The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Württemberg shows an impalement of the three black antlers that represent

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

on the dexter (viewer's left) side, and the three black lions passant of medieval Swabia on the

sinister Sinister commonly refers to: * Evil * Ominous Sinister may also refer to: Left side * Sinister, Latin for the direction "left" * Sinister, in heraldry, is the bearer's true left side (viewers' right side) of an escutcheon or coat of arms; see de ...

(viewer's right) side, both on a gold field.

History

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

was formally adopted by King William I of Württemberg on 30 December 1817,Flags of the World
Kingdom of Württemberg. Accessed 2009-04-12. lasting between 1817 and 1922, and occasionally seen on state flags of this period. This version derived from the escutcheon found in the centre of the much larger and more elaborate coat of arms that was used when the Electorate of Württemberg was elevated to the status of a kingdom in 1806. Württemberg had recently acquired several territories under the mediatisation system and incorporated their heraldries into its arms, resulting in a complicated design. This caused the need to choose something much simpler, and the 1817 arms had the two essential elements – 3 lions for the whole region of Swabia, and 3 antlers for its largest ruling dynasty. By 26 December 1816, the kingdom had also settled on the colours red and black for its flag; gold and black being too similar to the ruling Habsburg dynasty of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

, and red and gold being the colours of Würzburg, their allies in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

. From 1949 the insignia form part of the present-day

Coat of arms of Baden-Württemberg The coat of arms of the German state of Baden-Württemberg features a greater and a lesser version. History The coat of arms of Baden-Württemberg was determined after the merging of the former German states Baden, Württemberg-Baden and Wür ...

Ducal arms (1495−1803)

The antler motif had been used for centuries previously by the

Counts of Württemberg Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

. From 1495, the Duchy of Württemberg's coat of arms included the four quarters shown below. Their symbolism is:

Quarters

* 1st: on a field of gold, three black stag's antlers of 4 branches - the County/Duchy of

, whose seat was in the original Württemberg castle on a hilltop near

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...

. It is based on the arms of their cousins, the Counts of Nellenburg (3 blue antlers on a field of gold), which was in turn based on the arms of their cousins, the Counts of Veringen (3 red antlers on a field of gold). * 2nd: ''lozengy'' (a geometric field of '' lozenges'' - or wide diamond shapes) ''in bend'' (shown angled from the top right to lower left) of black and gold – the County of Teck, acquired in 1381. The later morganatic Dukes of Teck (1871−1918) differenced the arms as ''lozengy'' ''in bend sinister'' (shown angled from the top left to lower right). * 3rd: on a blue field, a standard ''flying'' (a flag shown waving in the breeze) a black eagle on a field of gold – "Reichssturmfahne" given to the Swabian nobility for their merit in battle and proclaiming the right of first contanct with the enemy, when campaigning with armies of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

. * 4th: on a red field, two gold fishes ''addorsed'' (depicted back-to-back), ''haurient'' ("breathing" − a fish shown ''palewise'' (vertical) and head upwards), and ''embowed'' (shown bent, flexed, or curved) – County of Mömpelgard, an exclave property that passed by marriage to the Württemberg family in 1397; now modern-day Montbéliard, Franche-Comté,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. File:Württemberg 1495.gif, Württemberg ducal coat of arms, dated 1495 File:Coat of arms of Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg, KG.png, Arms of Frederick I as a Knight of the Garter, 1604 File:Wappen Württemberg 1703.jpg, The ducal arms in 1703

Crests

*The ''dexter'' (right-hand side) crest atop the ducal arms [a red hunting horn ''stringed'' (having a rope sling of a different color) gold, ''enguiché'' (a bugle with a mouth of a different color) black, and from the mouthpiece ''issuant'' (coming up from) three ''plumes'' (feathers): red, black, and yellow] represents Bad Urach, acquired in 1260. Bad Urach's arms were [a red hunting horn with a blue baldrick (leather strap) and ''enguiché'' (a bugle with a mouth of a different color) white, and from the mouthpiece ''issuant'' (coming up from) three ''plumes'' (feathers): red, white, and blue] *The center crest [a ''demi-Maiden'' (a female bust) ''couped'' (shown cut off with a clean edge) at the waist or thighs, ''crined'' (having hair or mane of a different color) gold and ''crowned'' (wearing a crown on the head) ''habited in'' (wearing clothes) a red gown, with fish for arms shown ''naiant'' ("swimming" - a fish shown ''fesswise'' (horizontal) with the head facing the left-hand side) and ''reflexed'' (bent in an "s" shape) gold] represents Montbéliard, Mömpelgard. *The ''sinister'' (left-hand side) crest [a dog's head ''erased'' (shown cut off with a ragged edge with three flaps of skin hanging from the base) ''lozengy'' black and gold] represents Burg Teck, Teck. Other quarterings were added in the 18th century.

Arms used after 1918

After the abdication of the last king in 1918, the Free People's State of Württemberg in the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a Constitutional republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...

continued to use the three antlers motif and the former kingdom's flag on its coat of arms. Today, the larger version of the

includes the three Swabian lions and a small shield on top with the three antlers of Württemberg. The arms can also be seen in the

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from ot ...

of Porsche, a local car firm. During the Nazi era, the state of Württemberg became virtually defunct due to the de facto transformation of Germany from a federal to a

unitary state A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only th ...

. Yet the new " Gau Württemberg-Hohenzollern" adopted a new coat of arms which was only a slightly modified version of the Republican arms. After the defeat of Nazi Germany in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Württemberg was split into two successor states along the borders of the occupation zones: Württemberg-Baden in American-administered Germany, which also included the northern part of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

, and Württemberg-Hohenzollern in the French occupation zone, which also included the Prussian territory of Hohenzollern. Both states adopted their own flags and coat of arms. They joined the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

in 1949 and were subsequently merged with South Baden into the present-day state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

in 1952. File:Wappen Volksstaat Württemberg (Farbe).svg, Weimar-era arms File:Wappen Württemberg 1933.svg, 1933 coat of arms File:Wappen Wuerttemberg-Baden.svg, Württemberg-Baden File:Wappen Wuerttemberg-Hohenzollern.svg, Württemberg-Hohenzollern

Gallery

Henry 7 of Germany.jpg, Seal of Henry II of Swabia (dated 1216) with ''three leopards'' (''three lions passant guardant'') Image:Siegel Ulrich I Wuerttemberg 1259.jpg, Seal of Ulrich I with three antlers, 1259 File:Wappen des Herzogs von Urach.svg, Variant arms granted to the Dukes of Urach in 1867 File:Francis Duke of Teck Arms.svg, Arms of the Dukes of Teck 1871−1917 File:Coat of Arms of Mary of Teck.svg, Arms of

Mary of Teck Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 186724 March 1953) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 January 1936 as the wife of King- ...

as Queen consort of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

File:Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Württemberg 1817-1921.svg, 1817 arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coat Of Arms Of Wurttemberg Wurttemberg House of Württemberg Kingdom of Württemberg Culture of Baden-Württemberg Wurttemberg Wurttemberg Wurttemberg