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City of Krefeld (Germany)

Stadt Krefeld, Northrhine-Westphalia

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image by Gunnar Staack, Stefan Schwoon at Stefan Schwoon's database

Krefeld city

See also:

Northrhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen)
Germany

Krefeld city

According to Stadler 1972,p.61 the flag is black-yellow - might be with or without the arms.
Stefan Schwoon, 25 Feb 2001

A photo of the flag, taken in Bischofstein Castle on 5 June 2001 by "hhschueller", shows the flag of Krefeld as horizontally divided black-yellow with the coat of arms in the middle.
According to the "Heraldry of the World" website, the arms of Krefeld, granted on 3 July 1950, are a combination of the former arms of Krefeld and Uerdingen (merged into Krefeld in 1930) combined per pale. These arms superseded the arms adopted in 1931, made of the former arms of Krefeld and Uerdingen combined per fess.

The former arms of Krefeld, known since the 14th century shows on a background argent St. Dionysius, headless and nimbed or, holding his miter-wearing head in his left hand and a bishop's crozier in his right hand; the saint has a red cloak and a white robe, and an escutcheon "Or a fess sable" placed at his feet, representing the arms of the Counts of Moers, once lords of Krefeld.
St. Dionysius (Denis/Dennis), first bishop of Paris, was martyred in 272 and buried north of the town. Centuries later, the authors of popular "vitae" (biographies) of the saint invented several missing historical details. Beheaded on the hill of Montmartre (Mons martyrium), Dionysius took his head under his arm, walked six kilometers northwards, offerred his head to the pious Dame Catulla and fell dead on the place where the St. Denis abbey and basilica was later erected.
In the 12th century, as a part of his political program, Abbot Suger of St. Denis forged manuscripts and mixed the traditions of other saints named Dionysius. The abbey became later "the" Royal abbey, where the kings of France were crowned and buried.

The former arms of Uerdingen are "Per fess azure and gules two keys or overall flanked by two escutcheons argent a cross sable". The keys symbolize St. Peter, patron saint of the town and of the State of Köln, to which Uerdingen once belonged, also symbolized by the escutcheons.
Source: Ralf Hartemink's website.
Ivan Sache, 28 Nov 2009

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