Rostock coat of arms
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Hanseatic and university city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania |
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| Blazon | |
Blue and gold of the Rostock princes Red and white of the Hanseatic League |
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| Basic data | |
| Introduction: | 1858 |
| Legal basis: | Seal guide: 1367 |
| Supporting documents: | April 10, 1858: Grand Ducal resolution |
| Changes: | 1858 |
| swell | |
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¹ Main statutes of the Hanseatic City of Rostock (April 6, 2018): §1, Paragraph 2 |
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The Hanseatic and university city of Rostock had three different coats of arms in its history . The current coat of arms comes as a seal from the year 1367. The coat of arms in its current form was clearly established on April 10, 1858 by Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II . Until then, different coats of arms borrowed from seals had long competed with one another.
Sigillum, Signum, Secretum
Rostock had three coats of arms in its history: the sigillum , the signum and the secretum . The former was the city seal of Rostock since 1257 and shows a crowned bull's head, later the coat of arms of Mecklenburg. The Secretum, the coat of arms, which only shows the griffin, is first documented in 1307. It got this name because of its safe storage. The coat of arms that is valid today, the Signum, was created in 1367 as a seal stamp.
Rostock had to defend itself at the time against attacks by the Danish king Waldemar IV. Atterdag and the king of Norway, allied with him. After the Cologne Confederation and thus a war alliance was founded on November 19, 1367 , the financing of the war had to be secured. The Confederates agreed on a pound money, a tax on the ships and their goods. In order to acknowledge this port tax, the Rostockers created the seal. In the war the following year, Denmark was crushed.
The design of the coat of arms is a merging of two once independent heraldic symbols. Red and silver in the Rostock coat of arms are the colors of the Hanseatic League . The golden griffin on a blue background comes from the coat of arms of the princes over the state of Rostock. Even today it can be found in this form in the coats of arms of some cities in the region, to which the area of the former Bad Doberan district and parts of the former Northern Western Pomerania district belong and which the Rostock princes early on referred to as the Rostock Land.
The sign can be found in various forms. For example, in one source in three variants, namely the Vicke-Schorler roll . A coat of arms without a griffin, so only the division into red-white-blue (as a large coat of arms next to the sigillum and secretum), then a version that resembles the one known today (on the town hall) and finally a third, very unusual, on its representation of the stone gate, in which red and white are not arranged horizontally but vertically. The design of the sign is also reminiscent of the division of the Rostock Hanse flag , which the city's merchant ships were allowed to use.
The Rostock Griffin
Since then, the griffin has served as the city's mythical guardian animal. A relationship with the red Pomeranian griff is not proven. As mentioned, it goes back to the heraldic animal of the Princes of Rostock and can be found in various representations. Is it alone on the coat of arms, as many buildings show it, usually erect and rising, standing on one or both hind legs. Standing on three or four legs on the sign above red and white for design reasons. The outstretched claws are to be interpreted symbolically as a threatening gesture or defenselessness. The Rostocker Greif can also be seen on buildings as a sign bearer.
Seal of Heinrich Borwin I , Prince of Mecklenburg -1219
Historic city seal with the Rostock griffin
Another seal
Interpretation in Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon, Leipzig, Berlin, Vienna, 1898
Interpretation of the blazon in Lexicon Cities and Coats of Arms of the GDR, Leipzig 1979
Modern interpretation of the coat of arms as it is used, for example, at bus stops and in other urban contexts. It is designed according to classic heraldic rules. There is no representation as an official logo .
See also
Web links
- Web presence of the city administration of the Hanseatic city of Rostock - coat of arms & logo
- Bronze nails of the 3 coats of arms in the Marienkirche
Remarks
- ↑ The description of the official coat of arms can be found in the main statute of the Hanseatic City of Rostock in Article 1, Paragraph 2, in which it says: »The city coat of arms is a divided shield; above, in blue, a striding golden griffin with an upturned tail and a knocked out red tongue; divided below by silver over red «. Source: rostock.de ( Memento of the original from January 14, 2017 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.
- ↑ Fig. From 1598 with the three coats of arms also here and here , also on the Schorler scroll
