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Dortmund City (Germany)

Stadt Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen

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image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 7 Jul 2007

Dortmund City

Dortmund plain Flag
Dortmund Flag with Coat of Arms
Dortmund Coat of Arms

See also:

Northrhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany)
Germany

Dortmund City

Dortmund plain Flag

It is a red over white horizontal bicolour.
Meaning:
According to Veddeler 2003, p.117 the origin of the colours is not clear, because they don't appear in the coat of arms. There is however some speculation, that the city, which had been the most important city of Hansa league in the region, uses the colours of the league.
Sources: Veddeler 2003, p.371 and Stadler 1972, p.34
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 7 July 2007 / 9 June 2010

Dortmund Flag with Coat of Arms

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image by Stefan Schwoon, 23 Feb 2001

It is a red over white horizontal bicolour with centred arms.
Stefan Schwoon, 23 Feb 2001

Dortmund Coat of Arms

Red and white are the the colours of the Hanseatic league. Dortmund was one of its members - Freie Reichs- und Hansestadt Dortmund, as it was used to be called. The arms come from its time as a Free Imperial City within the Empire (freie Reichsstadt), which explains the black eagle on gold, and is also heraldically the same as the present arms of Germany (Bundeswappen), but is usually displayed in another design. The flag is displayed e.g. in the town hall of Dortmund. I have also seen it as a jack on a yacht in Stockholm harbour.
Meaning:
Dortmund is an old city and received city rights in the early 13th century. The city was a Free Imperial City and was thus entitled to use the Imperial Eagle in its arms and seals. (...) Contrary to the Imperial arms, the field was generally shown as silver. In 1871 the arms were granted with two lions as supporters and a mural crown. The supporters were again removed in 1888, the crown in 1908. In 1946 the silver field was finally changed to gold, the imperial (but not historical) colour.
Source: Stadler 1972, p.34
Santiago Dotor, 19 Dec 2001 and Elias Granqvist, 21 Oct 2000 / 13 July 2007

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