Municipality of Rhauderfehn (East Frisia, Germany)

Gemeinde Rhauderfehn, Kreis Leer, Lower Saxony

Last modified: 2014-01-18 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: rhauderfehn | westrhauderfehn | east frisia | anchor | caduceus |
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• Municipality of Rhauderfehn
• Rhauderfehn Municipal Flag
• Rhauderfehn Coat of Arms

• County and Municipal Flags (Lower Saxony)
• Leer County
• East Frisia, Ostfriesland
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Municipality of Rhauderfehn

Rhauderfehn Municipal Flag

Description of flag:
It is a yellow over blue horizontal bicolour. The coat of arms is in the centre of the flag.
Source: ebay
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 29 Dec 2013

Rhauderfehn Coat of Arms

Description of coat of arms:
In a blue shield is a golden (= yellow) mixture of an anchor and a caduceus.
Meaning:
On 10 June 1766 Johann Friedrich Heydecke, Thomas Stuart, Rudolf von Glan, Ahlrich Ibelings and Wille Janssen founded the "Gesellschaftsverband der Entrepeneure des Rhauderfehns" and gained an approval from Prussian king Friedrich the Great on 19 April 1769. The main purpose of the company was the digging of peat. Later on the cultivation of the highmoors became another business line. In 1769 the company was renamed to "Rhauder Fehn Compagnie". Due to a legal dispute between the company and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which lasted for decades, was caused the end of colonizations in the Eastern part, which on the other hand caused a boost in the Western parts.
On 1 January 1973 the settlement cores of Backemoor, Burlage, Collinghorst, Holte, the Western part of Langholt, Rhaude - which had been the mother municipality of Westrhauderfehn and Ostrhauderfehn - , Rhaudermoor, Schatteburg and Westrhauderfehn merged and formed the current municipality. The new municipality overtook the symbols of the former municipality of Westrhauderfehn, which had been the biggest settlement core.
The arms were made of elements from the seal of the "Rhauder Fehn Compagnie". The anchor is symbolizing shipping, while the caduceus as an attribute of Mercury is symbolizing trading.
Source: Stadler 1970, p.82 and municipal webpage

The arms of Westrhauderfehn were designed by heraldrist Dr. Korn from Münster in 1954 and approved by the minister of interior of Lower Saxony on 20 June 1955.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 29 Dec 2013

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