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Coat of arms of Prussia

The state ofPrussiadeveloped from theState of the Teutonic Order.The original flag of theTeutonic Knightshad been a black cross on a white flag. EmperorFrederick IIin 1229 granted them the right to use the blackEagleof theHoly Roman Empire.[citation needed]This "Prussian Eagle" remained the coats of arms of the successive Prussian statesuntil 1947.

Late Medieval and Early Modern Prussia

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Further information:Duchy of Prussia

Kingdom of Prussia

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Further information:Kingdom of Prussia
  • Lesser Arms of the Prince-Elector ofBrandenburgin 1686
  • Arms of the Prince-Elector ofBrandenburgin 1686
  • Prussian arms of 1702
  • Royal arms after a woodcut from 1709

On 27 January 1701, KingFrederick Ichanged his arms as prince-elector of Brandenburg. The older arms of the electors of Brandenburg depicted a red eagle on a white background. Henceforth, the Prussian eagle, now royally crowned and with 'FR' (Fridericus Rex,"King Frederick" ) on its breast, was placed in anescutcheonon the shield with 25 quarters instead of the electoral scepter. All the helmets made way for one royalcrown.

Thewild men– figures fromGermanicandCeltic mythologyrepresenting the 'Lord of the Beasts' or 'Green Man' – that held the arms of Prussia are probably taken from the arms ofPomeraniaorDenmark.They are also to be found as supporters of the arms ofBraunschweig,Königsberg,and theDutchtowns ofAnloo,Beilen,Bergen op Zoom,Groede,Havelte,'s-Hertogenbosch,Oosterhesselen,Sleen,Sneek,VriesandZuidwolde.[1]A wild man and a wild woman have held the shield of the principality ofSchwarzburginThuringiaand the city ofAntwerpsince the beginning of the 16th century.[2]Two wild men and a wild woman have been included in the seal ofBergen op Zoomsince 1365.[3]

A decree from 11 February 1701 placed a crown on the Prussian escutcheon. The king ordained that the whole should be placed on a royal pavilion after theFrenchand Danish examples.

WhenWilliam III,Prince of OrangeandKing of England,died on 19 March 1702, the king ordered the arms of theprincipalityplaced on his shield. This was to support his claim as heir general, although theFrisianbranch of theHouse of Orange-Nassauclaimed it as well.

In 1708 Frederick announced that he would place the quarters of the dukes ofMecklenburgin the Prussian arms to stress his rights toMecklenburg-SchwerinandMecklenburg-Strelitzif their ducal lines were to die out. Although Mecklenburg-Strelitz protested,Emperor Joseph Igave permission to Frederick in October 1712. This design was twice officially altered but was not fundamentally changed since.

The electoral scepter had its own shield under the electoral cap. Around the shield, with 36 quarters (including Veere-Vlissingen and Breda), appeared theOrder of the Black Eaglewith a crowned helmet resting on top. The wild men held banners of Prussia and Brandenburg and behind the pavilion rose a Prussian banner after the example of the FrenchOriflamme.The mottoGott mit uns( "God with us" ) appeared on the pedestal.

Already during the reign of Frederick I there is a notable difference between the 'Gothic' representation of the Prussian eagle in the arms and the more naturally depicted and often flying eagle on most coins[4]and military standards.[5]

  • Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia
  • Small arms of 1790
  • "Middle arms" of 1873
  • Greater arms of Prussia, ca. 1873
  • Coat of arms of Prussia 1815

Frederick William Ifollowed his father on the throne on 25 February 1713. According to Ströhl he gave the eagle a scepter and orb. He made an arrangement with the Frisian Nassaus over the title to the Principality of Orange, although it was occupied by France. Besides the arms of Orange, he officially addedVeere and Vlissingenon 29 July 1732. The king also addedEast Frisiato his arms, claiming it in case the prince would die without heir. A fourth escutcheon appeared among the 36 quarters.

Frederick IIbecame king on 31 May 1740. He laid claim to the duchy ofSilesiaafter the death of EmperorCharles VIand declared war on Charles' daughter and heir,Maria Theresa of Austria,thereby starting theSilesian Wars.

Frederick II was followed by his nephew,Frederick William II,on 17 August 1786. Frederick William II inherited theFranconiancadet branches (AnsbachandBayreuth) of theHouse of Hohenzollernin 1791. For reasons of economy, however, the official seals were unchanged.

Frederick William IIItook the throne on 16 November 1797 and changed the arms on 3 July 1804. The reorganisation of Germany byNapoleon I of Francemade alterations necessary. A new escutcheon was created for Silesia and the shield held 42 quarters. TheOrder of the Red Eagleof the Franconian line was also added around the shield.

After the fall of Napoleon, Prussia gained extensive territories on theRhineand inSaxony.New arms were therefore decreed on 9 January 1817. The number of quarters rose to 48, including the horse ofWestphaliaandLower Saxony.The number of escutcheons was reduced to four: the black eagle of Prussia, the red eagle of Brandenburg instead of the scepter, the burgraviate ofNuremberg(though ceded toBavaria), andHohenzollern proper.

The so-called 'middle arms' were then issued: a shield with the same four escutcheons and ten quarters forSilesia,Rhineland,Posen,Saxony,Pomerania,Magdeburg,Jülich-Cleves-Berg,andWestphalia.This was encircled by the Order of the Black Eagle and held by two wild men with clubs.

The small arms already in use on coins of the 1790s were legitimized as well.

On 7 December 1849, theSwabianlines ofHohenzollern-SigmaringenandHohenzollern-Hechingenwere annexed byFrederick William IV,who had followed his father on 7 July 1840.

Frederick William IV was followed by his brotherWilliam Ion 2 January 1861. He changed the arms on 11 January 1864 by combining the escutcheons of Nuremberg and Hohenzollern. After theSecond Schleswig Warof 1864 and theAustro-Prussian Warof 1866, Prussia annexedSchleswig,Holstein,Hanover,Hesse-Kassel(or Hesse-Cassel), andNassau.King William I of Prussia became William I, German Emperor on 18 January 1871 during theunification of Germany.TheKingdom of Prussiabecame the predominant state in the newly createdGerman Empire.

William decreed new arms on 16 August 1873. The number of quarters was again 48 with three escutcheons. Added were the collars of the Order of the House of Hohenzollern and the Order of the Prussian Crown. The motto was placed on the dome of the pavilion.

The middle arms of 1873 show more clearly the changes by the additions of Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, and Hesse-Kassel and the removals of Magdeburg and Cleves-Jülich-Berg.[6]

The Hohenzollern family uses themottoNihil Sine Deo(English:Nothing Without God). The familycoat of arms,first adopted in 1192, began as a simple shieldquarterlysableandargent.A century later, in 1317,Frederick IV, Burgrave of Nuremberg,added the head and shoulders of a hound as a crest.[7]Laterquarteringreflected heiresses’ marriages into the family.

Free State of Prussia

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With the fall of the House of Hohenzollern in 1918, the Kingdom of Prussia was succeeded by theFree State of Prussiawithin theWeimar Republic.The new Prussian arms depicted a single black eagle, displayed in a more natural than heraldic style. While part ofNazi Germany,the free state's arms depicted a single black eagle, more stylized than before but not in a heraldic manner, with aswastikaand the phraseGott mit unsbeginning in 1933.TheReichsstatthaltergesetzof 1935 removed all effective power from the Prussian government.

  • Arms of the Free State of Prussia while part of the Weimar Republic (1918–33)
  • Arms of the Free State of Prussia after the 1933 NaziMachtergreifung


Dissolution of Prussia

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In 1947, following World War II, the state of Prussia was dissolved by the Allies, thus rendering its arms defunct.

A black eagle on white is present in the arms ofSaxony-Anhalt,to stand for what was Prussian Saxony. The Prussian eagle is also featured in the arms of theSalzlandkreisdistrictof Saxony-Anhalt, as well as the former district ofAschersleben-Staßfurt.

A black eagle on red is present in the arms ofWarmian-Masurian Voivodeshipin Poland, which corresponds to what was southern East Prussia.

  • Arms of Saxony-Anhalt of Germany
  • Arms of Salzlandkreis
  • Arms of Aschersleben-Staßfurt, 1995–2007
  • Arms of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship of Poland

See also

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References

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  1. ^K.L. Sierksma,De gemeentewapens van Nederland,Het Spectrum,Utrecht/Antwerp, 1960
  2. ^Hubert de Vries,Wapens van de Nederlanden,Uitg. Jan Mets, Amsterdam, 1995
  3. ^W.A. van Ham,Wapens en vlaggen van Noord-Brabant,Walburg Pers, Zutphen, 1986
  4. ^Gerhard Schön,Deutscher Münzkatalog.18. Jahrhundert, Battenberg Verlag, Munich, 1984
  5. ^Terence Wise,Military Flags of the World,Blandford Press, Poole, Dorset, 1977
  6. ^Siebmacher,Großes Wappenbuch,Band 1, 1. Abteilung, 1. Teil, Nuremberg 1856 and 4. Teil, Nuremberg 1921
  7. ^"A Royal Student Stein".Steincollectors.org. Archived fromthe originalon 29 June 2011.Retrieved28 August2010.
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