Last modified: 2008-06-14 by jarig bakker
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I found a copy online of the flag for the city of Darmstadt, Germany,
with an explanation of how the coat of arms came about. It is located
at this
link.
Chris, 11 Jun 2008
The first documentation on the Darmstadter flag was in 1568; however
it is surmised that there was already a flag previously. Only in 1884 the
present colors blue and white were first used. Those may be derived from
the base of the shield.
Nowadays these are not the only flags which are used for festive occasions,
but the other flags are called "Flaggen" not the "Stadtfahne". At official
occasions (declared official by city officials) the "Flaggen" are used
with arms; at other occasions no arms are used. The city of Darmstadt uses
"Hängeflaggen", left blue, right white, with the city arms in the top half.
In the 16th century shooting matches were held inside the city walls.
It seems that the city made a great occasion of it. All shooters received
yellow-white silk sashes - yellow-white were apparently the Darmstadter
city colors in those days.
(translated from the .pdf file mentioned above).
Jarig Bakker, 12 Jun 2008
The flag differs from the one shown at kommunalflaggen.de,
defined as:
"Die Fahne der Stadt Darmstadt trägt die Stadtfarben blau/weiß. Es
handelt sich um ein Banner mit Wappen auf besonderem Feld. Das Stadtwappen
steht auf weißem Grund. Es gibt auch eine Fahnenversion ohne Wappenfeld.
Schreiben des Stadtarchivs des Magistrats der Stadt Darmstadt an den
Verfasser [Gunnar Staack] vom 29.7.1996"
"The flag of the city of Darmstadt has the colors blue/white. It is
a banner with the arms on a separate (white) field".
Info from Ralf Hartemink:
"DARMSTADT
State : Hessen
Urban District (Kreisfreie Stadt) : Darmstadt
Additions : 1888 Bessungen; 1937 Eberstadt; 1938 Arheilgen
Origin/meaning: The arms of Darmstadt are based on the old seals of
the city, which already showed a lion and a fleur-de-lis. The lion is the
lion of the counts of Katzenelnbogen. The fleur-de-lis is a very common
symbol for towns and villages in this former county. On top of the shield
the Grand-Ducal coronet of Hessen may be placed.
In former times the partition line was covered by a fess, on which
were placed silver balls. This was supposedly derived from the arms of
the oldest Lords of Darmstadt (13-15th century). In 1479 the town and surrounding
area, being part of Katzenelnbogen, became part of Hessen.
The present arms were granted in 1917 and the colours were based on
those on a stone dating from the 15th century.
Literature : Stadler, K. : Deutsche Wappen - Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
Angelsachsen Verlag, 1964-1971, 8 volumes."
Wixhausen, borough of Darmstadt
incorporated at 1st January 1977
district Darmstadt, state Hesse
flag adopted 18th May 1977
flag inofficial, used for traditional purposes only
Jörg Majewski, 5 Oct 2006