City of Emden (Lower Saxony, Germany)

Stadt Emden

Last modified: 2001-12-21 by santiago dotor
Keywords: lower saxony | niedersachsen | emden | stadt emden | coat of arms: harpy (yellow) | coat of arms: wall (red) | coat of arms: base (water) |
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3:5
by Stefan Schwoon

• Description
• Flag Variant with no Coat-of-Arms, possibly mistaken

See also:

• Emden Flags c.1595-c.1811 (Lower Saxony / Niedersachsen, Germany)
• County and Municipal Flags (Lower Saxony / Niedersachsen, Germany)
• Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen, Germany)
• Germany

The flags are drawn after the information in Dutch on the Delfzijl website [translated in the Emden Flags c.1595-c.1811 page]. Emden used a plain yellow-red-blue flag in the 16th century, see also this scan from Danckerts 1705. In the 18th century the flag seems to have changed and was used with the arms on the central stripe. Image of the arms from Stadler 1964-1971

Stefan Schwoon, 20 February 2001

From Ralf Hartemink's International Civic Arms website:

Emden became a city probably at the end of the 14th century. The oldest seal, from 1414, shows a half-eagle and a letter E, above waves. The eagle is derived from the Tom Brook family, who ruled the city since 1413. In 1430 the eagle was replaced by the lion of the Abdena family. The sinister part was unaltered. The city finally became the capital of the Cirksena family, who owned the city since 1464. The arms were granted in 1495 by emperor Maximilian I. The harpy is derived from the arms of the Cirksena's, the wall and the waves symbolise the city's position on the Ems. The harpy is also part of some arms in East Frisian communities, as well as the Dutch city of Delfzijl (opposite to Emden).

Literature: Stadler 1964-1971.

Santiago Dotor, 14 December 2001

3:5
by Stefan Schwoon

It seems to me that the Emden flag on the Delfzijl page (plain triband without Schwenkel, swallowtails or whatever) is just a fake. Emden had several old flags, well known in the Netherlands — Emden was a very important refuge in the 16th century for Dutch protestants fleeing from the Roman Catholic Spaniards, and in the 17th century for Dutch protestants fleeing for Dutch protestants. For identification purposes it seems very unlikely, that the northeastern corner of the Netherlands would use the same flag as Emden. If Jakob B. Bronsema is the only source for that Emden flag it seems to me to be quite fakey.

Jarig Bakker, 20 February 2001