Riesa City (Germany)

Stadt Riesa, Landkreis Meißen, Sachsen

Last modified: 2022-11-19 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: riesa | giant | anchor | rose(red) | panorama |
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• Riesa City
• Riesa Banner
• Riesa Banner 1889
• Riesa Banner 1915
• Riesa Banner 1934
• Riesa Ceremonial Flag
• Riesa Coat of Arms
• Riesa Greater Coat of Arms

• Meißen County (Saxony, Germany)
• County and Municipal Flags (Saxony / Sachsen)
• Saxony ( Sachsen)
• Germany

Riesa City

Riesa Banner

It is a blue-white-blue horizontal bicolour with ratio of stripes 1:2:1. The coat of arms is shifted towards the top in the white stripe.
Sources: this online catalogue and
presentation of Klaus Günther, held on DVT 29 in Hamburg on 16 October 2021
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 13 Nov 2022

Riesa Banner 1889

It was a red-white-blue vertical tricolour.
Source: presentation of Klaus Günther, held on DVT 29 in Hamburg on 16 October 2021
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 13 Nov 2022

Riesa Banner 1915

It was a blue-white-blue vertical triband.
Source: presentation of Klaus Günther, held on DVT 29 in Hamburg on 16 October 2021
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 13 Nov 2022

Riesa Banner 1934

It was a blue-white-blue vertical triband with ratio of stripes 1:2:1. The greater coat of arms was shifted towards the top in the white stripe.
Source: presentation of Klaus Günther, held on DVT 29 in Hamburg on 16 October 2021
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 13 Nov 2022

Riesa Ceremonial Flag

It is a blue-white-blue horizontal triband with ratio of stripes 1:2:1 and centred greater coat of arms is slightly exceeding the white stripe.
Source: presentation of Klaus Günther, held on DVT 29 in Hamburg on 16 October 2021
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 13 Nov 2022

Riesa Coat of Arms

Shield parted per fess; above parted per pale, at dexter Argent a heraldic rose Gules seeded Or and barbed Vert, at sinister Gules an anchor Or; beneath Argent, on base Vert buildings and castle Argent, all with roofs Gules.
Meaning:
The Bishopric of Naumburg owned the area since 1064. In 1119 Bishop Dietrich I of Naumburg founded the Benedictine Riesa Monastery, the oldest in the Margraviate of Meißen. Around 1170 it was transformed to a nunnery, which became manorial lord of various surrounding villages. It was secularised in 1542. The settlement near the nunnery was called a market town in 1542 and gained city rights on 28 July 1623, among other privileges proper city arms were granted, which displayed a green linden on a silver shield. Riesa was treated however as a simple rural municipality for a long time. It gained finally the status of a city in 1859. The lower half shows a former panorama of the city including the local castle, which belonged to the Lords of Welck until 1863. The upper dexter quarter displays their family arms. The anchor is symbolising steam boat shipping on the Elbe River, which developed since the 19th century.
Source: Bensing et alii 1984, pp. 377-379
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 13 Nov 2022

Riesa Greater Coat of Arms

The shield of the lesser arms is crested by a savage issuant proper with loincloth and coronet of leaves Vert, holding a mace Maron by his dexter hand leaning on his shoulder. The shield is flanked by scarves Azure.
Meaning:
The savage here is called a giant (German: Riese) and thus canting. His origin is based on a legend as follows, which had been written down first in 1785 by Reverend Johann Friedrich Ursinus: Wandering along a giant reached the banks of the Elbe River and decided to take a break. Sitting down he felt a squeeze in his boots, caused by sand and stones in them. He poured them all out and created a hill by them, on which the first houses of the village had been built.
Source: German WIKIPEDIA
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 13 Nov 2022

The banner was approved in 1989. The current version of the arms is in use since 1840.
Klaus-Michael Schneider,

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