to 18 in later years. Karaschewski , 2008, does not mention such a reduction.
3. ^ Hugo Gerard Ströhl (ed.): German coat of arms roll . Stuttgart 1897, p. 83.
4. ^ Ströhl: Deutsche Wappenrolle , p. 84.
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Ströhl: Deutsche Wappenrolle , p. 87.
6. ↑ According to Dreyhaupt flaggenkunde.de this version is said to have been used at short notice.
7. ↑ Information from Karaschewski, 2008. Dreyhaupt, however, is of the opinion that this stand is that of the deputy of a flag officer or commodore. flaggenkunde.de
8. ↑ Information from Dreyhaupt (1999), which shows the stand without further comment on a flag board.
9. ↑ Gustav Engel (Ed.): Afrika-Nachrichten. Illustrated colonial and foreign newspaper (IKAZ). The newspaper of the colonial and foreign Germans. Central colonial organ. Organ of large associations. Volume 14, No. 3 (February 1, 1933), Leipzig 1933.
10. ↑ Examples from Jean-Georges Trouillet: Le drapeau alsacien. Editions Nord-Alsace, Haguenau 2007, p. 57 ff. ( Short version in German translation online ).
11. ^ CH Bill: The aristocratic association in the Reichslanden Alsace-Lorraine. On the history of a two-fold border region in Westmark from 1888 to 1918. In: Nobilitas , 10th year, episodes 48 and 49, Sonderburg 2007, pp. 195–236, see unpaginated online publication at the Institut Deutsche Adelsforschung , quotation with note 119.
12. ↑ See also the presentation by Maurice Betz in Rouge et Blanc (1923), reported in Julia Schroda: National claim and regional identity in the Reichsland Alsace-Lorraine as reflected in the French-language Alsace novel (1871-1914). Peter Lang, Bern 2008, p. 450.
13. ↑ See Jean-Georges Trouillet: Le drapeau alsacien. Editions Nord-Alsace, Haguenau 2007 ( German short version ).