Subnational Flags 1815-1918 (Prussia, Germany)

Last modified: 2002-06-21 by santiago dotor
Keywords: prussia: kingdom | preussen | east prussia | ostpreussen | west prussia | westpreussen | posen | schleswig-holstein | silesia | schlesien | brandenburg | hanover | hannover | hohenzollern | rhineland | rheinland | westphalia | westfal |
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• Introduction
• Prussian Provinces:
  • Brandenburg 1882-1935 (Provinz Brandenburg)
  • East Prussia 1882-1935 (Provinz Ostpreussen)
  • Hanover 1887-1935 (Provinz Hannover)
  • Hesse-Nassau 1892-1935 (Provinz Hessen-Nassau)
  • Hohenzollern 1882-1935 (Provinz Hohenzollern)
    • Principalities of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern-Hechingen (until 1849) (Fürstentümer Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen und Hohenzollern-Hechingen)
  • Pomerania 1882-1935 (Provinz Pommern)
  • Posen 1815-1886 (Provinz Posen)
  • Posen 1886-1920
  • Rhineland 1882-1935 (Provinz Rheinland)
  • Saxony 1884-1935 (Provinz Sachsen)
  • Schleswig-Holstein 1867-1919 (Provinz Schleswig-Holstein)
  • Silesia 1882-1920 (Provinz Schlesien)
  • Westphalia 1882-1935 (Provinz Westfalen)
  • West Prussia 1886-1920 (Provinz Westpreussen)
• Cities:
  • Danzig Historical Flags
  • Elbing Historical Flags
  • Königsberg Historical Flags
  • Memel Historical Flags
  • Stettin Historical Flags
• Neutral Territory of Moresnet 1816-1918

See also:

• Kingdom of Prussia 1701-1918
• Subnational Flags 1919-1933 (Prussia, Germany)
• Germany

Other sites:

• Prussian Historical Coats-of-Arms at Adam Kromer's Polish Heraldry website

Having grown to an enormous state scattered over most of the German Empire, Prussia found it convenient to organize administrative subdivisions called provinces. Each of these had "land colors" or Landesfarben.

Norman Martin, 20 January 1998

[In 1897] the Prussian provinces had flags with horizontal stripes:

• Brandenburg: red-white
• Hannover: yellow white
• Hessen-Nassau: red-white-blue
• Ostpreussen: black-white
• Pommern: blue-white
• Posen: white-black-white
• Rheinland: green-white
• Sachsen: black-yellow
• Schlesien: white-yellow
• Schleswig-Holstein: blue-white-red
• Westfalen: white-red
• Westpreussen: black-white-black
• Hohenzollernsche Lande: white-black

Jan Kuhlmann, 5 December 1995

Provincial flags for the provinces of Prussia were prescribed from 1882 onwards.

Marcus Schmöger, 12 March 2001

Provinz Brandenburg

by Santiago Dotor

Red-white horizontal Bicolor. Officially adopted 22 October 1882.

Norman Martin, 20 January 1998

Provinz Ostpreussen

by Jaume Ollé

Black-white horizontal bicolor. Officially adopted 22 October 1882. Abolished 1935.

Norman Martin, 20 January 1998

An article by Dr. Whitney Smith, Gwenn ha Du (black and white) in Ar Banniel, 1999, mentions "11. Prussia - Province of Eastern Prussia - Province of Hohenzollern (1882-1934). Horizontal black-white."

Ivan Sache, 2 August 1999

Editor's note: see also Territorial Association of the East Prussians (Landsmannschaft Ostpreußen e.V.).

Provinz Hannover

2:3
by Zeljko Heimer and Marcus Schmöger

The colours of the [Prussian] province adopted in 1887 were the same as the ones of the former kingdom: yellow over white. This flag can still be seen today, but is rarely used.

Pascal Vagnat, 9 September 1996

Yellow-white bicolor. Adopted 22 October 1892. In use for local and regional authorities since 1952.

Norman Martin, 1998

The coat of arms of the Prussian province and later Land of Hanover was Gules a horse Argent. It can still be used.

Pascal Vagnat (?)

[According to the website of the Hanoverian monarchists] after the Prussian annexation, in 1873, a provincial flag was designed with the lion of Lüneburg instead of the horse, but this was so unpopular, that finally in 1881 the horse was readopted (without the green field).

Norman Martin, 26 June 2000

Provinz Hohenzollern

by Jorge Candeias

Horizontal white-black bicolor. Officially adopted 22 October 1882.

Norman Martin, May 1998

An article by Dr. Whitney Smith, Gwenn ha Du (black and white) in Ar Banniel, 1999, mentions "11. Prussia - Province of Eastern Prussia - Province of Hohenzollern (1882-1934). Horizontal black-white." FOTW gives white-black for Hohenzollern.

Ivan Sache, 2 August 1999

Fürstentümer Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen und Hohenzollern-Hechingen

by Jaume Ollé

Based on information provided by Lucien Philippe.

Jaume Ollé, 7 May 1998

The former principalities of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern-Hechingen were incorporated to Prussia in 1849 to form the province of Hohenzollern.

Santiago Dotor, 18 July 2000

Provinz Pommern

by Zeljko Heimer

Blue-white horizontal bicolor. Officially adopted 22 October 1882. Adopted as flag of the Pomeranian portion of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania in 1991.

Norman Martin, 3 March 1998

Großherzogtum Posen, Provinz Posen

by Santiago Dotor

Red-white horizontal bicolor. In use 1815 to 1886.

Norman Martin, 20 January 1998

Grand Duchy of Poznan (semi-autonomous part of Prussia) had a flag horizontally red-white. In 1849 the Grand Duchy was renamed to Province of Poznan (German Provinz Posen) and the autonomy was suppressed.

Grzegorz Skrukwa, 6 April 2000

Provinz Posen

by Santiago Dotor

White-black-white triband. Officially adopted 9 November 1886. Abandoned 1918.

Norman Martin, 20 January 1998

An article by Dr. Whitney Smith, Gwenn ha Du (black and white) in Ar Banniel, 1999, mentions "13. Prussia - Province of Posen (1896-1934). Horizontal white-black-white."

Ivan Sache, 2 August 1999

In 1886 the flag was changed by the Prussian authorities into horizontal white-black-white triband, because the former was far too similar to Polish. White-black-white triband was the official provincial flag till 1918.

Grzegorz Skrukwa, 6 April 2000

Provinz Rheinland

by Santiago Dotor

A horizontal bicolor green-white. Officially adopted 22 Oct 1882. Still used with a coat of arms in the middle of the white field by the Landschaftsverband Rheinland in Cologne [Köln].

Norman Martin, 20 January 1998

The Prussian Provinz Kleve-Berg was merged 1824 with the Provinz Niederrhein (Lower Rhine Province) to make up the Provinz Rheinland or Rheinprovinz.

Santiago Dotor, 27 February 2001

2:3
by Santiago Dotor
Flag introduced c.1843, banned 31 July 1845, reintroduced 1867, unofficially adopted 1920, abolished 1935, unofficially readopted 1948, officially 1957

From 1867 the whole of Schleswig-Holstein was a province of Prussia, but the blue-white-red was never officially recognized. Such recognition first came (...) during the Weimar republic. Sources: Jessen-Klingenberg 1994 and Henningsen 1969.

Jan Oskar Engene, 12 November 1996

Schleswig-Holstein was a Prussian Province from 1866-1945.

Norman Martin, 22 January 1998

The blue, white, red flag was never made official, but was used commonly. In 1936 the territorial flags were supressed. Source: Ottfried Neubecker, Vexilla Belgica 1981.

Jaume Ollé, June or July 1998

Editor's note: see also Flag Variant 1843 (also reported as Landesfarben 1897).

Provinz Schlesien

by Santiago Dotor

White-yellow horizontal Bicolor. Officially adopted 22 October 1882.

Norman Martin, 20 January 1998

Provinz Westfalen

by Santiago Dotor

A horizontal bicolor white-red. Officially adopted 22 October 1882. Still used with a coat of arms in the middle of the white field by the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe in Münster.

Norman Martin, 20 January 1998

Provinz Westpreussen

by Santiago Dotor

Black-white-black horizontal triband. Officially adopted 9 November 1886. Abandoned 1918.

Norman Martin, 20 January 1998

An article by Dr. Whitney Smith, Gwenn ha Du (black and white) in Ar Banniel, 1999, mentions "12. Prussia - Province of Western Prussia (1882-1934) - Horizontal black-white-black."

Ivan Sache, 2 August 1999