1.
Baden
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Baden is a historical German territory. Together with Württemberg and the former Prussian province of Hohenzollern, two other territories, it currently forms the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg. Finally, the state of Baden-Württemberg was formed a few years later, history of Baden List of states in the Holy Roman Empire Baden-Württemberg Province of Hohenzollern Württemberg Baden in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
2.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
3.
Supporter
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In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as attendants, are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals, however, unlike the coronet or helmet and crest, supporters were not part of early medieval heraldry. As part of the achievement, they first become fashionable towards the end of the 15th century. The arms of nutritionist John Boyd-Orr use two garbs as supporters, the arms of the USS Donald Cook, missiles, the arms of the state of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil, letters of the alphabet are used as supporters in the arms of Valencia, Spain. Human supporters can also be allegorical figures, or, more rarely, specifically named individuals, the arms of the Congo provide an extremely unusual example of two supporters issuing from behind the shield. While such single supporters are generally eagles with one or two heads, there are examples, including the cathedra in the case of some Canadian cathedrals. At the other extreme and even rarer, the Scottish chief Dundas of that Ilk had three supporters, two red lions and the whole supported by a salamander. The coat of arms of Iceland even has four supporters, an example of whales non-rampant is the arms of the Dutch municipality of Zaanstad. However, medieval Scottish seals afford numerous examples in which the 13th and 14th century shields were placed between two creatures resembling lizards or dragons, further, on his retirement from office as Chief Herald, Robert Watt was granted supporters as an honour. Trees and other objects which are sometimes used are called Soutiens. Knights Grand Companion and Principal Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit are granted the use of heraldic supporters, originally, in England, supporters were regarded as little more than mere decorative and artistic appendages. In the United Kingdom, supporters are typically an example of royal favour. Hereditary supporters are normally limited to hereditary peers, certain members of the Royal Family, knights banneret were also granted non-hereditary supporters, but no such knight has been created since the time of Charles I. Tom Brown was so knighted by George II at the Battle of Dettingen, supporters may also be granted to corporations which have a royal charter
4.
Weimar Republic
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Weimar Republic is an unofficial, historical designation for the German state between 1919 and 1933. The name derives from the city of Weimar, where its constitutional assembly first took place, the official name of the state was still Deutsches Reich, it had remained unchanged since 1871. In English the country was known simply as Germany. A national assembly was convened in Weimar, where a new constitution for the Deutsches Reich was written, in its fourteen years, the Weimar Republic faced numerous problems, including hyperinflation, political extremism, and contentious relationships with the victors of the First World War. The people of Germany blamed the Weimar Republic rather than their leaders for the countrys defeat. However, the Weimar Republic government successfully reformed the currency, unified tax policies, Weimar Germany eliminated most of the requirements of the Treaty of Versailles, it never completely met its disarmament requirements, and eventually paid only a small portion of the war reparations. Under the Locarno Treaties, Germany accepted the borders of the republic. From 1930 onwards President Hindenburg used emergency powers to back Chancellors Heinrich Brüning, Franz von Papen, the Great Depression, exacerbated by Brünings policy of deflation, led to a surge in unemployment. In 1933, Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor with the Nazi Party being part of a coalition government, the Nazis held two out of the remaining ten cabinet seats. Von Papen as Vice Chancellor was intended to be the éminence grise who would keep Hitler under control, within months the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act of 1933 had brought about a state of emergency, it wiped out constitutional governance and civil liberties. Hitlers seizure of power was permissive of government by decree without legislative participation and these events brought the republic to an end, as democracy collapsed, a single-party state founded the Nazi era. The Weimar Republic is so called because the assembly that adopted its constitution met at Weimar, Germany from 6 February 1919 to 11 August 1919, but this name only became mainstream after 1933. To the right of the spectrum the politically engaged rejected the new democratic model, the Catholic Centre party, Zentrum favoured the term Deutscher Volksstaat while on the moderate left the Chancellors SPD preferred Deutsche Republik. Only during the 1930s did the term become mainstream, both within and outside Germany, after the introduction of the republic, the flag and coat of arms of Germany were officially altered to reflect the political changes. The Weimar Republic retained the Reichsadler, but without the symbols of the former Monarchy and this left the black eagle with one head, facing to the right, with open wings but closed feathers, with a red beak, tongue and claws and white highlighting. If the Reichs Eagle is shown without a frame, the charge and colors as those of the eagle of the Reichs coat of arms are to be used. The patterns kept by the Federal Ministry of the Interior are decisive for the heraldic design, the artistic design may be varied for each special purpose. The achievements and signs of movement were mostly done away with after its downfall
5.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
6.
Hohenstaufen
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The Hohenstaufen, also called the Staufer or Staufen, were a dynasty of German kings during the Middle Ages. Besides Germany, they ruled the Kingdom of Sicily. In Italian historiography, they are known as the Svevi, since they were dukes of Swabia from 1079, three members of the dynasty—Frederick I, Henry VI and Frederick II—were crowned Holy Roman Emperor. The name Staufen derives from Stauf, meaning chalice, and was applied to conical hills in Swabia in the Middle Ages. The family derives its name from the castle which the first Swabian duke of the lineage built there in the half of the 11th century. Staufen castle was finally called Hohenstaufen by historians in the 19th century. The name of the dynasty followed, but in recent decades the trend in German historiography has been to prefer the name Staufer, the noble family first appeared in the late 10th century in the Swabian Riesgau region around the former Carolingian court of Nördlingen. A local count Frederick is mentioned as progenitor in a pedigree drawn up by Abbot Wibald of Stavelot at the behest of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1153. He held the office of a Swabian count palatine, his son Frederick of Buren married Hildegard of Egisheim-Dagsburg and their son Frederick I was appointed Duke of Swabia at Hohenstaufen Castle by the Salian king Henry IV of Germany in 1079. At the same time, Duke Frederick I was engaged to the kings approximately seventeen-year-old daughter, Fredericks brother Otto was elevated to the Strasbourg bishopric in 1082. Upon Fredericks death, he was succeeded by his son, Duke Frederick II, Frederick II remained a close ally of the Salians, he and his younger brother Conrad were named the kings representatives in Germany when the king was in Italy. Around 1120, Frederick II married Judith of Bavaria from the rival House of Welf, when the last male member of the Salian dynasty, Emperor Henry V, died without heirs in 1125, a controversy arose about the succession. A civil war between Fredericks dynasty and Lothairs ended with Fredericks submission in 1134, after Lothairs death in 1137, Fredericks brother Conrad was elected King as Conrad III. In 1147, Conrad heard Bernard of Clairvaux preach the Second Crusade at Speyer, conrads brother Duke Frederick II died in 1147, and was succeeded in Swabia by his son, Duke Frederick III. When King Conrad III died without heir in 1152, Frederick also succeeded him. As royal access to the resources of the church in Germany was much reduced and he was soon crowned emperor in Italy, but decades of warfare on the peninsula yielded scant results. The Papacy and the prosperous city-states of the Lombard League in northern Italy were traditional enemies, under the skilled leadership of Pope Alexander III, the alliance suffered many defeats but ultimately was able to deny the emperor a complete victory in Italy. During Fredericks long stays in Italy, the German princes became stronger, offers of reduced taxes and manorial duties enticed many Germans to settle in the east in the course of the Ostsiedlung
7.
March of Verona
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The March of Verona and Aquileia was a vast march of the Holy Roman Empire in northeastern Italy during the Middle Ages, centered on the cities of Verona and Aquileia. Seized by King Otto I of Germany in 952, it was held by the Dukes of Bavaria, the margravial regime ended with the advent of the Lombard League in 1167. Initially it also included present-day Trentino uphill to the Adige river in the northwest, the western lands around Verona comprised the Po Valley, the Euganean and Berici Hills, the Venetian Prealps and Lake Garda. It was separated from the Italian kingdom after the German king Otto I had campaigned against King Berengar II of Italy in 951, at that time the March of Istria was attached to Verona as a county. From 952 to 975, both Carinthia and Verona were under the control of the dukes of Bavaria, forming a massive Italian, German, and Slavic fief ruled by relatives of the Saxon Ottonian dynasty. He also received Verona as a Carinthian march and from time on, it was under the control of the Carinthian dukes. Already in 975, a commune had been chartered in the capital city, henceforth the Holy Roman Emperors began to appoint vicars to represent them, instead of margraves, in Verona. From 1004 King Henry II of Germany, having prevailed as King of Italy against Arduin of Ivrea, Trentino remained under episcopal rule—contested by the Counts of Tyrol—until its secularisation in 1803. In 1061 Dowager Empress Agnes of Poitou, widow of Emperor Henry III, enfeoffed the Swabian count Berthold from the House of Zähringen with Carinthia and Verona. In 1151 the Hohenstaufen king Conrad III of Germany finally divested Duke Henry V of Carinthia of the remaining Veronese march, the League was led by Venice, other members were Verona, Padua, Vicenza, and Treviso. In 1167, the Veronese cities joined the Lombard League, this constituted the de facto end of the march, confirmed by the Lombard victory at the 1176 Battle of Legnano. The Emperors continued to name vicars, though by then the office was purely nominal, in 1405 the Veronese citizens submitted to Venice, which until about 1420 conquered most of the territory of the former march and incorporated it into the Domini di Terraferma
8.
Duchy of Carinthia
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The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchies. Carinthia remained a State of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, a constituent part of the Habsburg Monarchy and of the Austrian Empire, it remained a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary until 1918. By the Carinthian Plebiscite in October 1920, the area of the duchy formed the Austrian state of Carinthia. In the seventh century the area was part of the Slavic principality of Carantania, the Bavarian stem duchy was incorporated into the Carolingian Empire when Charlemagne deposed Odilos son Duke Tassilo III in 788. In the 843 partition by the Treaty of Verdun, Carinthia became part of East Francia under King Louis the German, after Berthold became Duke of Bavaria in 938, both territories were ruled by him. Duke Henrys son Henry II the Quarreller from 974 onwards, revolted against his cousin Emperor Otto II, at the same time Emperor Otto II created a sixth duchy in addition to the original stem duchies, the new Duchy of Carinthia. He reverted the possession of the territories to the Luitpoldings, when he split Carinthia from the Bavarian lands, over the centuries, the name Carinthia gradually replaced former Carantania. The realm of the Carinthian dukes initially comprised a vast territory including the marches of Styria, Carniola and Istria, though Henry once again managed to regain the ducal title in 985, Carinthia upon his death in 989 fell back to the Imperial Ottonian dynasty in Bavaria. Adalbero was removed from office in 1035 after he had out of favour with the Salian Emperor Conrad II. In 1039 Carinthia was inherited by Emperor Henry III himself, who split off the Carniolan march the following year and granted it to Margrave Poppo of Istria. In 1077, the duchy was given to Luitpold, again a member of the Eppensteiner family, upon his death the duchy was further reduced in area, a large part of the Eppenstein lands in what is today Upper Styria passed to Margrave Ottokar II of Styria. The remainder of Carinthia passed from Duke Henry III to his godchild Henry from the House of Sponheim, the most outstanding of the Spanheim dukes was Bernhard, the first Carinthian duke who was actually described and honoured in documents as prince of the land. The last Spanheim duke was Ulrich III, he signed a treaty with his brother Archbishop Philip of Salzburg. In spite of being supported by the Habsburg king Rudolf I of Germany, the duchy was seized by Rudolph and Philip died a year later in 1279. Rudolf, after being elected King of the Romans and defeating King Ottokar II, the Habsburgs would continue to rule Carinthia until 1918. As with the component parts of the Habsburg Monarchy, Carinthia remained a semi-autonomous state with its own constitutional structure for a long time. The Habsburgs divided up their territories within the family twice, according to the 1379 Treaty of Neuberg, each time, the Duchy of Carinthia became part of Inner Austria and was ruled jointly with the adjacent duchies of Styria and Carniola
9.
Roll of arms
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A roll of arms is a collection of coats of arms, usually consisting of rows of painted pictures of shields, each shield accompanied by the name of the person bearing the arms. The oldest extant armorials date to the mid 13th century, Siebmachers Wappenbuch of 1605 was an early instance of a printed armorial. Medieval armorials usually include a few hundred coats of arms, in the medieval period sometimes up to some 2,000. In the early period, the larger armorials develop into encyclopedic projects, with the Armorial général de France, commissioned by Louis XIV of France. A roll of arms arranged systematically by design, with featuring the same principal elements grouped together as a tool to aid identification, is known as an ordinary of arms. Glovers Roll is an English roll of arms from the 1240s or 1250s, the Matthew Paris Shields, not truly a roll but a set of marginal illustrations accompanying the chroniclers illuminated manuscript works, Chronica Majora and Historia Anglorum. These date from c. 1244–59, during the reign of Henry III, walfords Roll is an English roll dating from c. 1275, containing 185 coats with blazons, the Camden Roll is an English roll dating from c.1280, containing 270 painted coats,185 with blazons. The Dering Roll, dating from the late 13th century, contains 324 coats of arms and it is 8 1⁄4 inches wide by 8 feet 8 inches long. It currently resides in the British Library, the Heralds Roll is an English roll dating from c. St Georges Roll is an English roll dating from c, Charles Roll is an English roll dating from c.1285, containing 486 painted coats. Planché however names as Charless Roll a copy of a mid-13th-century roll containing nearly 700 coats drawn in pen and ink by Nicholas Charles, Lancaster Herald, Charles stated that the original had been lent to him by the Norroy King of Arms. The Lord Marshals Roll is an English roll dating from 1295, collins Roll is a roll dating from 1296, containing 598 painted coats. It currently resides at the College of Arms in London, the Falkirk Roll is an English occasional roll dating from c. 1298, containing 115 coats with blazons, listing the knights with King Edward I at Battle of Falkirk in 1298, the British Museum copy was formerly in the Treasury Chamber in Paris in 1576. The Galloway Roll is an English roll dating from 1300, containing 259 coats with blazons, Roll of Caerlaverock or Poem of Caerlaverock is a roll dating from 1300, containing 110 poetical blazons without images. Two other copies exist, made by Glover from a now-lost different original source, one at the College of Arms in London, the original was made in 1300 by English heralds during Edward Is siege of Caerlaverock Castle, Scotland. Commentary by Nicholas Harris Nicolas, The siege of Carlaverock in the XXVIII Edward I, a. D. Stirling Roll is an English roll from 1304, containing 102 coats
10.
Grand Duchy of Baden
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The Grand Duchy of Baden was a state in the southwest of Germany on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918 and it came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subsequently split into different lines, which were unified in 1771. After World War II, the French military government in 1945 created the state of Baden out of the half of the former Baden. This portion of the former Baden was declared in its 1947 constitution to be the successor of the old Baden. The northern half of the old Baden was combined with northern Württemberg, becoming part of the American military zone, both Baden and Württemberg-Baden became states of West Germany upon its formation in 1949. In 1952 Baden merged with Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern to form Baden-Württemberg and this is the only merger of states that has taken place in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany. The unofficial anthem of Baden is called Badnerlied and consists of four or five traditional verses, however, over the years, many more verses have been added – there are collections with up to 591 verses of the anthem. Baden came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden, in 1803 Baden was raised to Electoral dignity within the Holy Roman Empire. Upon the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, Baden became the much-enlarged Grand Duchy of Baden, in 1815 it joined the German Confederation. During the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, Baden was a centre of revolutionist activities, in 1849, in the course of the Baden Revolution, it was the only German state that became a republic for a short while, under the leadership of Lorenzo Brentano. The revolution in Baden was suppressed mainly by Prussian troops, the Grand Duchy of Baden remained a sovereign country until it joined the German Empire in 1871. After the revolution of 1918, Baden became part of the Weimar Republic as the Republic of Baden, when the French Revolution threatened to overflow into the rest of Europe in 1792, Baden joined forces against France, and its countryside was devastated once more. In 1796, the margrave Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden, was compelled to pay an indemnity, fortune, however, soon returned to his side. Changing sides in 1805, he fought for Napoleon, with the result that, by the peace of Pressburg in that year, he obtained the Breisgau and other territories at the expense of the Habsburgs. In 1806, he joined the Confederation of the Rhine, declared himself a prince, became a grand duke. The Baden contingent continued to assist France, and by the Peace of Vienna in 1809, Charles fought for his father-in-law until after the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, when he joined the Allies. In 1815 Baden became a member of the German Confederation established by the Act of 8 June, however, in the haste of winding up the Congress, the question of the succession to the grand duchy did not get settled, a matter that would soon become acute. A controversy between Bavaria and Baden ensued, which was decided in favour of the Höchberg claims by a treaty signed by Baden
11.
Republic of Baden
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The Republic of Baden was a German state that existed during the time of the Weimar Republic, formed after the abolition of the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1918. It is now part of the modern German state of Baden-Württemberg, on 8 November, workers and soldiers councils were established in Lahr and Offenburg. On the following day, similar councils were established in Mannheim and Karlsruhe, on 10 November, a provisional government was formed in Karlsruhe and an assembly of the various revolutionary councils was held on the following day. On 13 November, Grand Duke Frederick II, relinquished all governing duties and eventually abdicated on 22 November, the provisional government declared the establishment of the freie Volksrepublik Baden on 14 November 1918, and set 5 January 1919 as the date for new elections. A national assembly was created on January 12,1919, with the Christian democratic Centre Party emerging as the strongest party ahead of the centre-left SPD, together, these two parties received 91. 5% of all votes. On April 1, the Badische parliament formed a government from members of the Weimar Coalition, until 1933, Baden was mostly governed by the Centre Party. On 21 March 1919, the Landtag unanimously passed a new constitution, a popular vote approved of the constitution on 13 April. This popular vote was the first in German history and the Baden constitution was the one passed by popular vote in Germany during the Weimar period. Baden, like all other German states, was subject to the process of Gleichschaltung in 1933, between 1940 and 1944, the Gau of Baden was renamed Baden-Elsass and extended westwards to include much of Alsace. Through the Allied occupation of post-war Germany, Baden was divided between the American and French occupation zones, the division was made so that the Autobahn connecting Karlsruhe and Munich was completely contained within the American zone. This northern American-administered area became part of Württemberg-Baden on 19 September 1945 while the half was placed under French administration. These two parts of Baden were reunited and merged with the state of Württemberg on 23 April 1952 to form the new state of Baden-Württemberg. Baden was subdivided into four districts based in Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Freiburg. These districts were divided into a total of 53 Amtsbezirke. These were divided again into a total of 1,536 municipalities, following the constitution, passed in 1921, the President of Baden was an elected from the standing members of the Baden Landtag for a 1-year term. After Gleichschaltung, Baden was governed by appointed Nazi officials
12.
Coat of arms
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A coat of arms is an heraldic visual design on an escutcheon, surcoat, or tabard. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the heraldic achievement which in its whole consists of shield, supporters, crest. A coat of arms is traditionally unique to a person, family, state. The ancient Romans used similar insignia on their shields, but these identified military units rather than individuals, the first evidence of medieval coats of arms has been attributed to the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry in which some of the combatants carry shields painted with crosses. However, that heraldic interpretation remains controversial, coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in battle in the 12th century. By the 13th century, arms had spread beyond their initial battlefield use to become a flag or emblem for families in the social classes of Europe. Exactly who had a right to use arms, by law or social convention, in the German-speaking regions both the aristocracy and burghers used arms, while in most of the rest of Europe they were limited to the aristocracy. The use of spread to the clergy, to towns as civic identifiers. Flags developed from coats of arms, and the arts of vexillology, the coats of arms granted to commercial companies are a major source of the modern logo. Despite no widespread regulation, heraldry has remained consistent across Europe, some nations, like England and Scotland, still maintain the same heraldic authorities which have traditionally granted and regulated arms for centuries and continue to do so in the present day. In England, for example, the granting of arms is and has controlled by the College of Arms. Unlike seals and other emblems, heraldic achievements have a formal description called a blazon. Many societies exist that also aid in the design and registration of personal arms, in the heraldic traditions of England and Scotland, an individual, rather than a family, had a coat of arms. In those traditions coats of arms are legal property transmitted from father to son, wives, undifferenced arms are used only by one person at any given time. Other descendants of the bearer could bear the ancestral arms only with some difference. One such charge is the label, which in British usage is now always the mark of an apparent or an heir presumptive. Because of their importance in identification, particularly in seals on legal documents and this has been carried out by heralds and the study of coats of arms is therefore called heraldry. In time, the use of arms spread from military entities to educational institutes, the author Helen Stuart argues that some coats of arms were a form of corporate logo
13.
Heraldry
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The beauty and pageantry of heraldic designs allowed them to survive the gradual abandonment of armour on the battlefield during the seventeenth century. Heraldry has been described poetically as the handmaid of history, the shorthand of history, in modern times, heraldry is used by individuals, public and private organizations, corporations, cities, towns, and regions to symbolize their heritage, achievements, and aspirations. Various symbols have been used to represent individuals or groups for thousands of years, similar emblems and devices are found in ancient Mesopotamian art of the same period, and the precursors of heraldic beasts such as the griffin can also be found. In the Bible, the Book of Numbers refers to the standards and ensigns of the children of Israel, the Greek and Latin writers frequently describe the shields and symbols of various heroes, and units of the Roman army were sometimes identified by distinctive markings on their shields. The Book of Saint Albans, compiled in 1486, declares that Christ himself was a gentleman of coat armour, the medieval heralds also devised arms for various knights and lords from history and literature. Notable examples include the toads attributed to Pharamond, the cross and martlets of Edward the Confessor, and the arms attributed to the Nine Worthies. These too are now regarded as an invention, rather than evidence of the antiquity of heraldry. The development of the modern heraldic language cannot be attributed to an individual, time. Yet no individual is depicted twice bearing the arms, nor are any of the descendants of the various persons depicted known to have borne devices resembling those in the tapestry. A Spanish manuscript from 1109 describes both plain and decorated shields, none of which appears to have been heraldic, in England, from the time of the Norman conquest, official documents had to be sealed. A notable example of an armorial seal is attached to a charter granted by Philip I, Count of Flanders. Seals from the part of the eleventh and early twelfth centuries show no evidence of heraldic symbolism. One of the earliest known examples of armory as it came to be practiced can be seen on the tomb of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou. An enamel, probably commissioned by Geoffreys widow between 1155 and 1160, depicts him carrying a shield decorated with six golden lions rampant. He wears a helmet adorned with another lion, and his cloak is lined in vair. A medieval chronicle states that Geoffrey was given a shield of this description when he was knighted by his father-in-law, Henry I, in 1128, but this account probably dates to about 1175. Since Henry was the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, it seems reasonable to suppose that the adoption of lions as an emblem by Henry or his sons might have been inspired by Geoffreys shield. Richard is also credited with having originated the English crest of a lion statant and it is from this garment that the phrase coat of arms is derived
14.
Wayback Machine
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The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network
15.
Coat of arms of Germany
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The coat of arms of Germany displays a black eagle with red feet, beak and tongue on a golden field, blazoned, Or, an eagle displayed sable beaked langued and membered gules. This is the Bundesadler or Federal Eagle, formerly the Reichsadler or Imperial Eagle and it is a re-introduction of the coat of arms of the Weimar Republic adopted by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1950. The current official design is due to Tobias Schwab and was introduced in 1928, the single-headed Prussian Eagle was used as an escutcheon to represent the Prussian Kings as dynasts of the German Empire. The Weimar Republic introduced a version in which the escutcheon and other symbols were removed. By the 13th century the coat of arms was generally recognised as, Or. During the medieval period the imperial eagle was usually single-headed, a double-headed eagle is attributed as the arms of Frederick II in the Chronica Majora. In 1433 the double-headed eagle was adopted by Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, thereafter the double-headed eagle was used as the arms of the German emperor, and hence as the symbol of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. From the 12th century the Emperors also used a coat of arms separate from the imperial arms. From the reign of Albert II, the Emperors bore the old Imperial arms with an inescutcheon of pretence of his family arms. Coats of arms of the Holy Roman Empire In 1815, a German Confederation of 39 loosely united German states was founded on the territory of the former Holy Roman Empire, until 1848, the confederation did not have a coat of arms of its own. The Federal Diet meeting at Frankfurt am Main used a seal which carried the emblem of the Austrian Empire and it showed a black, double-headed eagle, which Austria had adopted just before the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 1848 revolution, a new Reich coat of arms was adopted by the National Assembly that convened in St. Pauls Church in Frankfurt. The black double-headed eagle was retained, but without the four symbols of the emperor, the sword, the orb, the sceptre. The eagle rested on a shield, above was a five-pointed golden star. On both sides the shield was flanked by three flags with the colours black-red-gold, the emblem, however, never gained general acceptance. In 1867, the North German Confederation was established without Austria, a new coat of arms was adopted, which consisted of a shield with the colours black-white-red, flanked by two wild men holding cudgels and standing on a pedestal. The Reichsadler had already introduced at the Proclamation of Versailles. The design of the eagle was altered at least twice during the German Empire and it shows the imperial eagle, a comparatively realistic black eagle, with the crown of the Holy Roman Empire
16.
Coat of arms of Bavaria
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The coat of arms of the German state of Bavaria has greater and lesser versions. It had been introduced by law fully by 5 June 1950, Article 1 The colours of the state are white, the modern coat of arms was designed by Eduard Ege, following heraldic traditions, in 1946. First Quarter, At the dexter chief, sable, a lion rampant Or and this represents the administrative region of Upper Palatinate. It is identical to the coat of arms of the Electorate of the Palatinate, second Quarter, At the sinister chief, per fess dancetty, gules and argent. This represents the regions of Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia. This was the coat of arms of the bishops of Würzburg. Third Quarter, At the dexter base, argent, a panther rampant azure and this represents the regions of Lower and Upper Bavaria. Fourth Quarter, At the sinister base, Or, three lions passant guardant Sable, armed Gules, the White-And-Blue Inescutcheon, The escutcheon of white and blue oblique fusils was originally the coat of arms of the Counts of Bogen, adopted in 1242 by the House of Wittelsbach. The white-and-blue fusils are indisputably the emblem of Bavaria and the heart shield today symbolizes Bavaria as a whole, along with the Peoples Crown, it is officially used as the Minor Coat of Arms. The Peoples Crown, The four coat fields with the shield in the centre are crowned with a golden band with precious stones decorated with five ornamental leaves. This crown appeared for the first time in the coat of arms in 1923 to symbolize sovereignty of the people after the out of the royal crown. Bavaria was one of the duchies of the Eastern Franconian Empire. The House of Wittelsbach, who ruled in Bavaria for about eight centuries, used the coat lozengy since 1242, Bavaria became a kingdom in 1806, and in 1835 a new coat of arms was created, similar to todays but representing some regions by different coats of arms. The first known coat of arms of the house of Wittelsbach is Azure, when Louis I married Ludmilla, the widow of Albert III, Count of Bogen, he adopted the coat of arms of the counts of Bogen together with their land. The number of varied, from 15th century 21 were used. Lit, Wilhelm Volkert, Die Bilder in den Wappen der Wittelsbacher, in the eleventh century the counts of Kraiburg, a branch of the counts of Sponheim of Rhenish Hesse, acquired land in Upper and Lower Bavaria. In 1259, after the death of the last male member of the family, the coat of arms of the family was the Lion of Sponheim, although the charge was not a lion but a panthier, a mixture of a dragon and a lion. Nowadays, the fire-spitting panthier/panther is the Coat of Arms of the city of Ingolstadt, the coat of arms created for the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1835 included the lion
17.
Coat of arms of Berlin
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The coat of arms of Berlin is used by the German city state as well as the city itself. Introduced in 1954 for West Berlin, it shows a bear on a white shield. On top of the shield is a crown, created by the amalgamation of the mural crown of a city with the so-called peoples crown. Berlins various boroughs use their own emblems, the bear has been used as a charge in the Berlin coat of arms since 1709, formerly alongside the eagles of Brandenburg and Prussia. A bear occurs on seals, coins and signet rings from as early as the late 12th century, the oldest preserved and known seal of Berlin is from 1253. It depicts the Brandenburg Eagle spreading its wings in a clover-shaped archway, the text on the seal is SIGILLVM DE BERLIN BVRGENSIVM. It supposedly was the seal of Berlins first mayor Marsilius, a later seal dated to 1280 shows bears as supporters of the Brandenburg coat of arms. The bear appears to have risen in popularity during the 17th century, with a depiction on a coat of arms in a signet ring dated 1603. The shield was now divided in three parts, showing the bear below the eagles of Brandenburg and Prussia, heraldist Adolf Matthias Hildebrandt in 1883 designed a number of proposals for a new coat of arms. One of these was the simplified azure a bear rampant sable with a crown in the crest. This was in use as minor coat of arms from 1920, the coat of arms was laid down in a law of 1954, §1 The coat of arms shows on a silver shield, a black bear rampant with tongue and claws in red. On the shield rests a golden five leaved crest coronet, whose tiara of brickwork is provided with a gate in the center, §4 Decisive for the design of the states coat of arms, the state’s flag. Are the patterns, added to this law, according to the state’s coat of arms, an artistic design is reserved to special purposes. A member of the Historical Society went on to collect a total of 273 different representations of bears in Berlin, Hildebrandt in 1915 again complained about the excesses of variation in the bear, especially deviation from the Prussian tincture of black on white. Flag of Berlin Berolina, personification of Berlin Origin of the coats of arms of German federal states Coat of arms of Bern Media related to Coats of arms of Berlin at Wikimedia Commons
18.
Coat of arms of Brandenburg
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This article is about the coat of arms of the German state of Brandenburg. According to tradition, the Märkischer Adler, or red eagle of the March of Brandenburg, was adopted by Margrave Gero in the 10th century, gustav A. Seyler states that the Ascanian Albert the Bear was the originator. He divided his territory among his children, thereby creating the territories which would later become Anhalt, Brandenburg, the March of Brandenburg, known as the Holy Roman Empires sandbox, was granted in 1415 to Burggrave Frederick VI of Nuremberg of the House of Hohenzollern. Over the centuries, the Hohenzollerns made these poor marshes and woodlands the nucleus of a powerful state, after being formally enfeoffed as Elector Frederick I of Brandenburg, he quartered the arms of Hohenzollern and the burgraviate of Nuremberg with the Brandenburg red eagle. The blue escutcheon with the sceptre, as symbol of the office of archchamberlain of the Empire, was added under Frederick II. The quarters and crests of these duchies and the Principality of Rügen, Elector John Sigismund inherited the Duchy of Prussia, outside the Holy Roman Empire on the Baltic Sea, in 1618. In 1609 John Sigismunds wife had inherited rights to Cleves, Mark, Jülich, the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 brought Brandenburg the former prince-bishoprics of Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Minden and Cammin. Rügen and Hither Pomerania, however, had to be given up to Sweden as part of Swedish Pomerania and it was around this time to that Elector Frederick William, called the Great Elector, adopted the Pomeranian wild man as supporters of his arms. He also placed the outer helmets over the heads of the supporters, Elector Frederick III changed the arms substantially when he took the title Frederick I, King in Prussia, on 18 January 1701. In 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars, the March of Brandenburg was reorganized as the Province of Brandenburg within the Kingdom of Prussia and its arms depicted the red eagle of Brandenburg flanked by a wildman and a knight. With the dissolution of Prussia after World War II, new arms were created for Brandenburg in 1945 and it showed an oak in front of a rising sun on a background in red, white and red, then also used in the official flag. A shield in blue, white and green was shown in the left corner. The little shield is a variant of the flag of the city of Brandenburg upon Havel. This new coat of arms never gained popularity and was not considered when Brandenburg regained statehood after 1990. The arms of the state of Brandenburg became a red eagle without adornment, the current arms are declared thus, §1 State colors The state colors are red-white. §2 State coat of arms The coat of arms of the shows on a shield in white a red eagle, looking to the right, with wings decorated with stalks of clover in gold. The original painting of the coat of arms is preserved at the public record office of Brandenburg. Order of the Red Eagle Coat of arms of Prussia Coat of arms of Germany Origin of the coats of arms of German federal states
19.
Coat of arms of Bremen
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This article is about the coat of arms of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and the city of Bremen. From the Bremen Official Website, The Coat-of-Arms of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen shows a key on a red shield. Officially, the coat of arms was confirmed by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1811 and this is the only coat of arms featuring the historical colours of Bremen. The three bees are derivatives of the Napoleonic Empire as part of the tradition of the Franks, representations of bees were 1653 in the grave of Childeric I. They are meant to act as a symbol of Frances ideals on immortality and it was therefore a great honor when Napoleon gave the bees to the city, in the red and gold colours of his family. Before and after the Napoleonic era, the red and white colours of the Hanseatic cities were more important, at this time, the shield was supported by angels, but from 1568, however, they were replaced by lions. In 1617 a helmet was added, but it was never part of the coat of arms. The crown on the coat of arms dates from the late 16th century, flag of Bremen Coat of arms of Germany Origin of the coats of arms of German federal states
20.
Coat of arms of Hamburg
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The coat of arms of the German state and city of Hamburg is a kind of a national emblem. The coat of arms and the flags are regulated by the constitution of Hamburg, the colors of Hamburg are white and red. One of the oldest versions of the castle is found on a seal in 1245, all coat of arms show a castle with three towers. The middle tower shows a cross on top and it is believed that the so-called Marian stars on top of the two side-towers and the cross recalls the fact that Hamburg used to be an archbishopric. The towers and the walls with their pinnacles and the gate symbolized the determination of the town to defend itself. The Greater Coat of Arms shows the castle, the stars, the top is like the middle coat of arms with a helmet with crest including three peacock feathers and six banners of the arms and a mantling. This coat of arms is protected and only allowed to be used by the Senat, the Admiralty Coat of Arms of Hamburg is used for official ships of Hamburg. The oldest coat of arms of Hamburg has been retained on city seals of the 12th and 13th centuries, during the centuries the towers, walls, pinnacles and symbols of the coat of arms of Hamburg changed several times, without changing in character. The central castle was shown with opened doors sometimes with closed doors, the colors of version of the lesser arms of 2008 are declared by an act of law of the Senate of Hamburg on 14 May 1752. Before the tincture was a red castle on white ground, since 1952, the coat of arms and the flags are regulated by the constitution of Hamburg. The colors of Hamburg are white and red, in general the use of city seals with the coat of arms was a privilege of the City Council. The city elders had to watch its maintenance, even now the coat of arms is protected and can only be used under specific circumstances. Older Coat of Arms of Hamburg The coat of arms exists since the 16th century, in 1623, a Admiralitätskollegium was established to oversee the law of sea and the security of shipping, as a port authority. The coat of arms exists since 1642, Coat of arms of Prussia Origin of the coats of arms of German federal states. Media related to Coats of arms of Hamburg at Wikimedia Commons Coat of arms of Hamburg at Flags of the World
21.
Coat of arms of Lower Saxony
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The coat of arms of the German federal-state of Lower Saxony shows a white Saxon steed on a red background. It is used on the flag of Lower Saxony, according to German folklore the banner of Widukind, the last pagan King of the Old Saxons, was a jumping black horse on a yellow field. After the defeat of Saxony and his conversion to Christianity the banner was changed to a white horse on a red field. This device was adopted by Henry the Lion, the Duke of Saxony, the Archbishop of Cologne also used the device on his seal for his possessions which were in the former lands of the Saxons. In the 17th Century these territories in Westphalia came into the possession of the House Saxony-Lüneburg which continued the use of this device. The Sachsenross is also found in the arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, Kingdom of Hanover and Duchy of Brunswick and it was even in use after the abolition of German monarchy after World War I until 1935. After World War II, the Province of Hanover and the Free State of Brunswick both adopted the horse as their coat of arms. After the British occupation regime merged these two states with Oldenburg and Schaumburg-Lippe to create the state of Lower Saxony. However, there was no coat of arms because of disagreement over the inclusion of the arms for Oldenburg. Finally it was agreed that a simple motif would be the best solution, the Arms of Hanover and East Frisia are still used on a regional level. The white horse is similar to the one used in the coat of arms for the county of Kent in England which is likely to have originated from the Rhineland area. On April 3,1951, the government of Lower Saxony made the decision which was written down in the constitution of the State of Lower Saxony dated on April 13,1951. The Act about coats of arms, flags and seals, dated October 13,1952, the state uses within the state flag the state colours black-red-gold with the coat of arms of the state according to annex 2
22.
Coat of arms of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
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This article is about the coat of arms of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The greater arms of the state depict the head of Mecklenburg, the griffin of Pomerania. The lesser arms depict only the head of Mecklenburg and the griffin of Pomerania. It should be compared with the arms of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz, predecessor states, the Pomeranian griffin is also used in the neighbouring West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland, and a griffin in other tinctures is used by the Pomeranian Voivodeship further east in Poland. Coat of arms of Prussia Coat of arms of Germany Origin of the coats of arms of German federal states
23.
Coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia
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The coat of arms of North Rhine-Westphalia is the official coat of arms of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. That same year Wolfgang Pagenstecher, a famous German heraldist living in Düsseldorf, made the original blazon for the newly created state, on 10 March 1953 this has been confirmed by the Law about the states colours, the states coat of arms and the state s flag. The named law starts as follows, §1 The states colors are green-white-red, §2 The states coat of arms is party per pale Vert a bend sinister wavy Argent and Gules a horse rampant Argent, enté en point embowed Argent a rose Gules seeded and leaved Or. So the constituent three parts of this coat of arms are, dexter, Vert a bend sinster wavy Argent and this until than showed a bend wavy, representing the river Rhine flowing through the Rhineland, todays southwestern part of the state. The change from bend to bend sinister has only been done because of aesthetical reasons, sinister, Gules a horse rampant Argent, as opposed to the jumping horse in the arms of Lower Saxony, representing Westphalia, the northeastern part of the state. Originally it was the Saxon steed, the emblem of the Saxon stern duchy and it is identical to the preceding coat of arms of the Province of Westphalia. Enté en point embowed, Argent a rose Gules seeded and leaved Or and this was the coat of arms of the Principality of Lippe, now the district of Lippe in the east of the state. The coat of arms appears as a charge on the flag of North Rhine-Westphalia. List of coats of arms of the districts in North Rhine-Westphalia Coat of arms of Prussia Coat of arms of Germany Origin of the coats of arms of German federal states
24.
Coat of arms of Rhineland-Palatinate
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This article is about the coat of arms of the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz. The state flag and the coat of arms were designed in 1947 after this new Land was formed by the authority of the French High Commissioner to Germany, the flag symbolizes the dedication of Rhineland-Palatinate to Germany as well as the democratic traditions of Germany. These colours were seen first in this combination during the Hambacher Fest, so the Palatinate is very much connected to these colours. The Volkskrone consists of leaves and shows the importance of this crop for local agriculture. §1 The states colors are black-red-gold, §2 The states coat of arms has the form of a round shield. The coat of arms is covered by a golden peoples crown, §4 Decisive for the design of the state’s coat of arms and the state’s flag are the patterns, added to this law. Coat of arms of Prussia Coat of arms of Germany Origin of the coats of arms of German federal states
25.
Coat of arms of Saarland
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This article is about the coat of arms of the German state of Saarland. The coat of arms of Saarland is parted per cross, The first quarter shows the coat of arms of the prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken and it represents the town district of Saarbrücken and the district of Neunkirchen. The second quarter shows the coat of arms of the elector, archbishop of Trier. The charge is a red three-dimensional symmetric cross, the arms are advance to the axis. It represents the districts of Merzig-Wadern and St Wendel, the third quarter shows the coat of arms of the duchy of Lorraine and represents the district of Saarlouis. It shows three silver alerions on a red bend, on a yellow field, the fourth quarter, the coat of arms of the prince elector Palatinate, represents the Saarpfalz district, which once was part of the Palatinate. The black shield is charged with a lion rampant, whose claws. Saarbrücken,10 December 2001 Flag of Saarland Coat of arms of Prussia Coat of arms of Germany Origin of the coats of arms of German federal states
26.
Coat of arms of Saxony
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Although the crancelin is sometimes shown embowed like a crown, this is due to artistic license. The coat of arms is displayed on the state flag of Saxony. The shield Barry sable and Or, a crancelin vert deduce from the Saxon counts of Ballenstedt, the Saxe-Wittenberg black and golden shield already displayed the Gothic crancelin, probably symbolizing the waiver of the Lauenburg lands. When the line became extinct in 1422, arms and electoral dignity were adopted by the Wettin margrave Frederick IV of Meissen, a greater coat-of-arms of the Free State of Saxony can be determined by a special law. §2 For the rendering of the coat-of-arms the patterns, which are attached to this law as appendix, are authoritative, the coloured patterns are deposited in the Main Public Record Office of Saxony. §3 The regulations necessary for the implementation of law are issued by the State Government. It can pass on this authority, §4 This law comes into force the day after its proclamation. The preceding law is executed herewith and is to be proclaimed, the Constitution of the Free State of Saxony adopted by the Landtag on 26 May 1992 stated the country flag displays in a ninefold partitioned field of Black and Gold a right diagonal green crancelin. Royal Arms of England Coat of arms of Portugal Coat of arms of Belgium Coat of arms of Bulgaria
27.
Coat of arms of Schleswig-Holstein
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The lions of Schleswig were taken from the coat of arms of Denmark. The heraldically left side is red with the silver nettle leaf of Holstein, in contrast to the proper Schleswig lions which face to the left the lions in the state arms face the right side. According to legend Otto von Bismarck ordered this change after the Second Schleswig War because he thought it impolite by the lions to show their hindside to Holstein, the current version was adopted by the government of Schleswig-Holstein on 18 January 1957. In fact, it is usual in German heraldry for charges in a coat of arms to turn to face the center. The coat of arms may only be used by official authorities, the government has issued a logo though, which may be used by the common public. It features a shield and simplified lions. Coat of Arms & Flag Government of Schleswig-Holstein Coat of arms of Prussia Coat of arms of Germany Origin of the coats of arms of German federal states
28.
Coat of arms of Thuringia
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The coat of arms German state Thuringia was introduced in 1990. Like the 1949 coat of arms of Hesse it is based on the Ludovingian lion barry, also known as the lion of Hesse, with the addition of eight mullets. The coat of arms can be blazoned Azure, a lion rampant barry of eight Gules and Argent, crowned and armed Or and this can be interpreted as a blue field with a lion of eight horizontal red-and-white-stripes, with a gold crown and claws, with eight white/silver stars. Some people believe the stars represent eight historical divisions of the state and it was included in the Gesetz über die Hoheitszeichen of 30 January 1991, which came into law retrospectively to 3 October 1990. The northern part of todays Thuringia was part of Prussia and therefore not represented in this coat of arms, inspired by the American flag, the shield is gules, seven mullets of six points argent - seven six-pointed stars on a red background. It was used on the flag of that period. The coat of arms was used until 1933, when the NSDAP government created a new coat of arms, in 1040, the house of the Ludovingians from Upper Franconia, gained rule over territories in the north of Thuringia, which then were part of the dukedom of Saxony. The following generations of the house gained control of Thuringia and northern Hesse, in 1137 the Margraves became Landgraves, a position comparable to a duke. Now their rule was immediate to the Empire and their rule in Thuringia was succeeded by the Saxon house of Wettin. The arms, used by Landgrave Conrad in the 13th century, was azure, Coat of arms of Prussia Coat of arms of Germany Coat of arms of Hesse, which has a similar appearance. Origin of the coats of arms of German federal states
29.
German Empire
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The German Empire was the historical German nation state that existed from the unification of Germany in 1871 to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918, when Germany became a federal republic. The German Empire consisted of 26 constituent territories, with most being ruled by royal families and this included four kingdoms, six grand duchies, five duchies, seven principalities, three free Hanseatic cities, and one imperial territory. Although Prussia became one of kingdoms in the new realm, it contained most of its population and territory. Its influence also helped define modern German culture, after 1850, the states of Germany had rapidly become industrialized, with particular strengths in coal, iron, chemicals, and railways. In 1871, it had a population of 41 million people, and by 1913, a heavily rural collection of states in 1815, now united Germany became predominantly urban. During its 47 years of existence, the German Empire operated as an industrial, technological, Germany became a great power, boasting a rapidly growing rail network, the worlds strongest army, and a fast-growing industrial base. In less than a decade, its navy became second only to Britains Royal Navy, after the removal of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck by Wilhelm II, the Empire embarked on a bellicose new course that ultimately led to World War I. When the great crisis of 1914 arrived, the German Empire had two allies, Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, however, left the once the First World War started in August 1914. In the First World War, German plans to capture Paris quickly in autumn 1914 failed, the Allied naval blockade caused severe shortages of food. Germany was repeatedly forced to send troops to bolster Austria and Turkey on other fronts, however, Germany had great success on the Eastern Front, it occupied large Eastern territories following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. German declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917 was designed to strangle the British, it failed, but the declaration—along with the Zimmermann Telegram—did bring the United States into the war. Meanwhile, German civilians and soldiers had become war-weary and radicalised by the Russian Revolution and this failed, and by October the armies were in retreat, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire had collapsed, Bulgaria had surrendered and the German people had lost faith in their political system. The Empire collapsed in the November 1918 Revolution as the Emperor and all the ruling monarchs abdicated, and a republic took over. The German Confederation had been created by an act of the Congress of Vienna on 8 June 1815 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, German nationalism rapidly shifted from its liberal and democratic character in 1848, called Pan-Germanism, to Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarcks pragmatic Realpolitik. He envisioned a conservative, Prussian-dominated Germany, the war resulted in the Confederation being partially replaced by a North German Confederation in 1867, comprising the 22 states north of the Main. The new constitution and the title Emperor came into effect on 1 January 1871, during the Siege of Paris on 18 January 1871, William accepted to be proclaimed Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. The second German Constitution was adopted by the Reichstag on 14 April 1871 and proclaimed by the Emperor on 16 April, the political system remained the same. The empire had a parliament called the Reichstag, which was elected by universal male suffrage, however, the original constituencies drawn in 1871 were never redrawn to reflect the growth of urban areas
30.
Monarchy
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The actual power of the monarch may vary from purely symbolic, to partial and restricted, to completely autocratic. Traditionally and in most cases, the monarchs post is inherited and lasts until death or abdication, occasionally this might create a situation of rival claimants whose legitimacy is subject to effective election. Finally, there have been cases where the term of a reign is either fixed in years or continues until certain goals are achieved. Thus there are widely divergent structures and traditions defining monarchy, Monarchy was the most common form of government until the 19th century, but it is no longer prevalent. Currently,47 sovereign nations in the world have monarchs acting as heads of state,19 of which are Commonwealth realms that recognise Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state. The monarchs of Cambodia, Japan, and Malaysia reign, the word monarch comes from the Greek language word μονάρχης, monárkhēs which referred to a single, at least nominally absolute ruler. In current usage the word usually refers to a traditional system of hereditary rule. Depending on the held by the monarch, a monarchy may be known as a kingdom, principality, duchy, grand duchy, empire, tsardom, emirate, sultanate, khaganate. The form of societal hierarchy known as chiefdom or tribal kingship is prehistoric, the Greek term monarchia is classical, used by Herodotus. The monarch in classical antiquity is often identified as king, the Chinese, Japanese and Nepalese monarchs continued to be considered living Gods into the modern period. Since antiquity, monarchy has contrasted with forms of democracy, where power is wielded by assemblies of free citizens. In antiquity, monarchies were abolished in favour of such assemblies in Rome, much of 19th century politics was characterised by the division between anti-monarchist Radicalism and monarchist Conservativism. Many countries abolished the monarchy in the 20th century and became republics, advocacy of republics is called republicanism, while advocacy of monarchies is called monarchism. In the modern era, monarchies are more prevalent in small states than in large ones, most monarchs, both historically and in the modern day, have been born and brought up within a royal family, the centre of the royal household and court. Growing up in a family, future monarchs are often trained for the responsibilities of expected future rule. Different systems of succession have been used, such as proximity of blood, primogeniture, and agnatic seniority. While most monarchs have been male, many female monarchs also have reigned in history, rule may be hereditary in practice without being considered a monarchy, such as that of family dictatorships or political families in many democracies. The principal advantage of hereditary monarchy is the continuity of leadership
31.
Coat of arms of Prussia
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The state of Prussia developed from the State of the Teutonic Order. The original flag of the Teutonic Knights had been a cross on a white flag. Emperor Frederick II in 1229 granted them the right to use the black Eagle of the Holy Roman Empire and this Prussian Eagle remained the coats of arms of the successive Prussian states until 1947. On January 27,1701, King Frederick I changed his arms as prince-elector of Brandenburg, the older arms of the electors of Brandenburg depicted a red eagle on a white background. Henceforth, the Prussian eagle, now royally crowned and with FR on its breast, was placed in an escutcheon on the shield with 25 quarters instead of the electoral scepter, all the helmets made way for one royal crown. The wild men—figures from Germanic and Celtic mythology representing the Lord of the Beasts or Green Man— that held the arms of Prussia are probably taken from the arms of Pomerania or Denmark. A wild man and a woman have held the shield of the principality of Schwarzburg in Thuringia. Two wild men and a woman have been included in the seal of Bergen op Zoom since 1365. A decree from 11 February 1701 placed a crown on the Prussian escutcheon, the king ordained that the whole should be placed on a royal pavilion after the French and Danish examples. When William III, Prince of Orange and King of England, died on March 19,1702 and this was to support his claim as heir general, although the Frisian branch of the House of Orange-Nassau claimed it as well. Although Mecklenburg-Strelitz protested, Emperor Joseph I gave permission to Frederick in October 1712 and this design was twice officially altered but was not fundamentally changed since. The electoral scepter had its own shield under the electoral cap, around the shield, with 36 quarters, appeared the Order of the Black Eagle with a crowned helmet resting on top. The wild men held banners of Prussia and Brandenburg and behind the pavilion rose a Prussian banner after the example of the French Oriflamme, the motto Gott mit uns appeared on the pedestal. Frederick William I followed his father on the throne on February 25,1713, according to Ströhl he gave the eagle a scepter and orb. He made an arrangement with the Frisian Nassaus over the title to the Principality of Orange, besides the arms of Orange, he officially added Veere and Vlissingen on July 29,1732. The king also added East Frisia to his arms, claiming it in case the prince would die without heir, a fourth escutcheon appeared among the 36 quarters. Frederick II became king on May 31,1740 and he laid claim to the duchy of Silesia after the death of Emperor Charles VI and declared war on Charles daughter and heir, Maria Theresa of Austria, thereby starting the Silesian Wars. Frederick II was followed by his nephew, Frederick William II, Frederick William II inherited the Franconian cadet branches of the House of Hohenzollern in 1791
32.
Grand duchy
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A grand duchy is a country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. During the 19th century there were as many as 14 grand duchies in Europe at once, in the 21st century, only Luxembourg remains a grand duchy. The only grand duchy still extant is Luxembourg and it regained its independence from Napoleonic France and became a sovereign grand duchy in 1815 by decision of the Congress of Vienna which dealt with the political aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. Luxembourg remained in personal union with the crown of the Netherlands until 1890 when William III, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg, as a consequence, William III was succeeded as grand duke by a distant male cousin, Adolphe from the elder branch of Nassau-Weilburg. The current monarch is Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg since 2000, the contemporary independent republics of Finland and Lithuania have been grand duchies during certain eras of their history. The same is true for the state of what would ultimately become the Russian Empire. As a consequence, a new title was needed to make the difference between important and unimportant regional powers, the grand duke was born. The first monarchy ever officially titled a grand duchy was the Medici sovereignty over Tuscany under suzerainty of the Holy Roman Emperors, Tuscany remained a grand duchy until 1860, when it was annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia which succeeded in establishing a united Kingdom of Italy. In the early century, Napoléon I occasionally used the title grand duchy for several French satellite states given to his relatives or generals. Other allies abandoned the orbit of the Holy Roman Empire to join Napoleons nominally independent Confederation of the Rhine. The elevation of these vassals to the title of duke was usually accompanied by an expansion of their realms with additional territory gathered at the expense of subdued powers such as Prussia. As a result, the 19th century saw the creation of a new group of duchies in central Europe, such as the grand duchies of Hesse, Baden. The correct form of address is Royal Highness, in several Balto-Slavic languages, the term often translated in English as grand duke is literally grand prince. In some western European languages, the grand prince was rare or non-existent. In German and Scandinavian languages, both titles co-exist, Großherzog and Großfürst, and are used to distinguish, respectively, a grand duke. Within Germany, use of the title expanded after 1815, although grand prince is found in historical references, since the reign of Catherine the Great, the Russian Veliky Knyaz has usually been translated into English as grand duke. Since the 18th century it has used to refer to cadets of the imperial House of Romanov who were children or patrilineal grandchildren of a Russian emperor. More remote descendants of emperors were titled prince, the Polish kings of the Swedish House of Vasa also used this grand-princely title for their non-Polish territories
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Coat of arms of Oldenburg
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The coat of arms of Oldenburg is the coat of arms associated with the state of Oldenburg, a county, duchy and then grand duchy that existed between 1101 and 1918. The arms are also associated with the parts of the House of Oldenburg that ruled the state, the coat of arms recognised the full acquisitions of the state in those years. Various branches used assorted minor arms, those most associated with the Oldenburg part of the state were copies of the flags of Oldenburg, the inescutcheon was used on the state ensign of 1893 to 1918/1921. The main shield shows the arms of, Kingdom of Norway, Duchy of Schleswig, Duchy of Holstein, Territory of Stormarn, Territory of Dithmarschen, Lordship of Kniphausen. The inescutcheon shows the arms of, County of Oldenburg, County of Delmenhorst, Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck, Principality of Birkenfeld, Lordship of Jever
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Principality
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Most of these states have historically been a polity, but in some occasions were rather territories in respect of which a princely title is held. The princes estate and wealth may be located mainly or wholly outside the confines of the principality. Generally recognised surviving sovereign principalities are Liechtenstein, Monaco, and the co-principality of Andorra, extant royal primogenitures styled as principalities include Asturias, and Wales. The term principality is often used informally to describe Wales as it currently exists, since that time, the title Prince of Wales has traditionally been granted to the heir to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, but it confers no responsibilities for government in Wales. It has country status and is one of four countries in the United Kingdom, principality of Asturias is the official name of autonomous community of Asturias. No sovereign duchy currently exists, but Luxembourg is an example of a sovereign grand duchy. Historically there have been sovereign principalities with many styles of ruler, such as Countships, Margraviates and even Lordships, feudalism increased the power of local princes within a kings lands. As princes continued to more power over time, the authority of the king was diminished in many places. This led to political fragmentation as the lands were broken into mini-states ruled by princes and dukes who wielded absolute power over their small territories. This was especially prevalent in Europe, and particularly with the Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, during the Late Middle Ages from 1200 to 1500, principalities were often at war with each other as royal houses asserted sovereignty over smaller principalities. These wars caused a deal of instability and economies were destroyed. Episodes of bubonic plague reduced the power of principalities to survive independently. Eventually, agricultural progress and development of new goods and services boosted commerce between principalities. Many of these states became wealthy, expanded their territories and improved the services provided to their citizens, Princes and dukes developed their lands, established new ports and chartered large thriving cities. Some used their wealth to build palaces and other institutions now associated with sovereign states. While some principalities prospered in their independence, less successful states were swallowed by stronger royal houses, Europe saw consolidation of small principalities into larger kingdoms and empires. This had already happened in England in the first millennium, and this subsequently led to the creation of such states as France, Portugal. Another form of consolidation was orchestrated in Italy during the Renaissance by the Medici family, a banking family from Florence, the Medici took control of governments in various Italian regions and even assumed the papacy
35.
Free imperial city
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The evolution of some German cities into self-ruling constitutional entities of the Empire was slower than that of the secular and ecclesiastical princes. In the course of the 13th and 14th centuries, some cities were promoted by the emperor to the status of Imperial Cities, essentially for fiscal reasons. The Free Cities were those, such as Basel, Augsburg, Cologne or Strasbourg, like the other Imperial Estates, they could wage war, make peace, and control their own trade, and they permitted little interference from outside. In the later Middle Ages, a number of Free Cities formed City Leagues, such as the Hanseatic League or the Alsatian Décapole, to promote and defend their interests. In the course of the Middle Ages, cities gained, and sometimes — if rarely — lost, some favored cities gained a charter by gift. Others purchased one from a prince in need of funds, some won it by force of arms during the troubled 13th and 14th centuries and other lost their privileges during the same period by the same way. Some cities became free through the created by the extinction of dominant families. Some voluntarily placed themselves under the protection of a territorial ruler, a few, like Protestant Donauwörth, which in 1607 was annexed to the Catholic Duchy of Bavaria, were stripped by the Emperor of their status as a Free City — for genuine or trumped-up reasons. There were approximately four thousand towns and cities in the Empire, during the late Middle Ages, fewer than two hundred of these places ever enjoyed the status of Free Imperial Cities, and some of those did so only for a few decades. The military tax register of 1521 listed eighty-five such cities, from the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 to 1803, their number oscillated at around fifty. These cities were located in small territories where the ruler was weak. They were nevertheless the exception among the multitude of territorial towns, Cities of both latter categories normally had representation in territorial diets, but not in the Imperial Diet. The cities divided themselves into two groups, or benches, in the Imperial Diet, the Rhenish and the Swabian Bench. To avoid the possibility that they would have the vote in case of a tie between the Electors and the Princes, it was decided that these should decide first and consult the cities afterward. Constitutionally, if in no way, the diminutive Free Imperial City of Isny was the equal of the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Instead, many found it more profitable to maintain agents at the Aulic Council in Vienna. At the opposite end, the authority of Cologne, Aachen, Worms, Goslar, Wetzlar and they were the most economically significant burgher families who had asserted themselves politically over time. The burgher status was usually a privilege renewed pro-forma in each generation of the family concerned
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Franconia
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However, there is no fixed area that is officially defined as Franconia. The German word Franken - Franconians - also refers to the people group and they are to be distinguished from the Germanic tribe of the Franks and who historically formed their easternmost settlement area. The origins of Franconia lie in the settlement of the Franks from the 6th century in the area probably populated until then mainly by the Elbe Germanic people in the Main river area. Known from the 9th century as Francia Orientalis. in the Middle Ages the region formed much of the part of the Duchy of Franconia and, from 1500. In the course of the restructuring of the south German states by Napoleon after the demise of the Holy Roman Empire, the German name for Franconia, Franken, comes from the dative plural form of Franke, a member of the Germanic tribe known as the Franks. The onomatologists largely follow the book compiled by early medieval scholar, Saint Isidore of Seville. This syllable occurs in the Middle Dutch vrac, avaricious, and old Norwegian frakkr, quick, bold, according to this the Franks were thus the brave ones, courageous ones or audacious ones. From the 9th century the name no longer referred to the whole of France, but increasingly to the region along the River Main. The German word frank in the sense of free is, by contrast, not a description of the Franks. Not until the 15th century was the German word frei borrowed from the French, other large rivers include the upper Werra in Thuringia and the Tauber, as well as the upper Jagst and Kocher streams in the west, both right tributaries of the Neckar. In southern Middle Franconia, the Altmühl flows towards the Danube, the man-made Franconian Lake District has become a popular destination for day-trippers and tourists. The landscape is characterized by numerous Mittelgebirge ranges of the German Central Uplands, to the north rise the Rennsteig ridge of the Thuringian Forest, the Thuringian Highland and the Franconian Forest, the border with the Upper Saxon lands of Thuringia. In the east, the Fichtel Mountains lead to Vogtland, Bohemian Egerland in the Czech Republic, the hills of the Franconian Jura in the south mark the border with the Upper Bavarian region, historical Swabia, and the Danube basin. The northern parts of the Upper Bavarian Eichstätt District, territory of the historical Bishopric of Eichstätt, are counted as part of Franconia. In the west, Franconia proper comprises the Tauber Franconia region along the Tauber river, the states larger Heilbronn-Franken region also includes the adjacent Hohenlohe and Schwäbisch Hall districts. In the city of Heilbronn, beyond the Haller Ebene plateau, furthermore, in those easternmost parts of the Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis which had formerly belonged to the Bishopric of Würzburg, the inhabitants have preserved their Franconian identity. Franconian areas in East Hesse along Spessart and Rhön comprise Gersfeld, the two largest cities of Franconia are Nuremberg and Würzburg. Though located on the periphery of the area, the Nuremberg metropolitan area is often identified as the economic
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House of Hohenzollern
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The House of Hohenzollern is a dynasty of former princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. The family arose in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century, the first ancestor of the Hohenzollerns was mentioned in 1061. They may have derived from the Burchardinger dynasty, the Hohenzollern family split into two branches, the Catholic Swabian branch and the Protestant Franconian branch, which later became the Brandenburg-Prussian branch. The Swabian branch ruled the principalities of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen until 1849, members of the Franconian branch became Margrave of Brandenburg in 1415 and Duke of Prussia in 1525. The Margraviate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia were ruled in personal union after 1618 and were called Brandenburg-Prussia, germanys defeat in World War I in 1918 led to the German Revolution. The Hohenzollerns were overthrown and the Weimar Republic was established, thus bringing an end to the German monarchy, Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia is the current head of the royal Prussian line, while Karl Friedrich, Prince of Hohenzollern is the head of the princely Swabian line. Zollern, from 1218 Hohenzollern, was a county of the Holy Roman Empire and its ruling dynasty was first mentioned in 1061. The Hohenzollerns named their estates after Hohenzollern Castle in the Swabian Alps, the Hohenzollern Castle still belongs to the family today. According to the medieval chronicler Berthold of Reichenau, Burkhard I, Count of Zollern was born before 1025, the Zollerns received the comital title from Emperor Henry V in 1111. As loyal vassals of the Swabian Hohenstaufen dynasty, they were able to enlarge their territory. In 1218 the burgraviate passed to Fredericks younger son Conrad I, he became the ancestor of the Franconian Hohenzollern branch. 1150-1155 and 1160, Gotfried of Zimmern, 4th oldest son of Frederick I before 1171 – c,1200, Frederick III/I Count Frederick III of Zollern was a loyal retainer of the Holy Roman Emperors Frederick Barbarossa and Henry VI. In about 1185 he married Sophia of Raabs, the daughter of Conrad II, after the death of Conrad II who left no male heirs, Frederick III was granted Nuremberg in 1192 as Burgrave Frederick I of Nuremberg-Zollern. Since then the name has been Hohenzollern. The younger brother, Conrad III, received the burgraviate of Nuremberg from his older brother Frederick IV in 1218, members of the Franconian line eventually became the Brandenburg-Prussian branch. The Franconian line later converted to Protestantism, the cadet Franconian branch of the House of Hohenzollern was founded by Conrad I, Burgrave of Nuremberg. Beginning in the 16th century, this branch of the family became Protestant and decided on expansion through marriage, the family supported the Hohenstaufen and Habsburg rulers of the Holy Roman Empire during the 12th to 15th centuries, being rewarded with several territorial grants. He ruled the Margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach after 1398, from 1420, he became Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
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