Bremen Historical Flags - part 1: 1350-1891 (Germany)

Historische Bremer Flaggen - Teil 1

Last modified: 2014-06-05 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: bremen | banner of arms | key | hoist(chequy) | canton(white) | panel (white) | stripes(8) | stripes(9) | stripes(14) |
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• Introduction
• Banner-of-Arms (reported 1350)
• Hanging Flag 14th Century
• 17th Century Flag (reported 1685, 1700 and 1705)
• Bremen 1695
• 1693-1891 Flag, probably mistaken (reported 1716, 1750 and 1805)
• 18th Century Flag (reported 1769)
• Pre-1891 Flag (reported 1862)
• State Ensign 1815-1891 (reported 1862)
• Pre-1891 Flag (reported 1865)
• State Flag 1871 and 1921

See also:

• Historical Flags (Bremen)
• Hanseatic Cities (Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland)
• Index of all German Pages
• Germany

Banner-of-Arms

Reported 1350

Red flag with white key, diagonal with handle pointed toward lower fly (banner of arms).
Norman Martin, 25 Feb 1998

Hanging Flag 14th Century

Znamierowski 1999 shows several interesting flags of the Port Cities of northern Europe. These are derived from gonfanons, originally red in color.
The flags, in a banner form [i.e. hanging flags], were flown from the stern of the vessels, the mast carrying the gonfanon of the colours. The oldest of the series, from the mid-13th century, that of Hamburg, was followed among others by Bremen in the 14th century.
Phil Nelson, 20 Feb 2000

Reported 1685, 1700 and 1705

Chequey 7 by 6 red-white. Illustrated National Geographic 1917 p. 371
Norman Martin, 25 Feb 1998

Bremen 1695

Bremen 1695: The flag has 9 horizontal stripes in alternating colours red and white, starting with a red stripe at the top end and ending with another red stripe at the bottom end as well. At the hoist there is the typical edge at the hoist consisting of 2 vertical red-white chequered stripes of other flags of Bremen and Wismar.
Source:
Poster entitled: "Die geschichtliche Entwicklung der als deutsche Nationalflaggen auf See gefahrenen und von den seefahrenden Nationen anerkannten deutschen Kriegs- und Handelsflaggen",
[engl: "The historical evolution of those German national flags used on ships and recognized as German war flags or merchant flags by the naval nations",
edited by Deutsches Schifffahrtsmuseum Bremerhaven, 1981, based on an original version of Kapitän zur See a.D. Karl Schultz, all flags on the poster are painted by E. Paschke.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 16 Oct 2007

Flag 1693-1891, probably mistaken

Reported 1716, 1750 and 1805

Horizontally striped, 9 stripes, red and white. In the hoist two vertical rows of 9 squares each, the first alternately red-white, the second alternately white-red.
Norman Martin, 25 Feb 1998

Schurdel 1995 implies the 9-striped flag to be in error, probably by the Allard 1695 flag chart, and then copied in other flag charts for over a century, since he states that all documents and ship paintings always have an even number of stripes.
Norman Martin, 14 Sep 2000

According to Schurdel 1995 and Stadler 1966 the first proven occurrence of the current civil flag dates from 1691, and it has been used continuously since then in Bremen. br>Marcus Schmöger, 21 Sep 2001

18th Century Flag

Reported 1769

Four horizontal stripes blue-white.
Norman Martin, 25 Feb 1998

Pre-1891 Flag

Reported 1862

Like the 1891 Civil Ensign, except white on red.
Norman Martin, 25 Feb 1998

State Ensign 1815-1891

Reported 1862

Pre-1891 Flag

Reported 1865

Like the 1693-1891 flag, except 14 stripes.
Norman Martin, 25 Feb 1998

State Flag 1871 and 1921

Like the State Flag 1891, but with the crowned middle arms. Readopted 1947. Present rule allows this pattern only with 8 stripes.
Norman Martin, 25 February 1998

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