Last modified: 2020-04-14 by 
klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: vorpommern-ruegen | nordvorpommern | ruegen(county) | ribnitz-damgarten(county) | griffin(black) | griffin(yellow) | griffin(red) | demi-lion | billet | inescutcheon | bull(head) |
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![[Vorpommern-Rügen County flag]](../images/d/de-vr.gif) 3:5  image by Jörg Majewski and modified by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 6 Apr 2020
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![[Vorpommern-Rügen County flag variant]](../images/d/de-vr2.gif) 3:5 image by Jörg Majewski, 25 Mar 2020 |
On 4 September 2011 Rügen county, Nordvorpommern county and the hansa city of Stralsund merged. The name of the new county is Vorpommern-Rügen county, the seat of the county is Stralsund.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 Nov 2017
It is a blue-yellow bicolour with centred arms. That is, what the source says and it is confirmed by Klaus Günther and probably is the approved version (see left image above), but there is also a flag in use with a white fimbriation between the blue and the yellow stripe (see right image above).
Sources: left image provided per email by Klaus Günther on 2 April 2020 and right image based on photo made on the pier of Binz on 16 April 2016 by Klaus-Michael Schneider
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 6 Apr 2020
Shield Or parted per pale; at dexter a griffin rampant Sable tongued Gules; at sinister a demi-lion rampant double queued Sable, crowned, armed and tongued Gules and issuant from a stepped gable made of five billets Gules, on honour point an inescutcheon Gules charged with a crosslet patty Argent over an arrowhead of the same, base Azure charged with a griffin passant Or tongued Gules.
Meaning:
The charges are representing the former entities as follows: The inescutcheon is displaying the arms of the Hanseatic City of Stralsund. The demi-lion on a gable is displaying the arms of former Rügen County, both griffins are taken from the arms of former Nordvorpommern County, where both had been rampant and addorsed. The yellow griffin of the Lordship of Rostock has moved to the base and turned to a griffin passant like that one in the city arms of Rostock.
Source: German WIKIPEDIA
Klaus-Michael Schneider,
The coat of arms was approved on 7 March 2013 and the flag on 10 October 2013 by Minister of Interior of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and published in the Municipal Roll of Arms Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as no.345.
Klaus-Michael Schneider,
![[Nordvorpommern County flag (until 2011)]](../images/d/de-vr-c1.gif)
2:3 image by Andy Weir
Nordvorpommern is the region between Rostock and Greifswald. Its flag is a banner of arms.
Source: Hans-Heinz Schütt:"Auf Schild und Flagge" , Schwerin 2011, p.390this online catalogue
Stefan Schwoon, 3 Feb 2001
Parted per pale of blue and golden, a golden griffin in blue and a black griffin in gold.
Meaning:
The griffins represent the previous Lordships of Barth and Rostock.
Source: German WIKIPEDIA
Jarig Bakker, 22 Nov 2000
Flag and arms were approved on 3 December 1997 by Minister of Interior of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and published in the Municipal Roll of Arms Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as no.142
Stefan Schwoon, 3 Feb 2001
![[Rügen county flag]](../images/d/de-vr-c2.gif)
3:5 
image by Stefan Schwoon, 3 Feb 2001
It is an armourial flag (banner of arms).
Source: Linder and Olzog 1996
Stefan Schwoon, 3 Feb 2001
Shield parted per fess; above Or a demi-lion rampant double queued issuant, crowned, armed and tongued Gules, beneath Azure a stepped gable made of five billets Gules in chevron.
Meaning:
The arms are based on the former county arms, which were approved in 1937 and designed by Otto Hupp. The pattern remained basically the same. Those arms were in use even after 1945 probably until 1952, when local arms were abolished in the GDR. It displays the arms of the Princes of Rügen, who ruled the island from 1168 until 1325 after the conquest and Christianisation by Denmark. To their fiefdom belonged besides the island also parts of the mainland including the lordships of Barth, Grimmen, Tribsees and Loitz. It is assumed that the princes replaced the Pomeranian griffin by a lion in order to stress their role as Danish vassals. After the princes became extinct, the island became a possession of the Dukes of Pommern. The arms in the 15th and 16th century were also part of the arms of the dukes having five and later nine quarters. The red coronet is a so called people's coronet (German: Volkskrone) and is symbolising the sovereignty of the people.
Sources: Linder and Olzog 1996 and Hans-Heinz Schütt:"Auf Schild und Flagge" , Schwerin 2011, pp.380-381
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 6 Apr 2020
The coat of arms was approved on 18 January 1993 and the flag on 7 December 1995 by Minister of Interior of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and published in the Municipal Roll of Arms Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as no.68
Stefan Schwoon, 3 Feb 2001
![[Rügen County white flag]](../images/d/de-vr-c2w.gif)
3:5 image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 3 Jan 2009
It is a white flag with centred county arms.
Source: I spotted this flag in front of "Haus des Kurgastes" in Ostseebad Binz and at the local amusement pier as well on 3 January 2008.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 3 Jan 2009
![[Rügen County blue flag]](../images/d/de-vr-c2b.gif)
3:5 image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 3 Jan 2009
It is a blue flag with county arms slightly shifted to the top and underlined by yellow unserifed capitals "RÜGEN".
Source: I spotted this flag in Ostseebad Binz on 18 December 2008.
The status of both flags is not clear to me. The white flag seemed to be somehow official, because both flags were hoisted in a public area. In December 2008 however both flags had been replaced by municipality flags of Binz.
But the blue flag might be a tourist flag, shown by the locals at their private properties.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 3 Jan 2009
![[Ribnitz-Damgarten county flag (1990 - 1991)]](../images/d/de-vr-c3-90.gif) 3:5 image by Falko Schmidt and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2020 |
![[Ribnitz-Damgarten county flag (1991 - 1992/1994)]](../images/d/de-vr-c3-91.gif) 3:5 image by Falko Schmidt and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2020 |
It was a blue flag with centred arms, superimposing a central horizontal stripe fimbriated white with 2/7 of total height. The stripe is a blue-yellow-red tricolour at hoist and a blue-white bicolour at fly (see left image above).
Source: painting of Falko Schmidt, 1999
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2020
It had basically the same pattern like the 1st flag. Just the centred arms had changed (see right image above).
Source: painting of Falko Schmidt, 1999
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2020
The 1st coat of arms had a shield parted per bend; beneath right barry of three of Gules, Or and Azure, over all a bull's head caboshed Sable, crowned Or, armed Argent and tongued Gules; above left parted per fess of Azure and Argent, over all a griffin rampant Gules armed Or.
The 2nd coat of arms had a shield parted by a bend wavy Azure, beneath right Or a bull's head caboshed Sable, crowned Or, armed Argent and tongued Gules; above left Argent a griffin rampant Gules armed Or.
Meaning:
Both flags refer to the fact that the Mecklenburgian county of Ribnitz was forced to merge with the Pomeranian county of Damgarten in 1952. On the first arms more or less the provisional flags from 1990 of Mecklenburg (beneath right) and Vorpommern (above left) were combined, however not matching heraldic rules. Thus the arms were erplaced after one year by the new arms, displaying the historical coats of arms without shields of Mecklenburg and Pommern instead, parted by a blue bend wavy, symbolising the Recknitz River, the historical border between both parts. Also the colours of the central stripes of both flags are those Mecklenburg at hoist and of Pommern at fly.
Sources: paintings by Falko Schmidt, based on a description, given by letter from Erwin Günther and Hans-Heinz Schütt:"Auf Schild und Flagge" , Schwerin 2011, pp.424-425
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2020
According to Falko Schmidt the 1st flag was in use from 4 July 1990 and replaced by the 2nd flag on 13 February 1991. The latter was in use until 4 March 1992. According to Hans-Heinz Schütt however the 2nd arms were approved on 23 March 1992 by Minister of Interior of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and published in the Municipal Roll of Arms Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as no.29 and abolished on 12 June 1994.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 Apr 2020
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