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Car Flags (Hesse, Germany)

Standarte und Dienstflaggen für Kraftfahrzeuge

Introduction
Car Flag for the Prime Minister (Standarte für den Dienstkraftwagen des Hessischen Ministerpräsidenten)
Car Flags for Other Authorities
Relative Size of the Car Flags

See also:

Hesse (Hessen, Germany)
Germany

Introduction

Order of 26 November 1949 (Geset[z] und Verodnungsblatt 1949 p. 171): government service flag [in] square [form] is used by president, state minister, state secretary and presidents of the district government. In triangle [form] is [used] by the state advisers.

Order 14 October 1955: adopted flag for the minister president: square white flag with red border with the arms in center (30 × 30 [cm], border 5.5 [cm]). Confirmed 1 April 1970 and 22 March 1977. Source: Roger Harmignies, article in Vexilla Belgica, issue 11, 1987.

Jaume Ollé, 29 July 1999

There are several things wrong there. The Ministerpräsident uses the flag described in the second paragraph. The other flag is not square but has the proportions 21 × 35 cm (the German text can be misleading, because rechteckig mean rectangular and not square) and is used only by the minister of the Land (called here in German Staatsminister), the chief of the state chancellery (not the state secretary, which is something different) and the presidents of the Regierungsbezirke [districts]. The presidents of the circles (Landräte, not state advisers!) use the service flag but triangular 21 × 35 cm. Also, 14th October 1955 is the date of the cabinet decision. The order was approved by minister[ial] decision on 2nd December 1955.

Source: personal and legal archives, with legislation and official documents from the German Länder, as well as the information of Jürgen Rimann, the best German specialist for all the car flags in the world and a very reliable source.

Pascal Vagnat, 1 August 1999

Sources:

Laitenberger and Bassier 2000
Schurdel 1995
Harmignies 1987
Verordnung über die Landesdienstflagge vom 26. November 1949. Gesetz- und Verordnungsblatt für Hessen 1949, S. 171-172 (Regulation on the state flag of 26th November 1949. Law and Official Gazette 1949, pp. 171-172)
Bekanntmachung über die Standarte für den Dienstkraftwagen des Hessischen Ministerpräsidenten vom 2. Dezember 1955. Staatsanzeiger für das Land Hessen 1955, S. 1257 (Proclamation of the standard for the official car of the prime minister of Hesse of 2nd December 1955. Government Gazette 1955, p. 1257)

Marcus Schmöger, 2 October 2001

Car Flag for the Prime Minister

Standarte für den Dienstkraftwagen des Hessischen Ministerpräsidenten

1:1 | 30 cm × 30 cm
image by Marcus Schmöger
Flag adopted 2nd December 1955

The car flag for the prime minister is square, 30 × 30 cm with a 5.5 cm wide red border around the white field, in the center the coat-of-arms. It was introduced in 1955 by the Bekanntmachung über die Standarte für den Dienstkraftwagen des Hessischen Ministerpräsidenten. The drawing attached to the regulation says that the gold and silver in the coat-of-arms should really be gold and silver; as car flags are often embroidered, it is probable that the coat-of-arms really shows gold and silver threads.

Marcus Schmöger, 2 October 2001

Car Flags for Other Authorities

both 18:25 | 18 cm × 25 cm
images by Marcus Schmöger
Flags adopted 26th November 1949

The rectangular flag (...) has the proportions 21 × 35 cm —the German text can be misleading, because rechteckig mean rectangular and not square— and is used only by the minister of the Land (called here in German Staatsminister), the chief of the state chancellery and the presidents of the Regierungsbezirke (administrative districts). The presidents of the circles (Landräte) use the triangular service flag 21 × 35 cm. Sources: personal and legal archives, with legislation and official documents from the German Länder, as well as the information of Jürgen Rimann, the best German specialist for all the car flags in the world and a very reliable source.

Pascal Vagnat, 1 August 1999

There are two other types of flags that are used as car flags. One is a rectangular variant with the coat-of-arms in the center, basically the same as the jack of state vessels, in the size 21 × 35 cm. This flag is regulated in the Verordnung über die Landesdienstflagge of 1949, with drawings. However, this regulation lacks any information on who is entitled to use this car flag, and I do not have any other regulation who actually describes that. On our pages we have some information on that point which, however, seems to be dubious and controversial, as there had been several steps of translation from one language to another in between. I will discuss this later, analyzing the article Harmignies 1987.

The other variant is a triangular pennant, red over white with the coat-of-arms, also 21 × 35 cm. As the first variant, it is regulated in the Verordnung über die Landesdienstflagge of 1949, but there is no regulation on the authorities who are entitled to use the flag.

As both flags are car flags, it seems probable —although I do not have proof for that— that the arms contain embroidered silver and gold instead of white and yellow in the arms, at least in some specimens. For simplicity I have drawn the flags with white and yellow, though.

Marcus Schmöger, 2 October 2001

Relative Size of the Car Flags

30×30cm 21×35cm 21×35cm
all images by Marcus Schmöger