Last modified: 2017-11-11 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: gruenberg | horse | knight |
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![[Grünberg city banner]](../images/d/de-gi-gr_.gif)
5:2 image by Jörg Majewski, 28 Aug 2006
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Banner:
It is a red-white-blue vertical tricolour. The coat of arms is shifted to the top.
inhabitants 14,253
Gießen county
district Gießen , state Hesse
flag adopted unknown
details based on the presentations of Klaus Günther, with kind permission
The municipality flags are shown mostly in banner form in Hesse.
Jörg Majewski, 28 Aug 2006
The arms of Grünberg have, as far as I know, never officially been granted. The arms show a Count of Thüringen as a knight holding a shield with his arms and a banner.
The oldest seal of the city dates from 1222 and shows a simple lion, probably the lion of Thüringen. In 1244 the above composition appeared, as the area including the city belonged to Thüringen. Since 1605 the image is also used as the city arms, not only on the seals. The seals of the city in the meantime displayed mosly just the lion of Hesse, or the complete arms (incl. crest and supporters) of the Counts of Hesse.
In the late 19th century and 20th century the matter becomes more complex. Otto Hupp displayed in the early 20th century only the lion of Hesse as city arms.
In 1904 it was mentioned that the knight, but without inescutcheon, was part of the official arms of the city. However, the city also used the lion of Hesse, or the arms as shown above with the knight holding the shield.
In the 1950s new arms for the city were proposed, which combined a demi-lion of Hesse in the upper half, and in the lower half a new symbol, a canting green triplemount in a golden field (Grünberg means green-mountain). These arms never had any official status though. Since the 1960s the city uses the arms as displayed above.
It is thus not known, when the background colour was changed to Argent, realized as white. Horse and flag are either Argent, realized as grey as displayed by Jörg Majewski, which would break heraldic rules, or Sable.
Sources: Stadler 1967, p.43 and this photo
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 17 Mar 2017
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