Historical Flags (Heligoland, Germany)

Last modified: 2001-09-08 by santiago dotor
Keywords: germany | heligoland | helgoland | historical |
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2:3
by Jorge Candeias

• Introduction
• Flag 17th-18th Centuries
• Civil Flag and Ensign since the 19th Century (first reported 1848)

See also:

• British Heligoland 1814-1890
• Heligoland / Helgoland (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany)
• Historical Flags (Germany)
• Germany

Variant reported 1685, 1737 and 1862

by Jaume Ollé and Jorge Candeias

Eight striped: blue-white-red-blue-white-red-blue-white. Illustrated in Wilson 1986 p. 68.

Norman Martin, March 1998

According to Muir's Historical Atlas, Heligoland was not Danish until 1714. Perhaps the red, white and blue striped flags relate to a pre-1714 Frisian period? (...) The date given for the chart on which the "Holygoland" flag appears in Wilson 1986 p. 68 is 1685-6. The dates 1737 and 1862 seem to have come from somewhere else.

David Prothero, 27 September 2000

Variant reported 1700 and 1705

by Jaume Ollé

Seven striped: blue-white-red-blue-white-red-blue. Illustrated in National Geographic 1917 p. 371, no. 1155 and Wilson 1986 p. 69.

Norman Martin, March 1998

Variant reported 1716

by Jaume Ollé

Seven striped: blue-white-red-blue-white-red-white.

Norman Martin, March 1998

First reported 1848

2:3
by Jorge Candeias

Horizontal tricolor green-red-white. In use as local flag until the present.

Norman Martin, March 1998

One more thing regarding Helgoland. It is not clear to me where do the red-green-white colours come from. Before the British invasion 1807 and later takeover 1814, the only Helgoland flags appear to have been multi-striped flags in blue, white and red. So where did the green originate and when was the current flag established? It was already being used by 1848, when it appeared on a flag chart.

Santiago Dotor, 27 September 2000

In his letter of 11th May 1888, quoted here, the Governor also referred to, "an old Frisian motto:- Green is the grass, red the cliff and white the sand, these three make the colours of Heligoland".

David Prothero, 27 September 2000

Westermann Lexicon der Geographie 1969 has: "Settled by Frisians; it belonged to the Duchy of Schleswig from 1402 till 1714; from that date till 1807 it was Danish, and from 1807-1890 British. It was exchanged for Zanzibar and the Caprivi strip.".

Jarig Bakker, 28 September 2000