Coat of arms of Baden-Württemberg

Coat of arms of Baden-Württemberg
Versions
Lesser coat of arms
Details
Armiger	Government of Baden-Württemberg
Adopted	1954
Crest	Six escutcheons of Franconia, Hohenzollern, Baden, Württemberg, Electoral Palatinate and Further Austria
Escutcheon	Or three lions passant sable pale, langued gules
Supporters	Dexter a stag, sinister a griffin.
Compartment	A pedestal sable and or
Predecessors	Coat of arms of Württemberg-Baden, Coat of arms of Württemberg-Hohenzollern, Coat of arms of Baden
Use	The great coat of arms is only used by higher authorities, i.e. the state premier, the government, the ministries, the state's representation to the Federation and to the EU, the Supreme State Court and higher courts, the audit court and the Administrative Districts.

The coat of arms of the German state of Baden-Württemberg features a greater and a lesser version.

History

The coat of arms of Baden-Württemberg was determined after the merging of the former German states Baden, Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern, that were divided due to different occupying forces after World War II, in 1952. The creation of the state was not without controversies and thus only the state colours black and gold were determined in 1952, but not yet the arms. The latter were only regulated in the Gesetz über das Wappen des Landes Baden-Württemberg (Law on the Coat of Arms of Baden-Württemberg) of 3 May 1954. Its use is moreover regulated by an order dated 2 August 1954. It was designed by Fritz Reinhardt.

On base of article 24 clause 2 of the constitution, on April 28. 1954, the parliament has decided the following law, which is hereby proclaimed:

§ 1. (1) The coat of arms of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg shows in a golden shield three pacing black lions with red tongues. It is used as the greater and the smaller coat of arms. (2) In the greater coat of arms of the state, on the shield rests a crown with badges of the historical coats of arms of Badenia, Wuerttemberg, Hohenzollern, Palatinate, Franconia and Further Austria. The shield is held by a golden deer and a golden griffon, which are armored in red. (3) At the smaller coat of arms of the state, on the shield rests a crown of leafs (people’s crown).

—The government of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg:

Dr. Gebhard Müller Fr. Ulrich Simpfendörfer Dr. Frank Leibfried Hohlwegler Fiedler Farny Dichtel Dr. Werber, 

Law concerning the coat of arms of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg of May 3, 1954^[1]

The shield shows three black lions with red tongues on a golden background. The arms refer to the coat of arms of the Duke of Swabia whose House of Hohenstaufen had used these arms. The name of Suabia had long been discussed for use with the newly created state but it failed to be adopted due to resistance from parts of Baden.

Greater coat of arms

The six small coat of arms at the top stand for the origins of parts of Baden-Württemberg. They are from left to right:

• Franconia: for former Franconian regions in the northeast

It shows the coat of arms of Franconia, called the Fränkischer Rechen (Franconian rake). This field represents Tauberfranken, the region around the river Tauber in the northeastern part of Baden-Württemberg. It was part of the dukedom of Franconia. While the main part of Franconia became part of Bavaria, this area became separated and part of Baden-Württemberg. The coat of arms is charged with three white pikes on a red field. This was the coat of arms of the prince-bishops of Würzburg, who were also dukes of Franconia.^[2]

• House of Hohenzollern: for the Province of Hohenzollern

The second shield shows the coat of arms of the House of Hohenzollern. It represents a region north of lake Constance around Hohenzollern castle, the ancestral seat of the House of Hohenzollern. The coat of arms of Hohenzollern is parted per cross. the first and third field are empty shields of white (silver) color, the second and fourth shield are painted in black.

• Coat of arms of Baden: for Baden

The third shield shows the coat of arms of Baden, a red bend on a golden shield. This part of the coat of arms of Baden-Württemberg represents the former Margraviate and Grand Duchy of Baden,^[3] the western part of Baden-Württemberg. As one of the two biggest predecessors of Baden-Württemberg, also part of the state’s name, this shield is about 10 percent bigger than the others.

• Coat of arms of Württemberg for Württemberg

The fourth shield shows the coat of arms of Württemberg. On a golden shield, there are three superposed deer antlers. This shield represents the Region of Württemberg,^[3] the other main part of the state, situated in the eastern part. Because of the same reasons, it has the same size as the coat of arms of Badenia.

• Palatinate: for the region around Mannheim and Heidelberg

The fifth shield shows the coat of arms of the Elector Palatinate. This field represents those parts of former Electoral Palatinate^[3], on the right side of river Rhine. The black field is charged with a yellow lion rampant, claws and tongue are painted in red.

• Austria: for Further Austria in the south

The sixth shield shows the coat of arms of Further Austria, a shield gules, party per fess argent.^[3] This shield represents the former possessions of the house of Habsburg, the family of the former Austrian Emperors.

Thereby the arms of Baden and Württemberg are slightly elevated. The supporters are a stag to the left representing Württemberg and a griffin to the right representing Baden. The supporters were the charges in the arms of the pre-war states of Baden and Württemberg. They are positioned on a pedestal of black and gold which is not further mentioned in the law about the arms.

The great coat of arms is only used by higher authorities, i.e. the state premier, the government, the ministries, the state's representation to the Federation and to the EU, the Supreme State Court and higher courts, the audit court and the Administrative Districts.

Lesser arms

The lesser coat of arms features the shield topped with crown styled like leaves that symbolises the people's sovereignty after the abolishment of monarchy in Germany. The lesser arms are used by all state authorities that do not employ the great coat of arms, as well as by those notaries that are civil servants.

References

1. ^ Der Landtag des Landes Baden Württemberg (1967). "Gesetz über das Wappen des Landes Baden-Württemberg vom 3. Mai 1954". Gesetzblatt für Baden-Württemberg: pp. 69. http://www.verfassungen.de/de/bw/bw-wappengesetz54.htm. 
2. ^ Scheufele, Karl Michael. "Coat of Arms and Flags". Bayerische Staatskanzlei. Archived from the original on 2007-10-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20071027112919/http://www.bayern.de/fsp/engl/arms.html. Retrieved 2007-07-25. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Schiering, Timo; Christian Kübrich (2005). "Die Wappen der Deutschen Bundesländer". Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg; Fakultät GGeo; Lehrstuhl für Historische Hilfswissenschaften. http://web.uni-bamberg.de/ggeo/hilfswissenschaften/studarb/HP%20HIW/4.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 

• Landesverfassung, Namen und Wappen des neuen Bundeslandes Landeszentrale für politische Bildung (German)
• Baden-württembergische Befindlichkeiten. Das Land und seine Symbolik. ed. Petra Schön, Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart, 2002. (German)
• Akten zur Entstehung des Landeswappens(Item EA 99/002 at Baden-Württemberg State Archives; digital images of the original draft can be found here. (German)

See also

• Origin of the coats of arms of German federal states.