Jever City (Germany)

Stadt Jever (Friesland County, Lower Saxony)

Last modified: 2016-11-03 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: niedersachsen | jever | city gate(white) | lion(yellow) | letters(dvmg) |
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5:2 image by Stefan Schwoon, 29 Mar 2001

• Description of Banner
• Description of former Banner of Arms (approx. 1925)

See also:

• County and Municipal Flags (Lower Saxony / Niedersachsen, Germany)
• Lordship of Jever until 1818
• Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen, Germany)
• Germany

Blue-white with the arms. All the flags I have seen in the town were of the vertical variant. Keyser 1939-1974 has the following to say about Jever's flag (translated and slightly abbreviated):

The flag of the old city appears to have been gold-red, the ships of Jever still flew this flag in the second half of the 16th century. Later, the colours must have been blue-yellow; the colours now in use (blue-white) are derived from the uniform of Zerbst.

From Ralf Hartemink's website:

(...) The present arms are based on the seal made in 1572, at the same time when the city rights were confirmed. The arms show a city wall with three towers, with in the gate a lion. The lion is derived from the arms of the Ostring kin, who ruled the city until 1583. The letters "DVMG" stand for Dorch Vroichen Maria Gnade, which means "By Favour of Lady Mary", refering to Maria Ostring, who confirmed the city rights.

Literature: Stadler 1970, p.51.

With regard to older flags of Jever, Germany, you show no description of an old flag from Jever, Germany that I have in my possession.
Kees Deswart, 3 July 2016

I can't confirm, whether it is an official former city banner or not. But according to Ralf Hartemink's website this version of coat of arms was in use approx. 1925. Santiago Dotor has correctly pointed out that the inscription of current arms is dedicated to Lady Maria, the last chieftain of the Ostring kin. This inscription can also be interpreted as "By grace (or merced) of Virgen Mary", then having been dedicated to Our Lady of Grace (St. Mary). According to Stadler 1970 there had however been a former seal from 1347, displaying St. Cyriakus, attributed with book and palm leaf. When the city had been overtaken by the Counts of Oldenburg in 1583, the new seal displayed the arms of the counts and the lion of the Ostrings. The shield then was crested by ostrich feathers. The colours of the flag are those from the uniforms of the soldiers of Princes of Anhalt-Zerbst, who ruled the city from 1677 to 1797, when the city was ruled by Russia. It remained there, despite of an Napoleonic intermezzo, until 1818, when it was given back to Oldenburg.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 3 Nov 2016