Last modified: 2020-06-11 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: leutkirch | church | inescutcheon | eagle(black) |
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It is a celestial blue - yellow vertical bicolour. The coat of arms is shifted to the top.
Source: Stefan Schwoon spotted this banner on 13 July 2003 at the local town hall.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 31 Oct 2013
In a celestial blue child is a silver (= white) church with port and windows black, topped by red roofs. The church has one main tower on the dexter side and two small towers at the sinister side. The main tower is topped by a golden (= yellow) cross, the other towers by balls of the same colour. A golden (= yellow) inescutcheon, which displays a black double-headed eagle, is impending above the church.
Meaning:
The church (German: Kirche) is a canting element. The local word for a parish church is "Leutkirche", which is literally a church ringing bells. In the early 13th century a settlement was built around the St.Martin Church. In 1235 Leutkirch became a royal possession. In 1293 it gained the title of a free imperial city from King Adolf of Nassau and in 1397 the King's ban for blood courts. Leutkirch kept these rights until 1802, which is symbolized by the inescutcheon, displaying the imperial eagle. The eagle appeared first on a seal from 1392. On a seal from 1500 the church is facing the opposite direction, on a seal from 1454 as well as some later seals the eagle is shown without a shield. Similarly, the oldest seals only showed the older one-headed eagle, later shields displayed the double-headed eagle. In the 18th century the seals started to show different patterns; on a seal from 1763 the church is shown on a shield in front of the eagle, which thus acts as supporter. When Leutkirch became part of Bayern, the eagle was replaced by the imitial "L" in 1805, which was again removed on a seal from 1818. On another seal from the same time (1810) Leutkirch was by then part of Württemberg, the arms displayed a shield divided per pale with the church on the dexter half, and the three attires of Württemberg on the sinister half. In the late 19th century the old pattern was restored. The blue colour is proven since the 17th century.
Sources: Stadler 1971, p.66 and Eberhard Gönner and Heinz Bardua: "Wappenbuch des Landkreises Wangen", Stuttgart 1972
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 31 Oct 2013
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