Last modified: 2020-11-20 by 
klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: kulmbach(county) | lion(black) | eagle(swhite) | base | quartered |
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![[Kulmbach County banner]](../images/d/de-ku_.gif)
5:2
>image by Stefan Schwoon, 3 Oct 2001
It is a white-black-yellow vertical tricolour. The coat of arms is shifted to the top.
Stefan Schwoon, 3 Oct 2001
Shield parted per pale; at dexter Or a sinister facing lion rampant Or, armed and tongued Gules, over all a bendlet sinister Argent; at sinister Azure an eagle Argent, armed and tongued Gules; base quartered of Sable and Argent parted from main shield per chevron embowed.
Source: Stadler and Egloffstein 1990, p.82, 155-156
Santiago Dotor, 15 Jan 2004
![[Kulmbach County Banner 1975-1989 (Germany)]](../images/d/de-ku975_.gif)
5:2
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 20 Nov 2020
It is a white-red-yellow vertical tricolour. The coat of arms is shifted to the top.
Kulmbach is the only Bavarian county known to have changed its flag after the first approval. On 28 August 1975 a white-red-yellow flag was approved together with the arms, on 20 February 1989 the middle stripe was changed to black.
Source: Linder and Schmidt 2000
Stefan Schwoon, 3 Oct 2001 and Santiago Dotor, 15 Jan 2004
Shield parted per pale; at dexter Azure an eagle Argent, armed and tongued Gules; at sinister Argent an eagle Guls, armed and tongued Or with cloverstems Or upon his wings; base under a partition per chevron embowed parted per pale, at dexter Argent a bend sinsietr wavy Gules, at sinister Azure a bend wvy Argent.
Meaning:
The upper part of the old arms showed a white eagle, taken from the arms of both, the arms of the Counts of Andechs-Meranien and the Counts of Orlamünde, and the red eagle of Brandenburg. The former two families ruled a major part of the area before and after 1248 respectively. The eagle of Brandenburg is symbolising the rule of the Burgraves of Nürnberg and the Margraves of Kulmbach-Bayreuth. These families also played a major role in the history of the area. The the old arms displayed in base the confluence of the red and white Main rivers that flow through the area. The background colours of the base are taken from the arms of Bayern and symbolise the fact that the area belongs to Bayern since 1810.
The red stripe on the old flag possibly stood for the red eagle of Brandenburg or the red Main river in the former arms (1967-1975) — except that the new arms were granted simultaneously with the white-black-yellow flag. Furthermore red and white had been the colours of the scarves in the crest of the arms of the Counts of Orlamünde. The colours of the new flag are those of the Zollern kin, i.e. black and white, and of the Bishopric of Bamberg, i.e. black and yellow.
The new arms show in the first half the arms of the bishopric, which represents the former Stadtseinach County. The white eagle remained from the old county arms and the arms of the incorporated city of Kulmbach, whereas the base shows the arms of the Zollern kin, who also played a major role in the history of the county.
Sources: Stadler 72, p.114 and Stadler and Egloffstein 1990, p.82, 155-156
Santiago Dotor, 15 Jan 2004 and Klaus-Michael Schneider, 20 Nov 2020
The old banner and arms were approved on 6 March 1967, the new banner and arms on 28 August 1975.
Santiago Dotor, 15 Jan 2004
back to Bavarian District, County and Municipal Flags Index page click here