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Rostock until 1867 (Mecklenburg-Hither Pomerania, Germany)

Introduction
Hanging Flag 14th Century
Rostock 17th-18th Centuries (reported 1695, 1700, 1716 and 1750)
Rostock 18th Century (reported 1737 and 1750)
Rostock 19th Century (reported 1805)
Rostock 19th Century, variant
Rostock 19th Century (reported 1819)
Mecklenburg Rostock Ensign 19th Century (reported c.1834)
Rostock 19th Century (reported 1826)
Rostock 19th Century (reported 1842 and 1862)
Rostock 19th Century (reported 1848)
Rostock 19th Century (also reported 1848)
Rostock Pennant pre-1870 to 1918 (Wimpel)
Rostock Number Flags c.1830-1867

See also:

City of Rostock (Hansestadt Rostock, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, Germany)
Historical Flags (Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, Germany)
Hanseatic Cities (Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland)
Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
Germany

Introduction

Rostock was not independent of Mecklenburg, but their merchant ships had flags since Hansa days (at least as early as 1418). Indeed, the Mecklenburg blue-white-red tricolor [civil ensign] started as a Rostock flag — the blue-yellow-red dates from early in the 19th century. Flags for Rostock and Wismar were authorized or at least tolerated by the Dukes [of Mecklenburg-Schwerin] until 1867.

Norman Martin, 15 February 2001

The city was never independent in the sense of being a free imperial city. But some cities still managed to build up a strong position by gaining certain privileges from their lords. According to the Rostock website, these included "the right to control free access to the sea". Whatever this means exactly, it was probably reason enough for ships of Rostock to fly their own flag.

Stefan Schwoon, 15 February 2001

If I remember well, the right to control free access to the sea settled centuries of dispute between Rostock and Warnemünde. The little village Warnemünde (meaning [river] Warnow Mouth), was part of Rostock but claimed to have individual fishing rights and the right to control traffic on river Warnow and therefore Rostock harbor. As far as the flag is concerned, I think before the founding of the German Reich in 1871, it was quite common for German coastal towns to fly their own flag on board their ships. I remember having seen pictures of sailing ships flying the flags of Zingst (a little village on the Darss Peninsula).

Volker Moerbitz Keith, 15 February 2001

Ships of Rostock could probably have used a town flag, even if the town were not a free imperial town. In older times, it was not uncommon for Swedish ships to fly the flag of their home town rather than the Swedish flag, and I would suppose this practice could have been common all around the Baltic Sea. Rostock was also a member of the Hansa.

Elias Granqvist, 16 February 2001

Hanging Flag 14th Century

by Phil Nelson

Znamierowski 1999 shows several interesting flags of the Port Cities of northern Europe. These are derived from gonfanons, originally red in color. The flags, in a banner form [i.e. hanging flags], were flown from the stern of the vessels, the mast carrying the gonfanon of the colors. The oldest of the series, from the mid-13th century, that of Hamburg, was followed among others by Rostock in the 14th century.

Phil Nelson, 20 February 2000