Schmalkalden City (Germany)

Stadt Schmalkalden, Landkreis Schmalkalden-Meiningen, Thüringen

Last modified: 2021-10-09 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: schmalkalden | mittelstille | castle | hen | lion(barry) | fess(wavy) | leaves(2) |
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5:2 image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 Oct 2021

5:2 image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 Oct 2021

5:2 image by Stefan Schwoon, 2 Oct 2021

• Schmalkalden City
• Schmalkalden Banner
• Schmalkalden Coat of Arms
• Mittelstille Borough
• Mittelstille Banner
• Mittelstille Coat of Arms

• Schmalkalden-Meiningen County (Landkreis Schmalkalden-Meiningen)
• County and Municipal Flags (Thuringia / Thüringen)
• Thuringia (Thüringen, Germany)
• Germany

Schmalkalden City

Schmalkalden Banner

It is either a blue-white vertical bicolour (see left image above) or a blue-white-red vertical tricolour (see central image above). The coat of arms of both is shifted towards the top. Or it is a plain blue-white-red vertical tricolour (see right image above).
Sources:
1) this online catalogue
2) this online catalogue
3) Stefan Schwoon's database
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 Oct 2021

Schmalkalden Coat of Arms

Shield Gules a castle Argent with two towers, roofs Azure topped by balls Or, windows Sable and an open port Gules with portcullis Or, charged with an inescutcheon parted per pale, at dexter Or a hen statant Sable armed Gules on top of a triplemount issuant Vert, at sinister Azure a lion rampant barry of eight of Gules and Argent crowned Or.
Meaning:
In 874 the village was donated to the Fulda Abbey. It was a possession of the Bishopric of Würzburg since 1057. The Landgraves of Thüringen acquired local estates since the 12th century. In 1227 Schmalkalden was mentioned as a city and in 1247 it was acquired by the Counts of Henneberg. In 1360 it became a condominion of the counts and theLandgraves of Hessen, who gained complete control since 1583. In 1866 the area was ceded to Prussia.
The arms remained basically the same, despite of minor differences of the castle, such as the colours of the roofs, topped sometimes by flags instead of balls and the colour of the portcullis. Through the centuries the pattern of the inescutcheon changed due to changes of the local rulers. Temporarily there had been an additional black initial "S" on central chief. The first city seal from 1337 displayed hen and triplemount between two towers. Between 1360 and 1583 the lion of Hessen was added. After the extinction of the Counts of Henneberg in 1583 the inescutcheon displayed only the lion. This version of the arms was used in times of the GDR until 1989. In between however the pattern of the inescutcheon changed frequently. E.g. in 1730 and 1884 it was a quartered shield, displaying the Hessen arms in the 1st quarter and the Henneberg arms in the 2nd quarter, the arms of the County of Ziegenhain, belonging to Hessen,Or with chief Sable a star Argent, in the 3rd quarter and in the 4th quarter parted per fess above Or the double-headed imperial eagle Sable, beneath chequered of Gules and Argent, also referring to the henneberg kin as reeves and Burgraves of Würzburg.
Sources: Bensing et alii 1984, pp.408-409, §2(1) of local Hauptsatzung, version, 14 October 1994 and Ralf Hartemink's webpage
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 Oct 2021

The current arms were adopted in 1993.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 Oct 2021

Mittelstille Borough

Mittelstille Banner

It was a yellow-blue vertical bicolour. The coat of arms was shifted towards the top.
Source: this online catalogue
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 Oct 2021

Mittelstille Coat of Arms

Shield parted by two chevrons in fess of Argent and Gules, the latter charged with an oak leaf Or at dexter and a beech leaf Or at sinister, base Or a fess wavy Azure.
Meaning:
The fess wavy is a representation of the name giving Stille, a creek, the leaves are alluding to the location in the Thüringer Wald, a forest. The partition by chevrons can be interpreted as a differentiation of a Franconian rake.
Source: Hartmut Ulle: "Neues Thüringer Wappenbuch", vol. 2, Erfurt 1997
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 Oct 2021

Flag, banner and arms were approved on 9 May 1994.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 2 Oct 2021

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