Stralsund Historical Flags (Germany)

Stralsund 14th-19th Centuries

Last modified: 2013-12-02 by german editorial team
Keywords: stralsund | sun | arrowhead (white) | cross (white) |
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both by Jaume Ollé

• Description
• Stralsund Flüger 1306
• Flag reported 1329
• Hanging Flag 14th Century

See also:

• City of Stralsund (Mecklenburg-Hitherpomerania, Germany)
• Hanseatic Cities (Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland)
• Prussia Historical Flags
• Mecklenburg-Hitherpomerania (Germany)
• Germany

Stralsund is a north German city, in the Land Mecklenburg-Westpomerania (population about 76,000). The flag they used [when I travelled there], was red with a white cross and arrowhead. I think I remember having seen this design in old flag charts, but wasn't there also a flag with a yellow sun on a red field?
Jan Oskar Engene, 14 May 1996

Red flag with a gold, faced sun at center.
Norman Martin, 20 Jan 1998

In Smith 1975, p. 115, there is a red flag with two arrowheads for Stralsund. I have grave doubts about the smile — on an old flag chart I have the sun is looking stern.
Jarig Bakker, 30 Mar 1999

The German editors of Norie and Hobbs 1971 added two charts (which were not originally in Norie and Hobbs 1848) with German flags that were important over time. One of them is no. 21, Stralsund 1329, as the one in Smith 1975, p. 115. The arrowheads are in the hoist, palewise, pointing hoistward.
Peter Hans van der Muijzenberg, 12 November 2001

Stralsund Flüger 1306

A plain red pennant with a white arrowhead shifted and pointing to the hoist.
Source:
Poster entitled: "Die geschichtliche Entwicklung der als deutsche Nationalflaggen auf See gefahrenen und von den seefahrenden Nationen anerkannten deutschen Kriegs- und Handelsflaggen",
[engl: "The historical evolution of those German national flags used on ships and recognized as German war flags or merchant flags by the naval nations",
edited by Deutsches Schifffahrtsmuseum Bremerhaven, 1981, based on an original version of Kapitän zur See a.D. Karl Schultz, all flags on the poster are painted by E. Paschke.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 28 Nov 2005

Flag reported 1329

It is a plain red flag with two white arrowheads at the hoist pointing to it.
Source:
Poster entitled: "Die geschichtliche Entwicklung der als deutsche Nationalflaggen auf See gefahrenen und von den seefahrenden Nationen anerkannten deutschen Kriegs- und Handelsflaggen",
[engl: "The historical evolution of those German national flags used on ships and recognized as German war flags or merchant flags by the naval nations",
edited by Deutsches Schifffahrtsmuseum Bremerhaven, 1981, based on an original version of Kapitän zur See a.D. Karl Schultz, all flags on the poster are painted by E. Paschke.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 15 Oct 2007

Znamierowski 1999 shows several interesting flags of the Port Cities of northern Europe. These are derived from gonfanons, originally red in color. The flags, in a banner form [i.e. hanging flags], were flown from the stern of the vessels, the mast carrying the gonfanon of the colors. The oldest of the series, from the mid-13th century, that of Hamburg, was followed among others by Stralsund in the 14th century.
Phil Nelson, 20 Feb 2000

The German editors of Norie and Hobbs 1971 added two charts (which were not originally in Norie and Hobbs 1848) with German flags that were important over time. One of them is no. 27, Flüger: Stralsund 1306, as the above flag but arrow-head hoistward, and extended horizontally to a long flying flag. I believe a Flüger is a pennant of which the part near the hoist fixed to a piece of wood, and that is indeed how these are pictured in Norie and Hobbs 1971.
Peter Hans van der Muijzenberg, 12 Nov 2001