Coat of arms of Thuringia

Coat of arms of Thuringia
Details
Adopted	1990
Escutcheon	Azure, a lion rampant barry of eight Gules and Argent, crowned and armed Or, surrounded by eight mullets Argent

This article is about the coat of arms of the German state of Thuringia.

Description

The coat of arms can be blazoned Azure, a lion rampant barry of eight Gules and Argent, crowned and armed Or, surrounded by eight mullets Argent.^[1] This can be interpreted as a blue field with a lion of eight horizontal red-and-white-stripes, with a gold crown and claws, with eight white/silver stars. Some people believe the stars represent eight historical divisions of the state.^[1]

State of Thuringia (1920 - 1933)

Arms of 1920

The state of Thuringia was created in 1920 by uniting the seven Thuringian counties Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Gotha, Saxe-Altenburg, Reuss Elder Line, Reuss Younger Line, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen and Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. The northern part of today's Thuringia was part of Prussia (Erfurt governorate) and therefore not represented in this coat of arms. Inspired by the American flag (by featuring one star for each of its counties), the shield is gules, seven mullets of six points argent - seven six-pointed stars on a red background.^[2] It was used on the state flag of that period.^[2] The coat of arms was used until 1933, when the NSDAP government created a new coat of arms.

Landgraves of Thuringia

The arms of the landgraves of Thuringia

In 1040, the house of the Ludowinger from Upper Franconia, gained rule over territories in the north of Thuringia, which then were part of the dukedom of Saxony. The following generations of the house gained control of Thuringia and northern Hesse and became counts palatine of Saxony. In 1137 the Margraves became Landgraves, a position comparable to a duke. Now their rule was immediate to the Empire. In 1247 the Ludowingers vanished. Their rule in Thuringia was succeeded by the Saxon house of Wettin. The arms, used by Landgrave Conrad in 13th century, is azure, a crowned lion rampant barry of eight argent and gules, crown and claws or.

Legal position

It was included in the Gesetz über die Hoheitszeichen (Law on the Regional Emblems) of 30 January 1991,^[3] which came into law retrospectively to 3 October 1990.^[3] The current law, Verordnung zur Ausführung des Gesetzes über die Hoheitszeichen des Landes prescribed its use, including banning use by third parties,^[4] use of the coat of arms on the seal^[4] and use of the arms on the State flag.^[4]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Thuringia (Germany) - Coat of arms". Flags of the World. 7 Oct 2001. http://flagspot.net/flags/de-th.html. Retrieved 2009-04-26. 
2. ^ ^{a b} State of Thuringia at Flags of the World Accessed 2009-05-16.
3. ^ ^{a b} Gesetz über die Hoheitszeichen des Landes Thüringen (Law on the regional emblems of the Land of Thuringia. Accessed 2009-04-26. (German)
4. ^ ^{a b c} Verordnung zur Ausführung des Gesetzes über die Hoheitszeichen des Landes (Regulation for the implementation of the law on the regional emblem of the state). Accessed 2009-04-26. (German)

See also

• Coat of arms of Prussia
• Coat of arms of Germany
• Coat of arms of Hesse, which has a similar appearance.
• Origin of the coats of arms of German federal states.