Wesel City (Germany)

Stadt Wesel, Kreis Wesel, Northrhine-Westphalia

Last modified: 2020-05-05 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: wesel | weasels(3) | inescutcheon | eagle(black) | cornucopia |
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• Current Flag
• Plain Flag reported 1972
• Bicolour with centred Arms
• Historical Banner
• Coat of Arms

• County and Municipal Flags (Northrhine-Westphalia / Nordrhein-Westfalen)
• Wesel County [WE]
• Northrhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen)
• Germany

Current Flag

According to Hauptsatzung only some essentials have been fixed: It is a red over white over red horizontal triband with ratio 1:3:1. The coat of arms is in the middle of the white stripe. Additional information was given as follows by Mr. Alexander Jordans from the department of PR and tourism of the city of Wesel: "The ratio is 1:2. The height of the coat of arms is 3/4 of height of the white stripe. The shade of red is CMYK 0/100/100/0 or Pantone 485 or RAL 3020."
Special thanks also to Mr. Michael Hülshorst from central services department.
Source: §2(2) of Hauptsatzung of the city of Wesel, version 16 December 2009 and additional information of Alexander Jordans from 14 August 2010
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 10 Sep 2010

Plain Flag reported 1972

It is a red over white horizontal bicolour. The flag was used since 1351.
Source: Stadler 1972, p.100
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 7 July 2007

Bicolour with centred Arms

It is a red over white horizontal bicolour with centred arms.
Source: here
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 4 May 2020

Coat of Arms

In the centre of a red shield is an empty silver(=white) inescutcheon surrounded by three weasels of the same colour , two weasels are standing at the top corners, the 3rd at the bottom centre.
Meaning:
The red shield with a white inescutcheon belongs to the Counts of Kleve. The weasels are canting (Wesel = Wiesel). According to Stadler the coat of arms had been used at least since 1400 but the inescutcheon had been added about 1600.
There are similar coats of arms of Kalkar and Kleve (both Kleve county).
Source: Stadler 1972, p.100
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 10 Sep 2010

Historical Banner

It is a red-white-red vertical triband with the old coat of arms in the white stripe. The city only send an image of the old arms from 1776 and the position of the arms on the triband is unknown.
The historical coat of arms is described as follows: Shield Gules, three weasels courant Argent (two in chief one in base), between the weasels a so called inescutcheon Argent, supported from chief by a rising eagle Sable, crowned and armed Or; beneath the shield a cornucopia Or filled with nine oak leaves Vert, at sinister a bunch of reed Vert, surrounding a volute Or with three blossoms Azure and one bud Sable.
The weasels are canting. The inescutcheon is the equestrian's seal (German: Reitersiegel) of the Dukes of Kleve. The Prussian eagle is alluding to the fact that Wesel had been a Prussian fortress. The oak leaves in the cornucopia are representing the oak groves and heathers around Wesel. Reed, blossoms and volute are referring to the location on the banks of the Rhine.
Sources: phone call to Wesel city from 6 August 2010 and fax of Wesel City, send on 19 August 2010, based on a file copy from collection no.1, file no.76.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 4 May 2020

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