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Rathenow City (Germany)

Stadt Rathenow, Landkreis Havelland, Brandenburg

3:5

image by Stefan Schwoon, 11 Apr 2001

Rathenow City

Rathenow Flag
Rathenow Banner
Rathenow Decorative Banner

Rathenow Flag

Rathenow Coat of Arms

See also:

Rathenow City

Rathenow, about 30,000 inhabitants is the seat of Havelland County west of Berlin.
Source: Günther 1995
Stefan Schwoon, 11 Apr 2001

Rathenow Flag

It is an armourial flag (banner of arms).
Source: Günther 1995
Stefan Schwoon, 11 Apr 2001

Rathenow Banner

5:2

image by Jörg Majewski, 16 Apr 2019

It is a banner of arms.
Source: this online catalogue
Jörg Majewski, 16 Apr 2019

Rathenow Decorative Banner

5:2 image by Stefan Schwoon, 11 Apr 2001

A decorative banner is also used with vertical stripes in colours red-white-blue-white-red below a white bannerhead with arms without shield.
Sources: Günther 1995
Stefan Schwoon, 11 Apr 2001

Rathenow Flag (1939 - 1950)

3:5 image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 Dec 2019

Rathenow had been a county-free city from 1925 until 1950, when it was incorporated into the namesake county, which later became a part of Havelland County. The flag was a red-white horizontal bicolour with centred arms. The flag was adopted in 1939 with the colours of Brandenburg and was in use probably until 1950.
Source: Günther 1995 and Erwin Günther:"Wappen und Flaggen der Stadt- und Landkreise Brandenburgs und der ehemaligen Grenzmark Posen-Westpreußen", Erfurt 1998, p.64
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 Dec 2019

Rathenow Coat of Arms

Shield Argent, a eagle's head Gules, armed Or and tongued Gules, surrounded by three facetted 6-point stars Azure.
Meaning:
The oldest city seal from 1347, kept in the Main State Archive of Brandenburg, displayed a castle with two embattled towers, between the towers in a field chequered a man in clad armour issuant from the wall. The man is considered to be the Margrave of Brandenburg as local ruler of the city. He holds a lance in his right hand and a shield, charged with an eagle, in his left hand. Acc. to Otto Hupp existed a seal with the same pattern already in 1295. The current pattern with eagle and three stars appeared first in a secret seal from 1394. In the 15th century local seals displayed a complete eagle with a coronet in chief, e.g. a seal from 1429 in the city archive and arms in the armourial of Siebmacher (1605). In the 16th century the armed man was transformed into an angel holding a shield charged with an eagle. This pattern appeared first on a seal from 1513 with prints from 1537. The angel pattern prevailed until 1939, sometimes with additional wreaths of oak and vine. Due to a suggestion of the Prussian Secret State Archive the city in 1939 applied for new arms, based on the seal from 1394. The draft was redesigned by Ottfried Neubecker. The eagle's head is a differentiation of the arms of Brandenburg, the stars are mere decorating ornaments filling empty space.
Source: city webpage
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 Apr 2019

The arms were confirmed on 29 June 1939 by province governor (Oberpräsident) of Mark Brandenburg. The current arms were approved on 18 March 1993. According to Stefan Schwoon the flag was introduced in 1990.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 8 Apr 2019

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