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Stettin (Szczecin) Historical Naval Flags (Germany)

Stettiner historische Seeflaggen

Last modified: 2020-05-13 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: stettin | bicolour(hanseatic) | squares(2) | rectangles(2) | stripes | number | griffin(head) |
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• Brief History
• Flags of the Hanseatic City Stettin
• Bicolour with off-centred Squares
• Hanging Bicolour - 15th Century
• Bicolour with centred Squares
• Bicolour with off-centred Rectangles
• Other Bicolour with off-centred Rectangles
• Bicolour with centred Rectangles
• Flags of the Prussian Seaport Stettin
• Stripes Flag (until 1945)
• Number Flag 31
• Number Flag 200

• Szczecin - Poland
• Hanseatic Cities - Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland
• Index of all German Pages
• Germany

Brief History

In 1278 the city was included into the Hanseatic League. Duke Otto I of Pommern made Stettin his residence in 1309. In 1637 Duke Bogislaw XIV of Pommern, the last of the Griffins, died in Stettin. Griffin was a nickname of the Pomeranian dukes used by strangers, but since 15th century also by the dukes themselves. Since 1630 / 1637 the city was a possession of Sweden. In 1713 the city was besieged and captured by Russian and Saxonian troops in the Great Northern War (1700-1721). King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia occupied the city immediately after the siege as a neutral power and finally acquired the city by the treaty of Stockholm in 1720. In 1815 Stettin became the capital of the Prussian province of Pommern. Since 1871 the city belonged to the German Empire as successor of the Prussian kings, and since 1945 it was occupied by allied powers and became de facto a part of Poland, de jure in 1970 by the Treaty of Warsaw.
A seal from the 13th century, displayed in this webpage, showed a walled city with an arch, topped by seven towers over an arch, under the arch on a throne a man holding a sword in his right hand and a sceptre in his left, at his feet are two inescutcheons displaying a griffin. All later coins and seals, to be seen e.g. in this webpage seem to display the griffin's head or a full griffin, in order to stress the rule of the Pomeranian dukes.
In times of the Hanseatic League and the Swedish rule the flag of the city remained basically the same. It was based on the white over red bicolour of Lübeck, first city of the league, but with a distinguishing mark. This mark consisted of squares or rectangles in counterchanged colours, sometimes centred and sometimes shifted to the hoist, perhaps the rectangles indeed had also been squares and there had been just one flag, painted differently.
Strange to say, but according to sources there never appears a Stettin flag before 1695 and no Flüger from the 14th century as depicted for o9ther cities. Znamierowski mentions a banner hoisted on the stern with centred squares from the 15th century, but unfortunately his source can't be traced.
Source: Erwin Günther: "Wappen und Flaggen der Kreise und Kreisstädte in Pommern" , Usti nad Labem 2000, p.76
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 May 2020

According to source below the Hanseatic Fleet fighting against King Waldemar IV Atterdag of Denmark in 1368 consisted of ships from Rostock, Wismar, Greifswald, Stettin, Stargard and Kolberg. It is hard to believe, that only the ships of Rostock and Wismar had proper flags. The only image I found, displays the Hanseatic ships during the raid against Kopenhagen in 1368 all with simple Hanseatic bicolour pennants without additional charges, but the painter Hans von Petersen was born in 1850 (!) and made his paintings some 30 years later, probably without sufficient knowledge about flags.
Sources: Hans Horstmann: "Vor- und Frühgeschichte des europäischen Flaggenwesens", Bremen 1971, p.141, based on: Dietrich Schäfer: "Die Hansestädte und König Waldemar von Dänemark", Jena 1879, p.466
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 May 2020

Flags of the Hanseatic City Stettin

Bicolour with off-centred Squares

A vast majority displays white-red bicolours with squares in counterchanged colours in each stripe shifted to the hoist. .
Sources:
1) Jaques-Nicolas Bellin: "Tableau de Pavillons e Banniéres que la pluspart des Nations arborent à la Mer", 1756; row 9, column 5
2) Denis Diderot and Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert: "Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, Marine Pavillons", Paris
2a) eds. 1769 and 1780; plate XIX, image no.166
2b) ed.1770, plate11.2, image no.598
3) "Die geschichtliche Entwicklung der als deutsche Nationalflaggen auf See gefahrenen und von den seefahrenden Nationen anerkannten deutschen Kriegs- und Handelsflaggen", poster edited by Deutsches Schifffahrtsmuseum Bremerhaven, 1981, based on an original version of Karl Schultz, all flags painted by E. Paschke, row 4 column 7, year given as 1695
4) Peter Schenk: "Schouw-park aller Scheeps-Vlaggen des geheelen Water-Waerelds", Amsterdam 1711, row 10, column 1
5) The following sources seem to have copied from one another
5a) Johann Baptist Homann: "Flaggen aller seefahrenden Potenzen und Nationen in der ganzen Welt", Nürnberg 1715 (B/W)
5b) Christoph Weigel: "Flagen aller seefahrenden Potenzen und Nationen in der gantzen Weldt", Nürnberg 1720
5c) Johann Baptist Homann: "Flaggen aller seefahrenden Potenzen und Nationen in der ganzen Welt", Nürnberg 1750
5d) Cornelis Dankerts: "Nieuwe Tafel van al de Zee vaarende Vlagge des Weerelts", Amsterdam 1750
All display the same flags and the Stettin flag is in the same position: row 6 , column 12
6) "Tableau des pavillons Que la Plûspart Arborent a la Mer", 1756, row 9, column 5
7) George Louis Le Rouge: "Les Pavillons des Mer du Monde Nouvellement Corriges", 1756, : row 9, column 15
8) H. de Leth: "Nieuwe Tafel van alle de Zee-varande VLAGGE des Werelts", 1765, row 9 , column 7
9) Alphonso Figsbee: "The maritime Flags and Standards of all Nations", New York, 1856, p.37 bottom left
10) Robert Benard: "Marine Pavillons", Paris 1772 , plate 19 (following), image no.166
11) Robert Benard: "Marine Pavillons", Paris 1787 ,plate 11.2, row 6, column 5, image no.897
12) Ruud Siegel: "Die Flagge", Berlin 1912, plate 20, row 2, column

This flag was based on the city flag of Lübeck with the squares as distinguishing marks. The colours had been those of the Hanseatic League.
The existence of proper Stettin ship flags in the colours white and blue in 1368 could not be proven.
Source: Erwin Günther: "Wappen und Flaggen der Kreise und Kreisstädte in Pommern" , Usti nad Labem 2000, p.76
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 6 May 2020 and Norman Martin, 20 Jan 1998

Hanging Bicolour - 15th Century

Alfred Znamierowski shows several interesting flags of the Port Cities of northern Europe. These are derived from gonfanons, originally red in colour. 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 colours. One of the final three that shows Alfred Znamierowskiis Stettin in the 15th century.
Source: Znamierowski 1999, p.13
Phil Nelson, 20 Feb 2000

Bicolour with centred Squares

Variation with centred squares is depicted by:
Sources:
1) E. Åkerlund: "Tabell Öfver Alla Nationers nu brukeliga Flaggor", 1805 Göteborg, row 1 column 6
2) Matthieu Albert and Goerge Frederic: "Tableau des Tous le pavillons que lon Arbore sur les vaisseaux Dans le Quatre Parties du Monde", Augsburg 1793, row 5 column 7
3) Miller 1962
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 May 2020 and Norman Martin, 20 Jan 1998

Bicolour with off-centred Rectangles

Variation with rectangles with width bigger than height and shifted to hoist is depicted by:
Sources:
1) Francis Steinitz: "The Ship, it's origin and Progress", London 1849; plate 6, image no.14
2) J.W. Norie and J.S. Hobbs: "Illustrations of the maritime Flags of all Nations", London 1848; plate X, image no. 121
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 May 2020

Other Bicolour with off-centred Rectangles

Variation with rectangles with height bigger than width and shifted to hoist is depicted by:
Source: Traugott Bromme: "Handatlas der Geographie und Statistik", Stuttgart 1862; flag chart 2, row 2 column 4
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 May 2020

Bicolour with centred Rectangles

Variation with centred rectangles with width bigger than height is depicted by:
Sources:
1) J.S. de Elcano: "Banderas que las Naciones arbolan en la Mar", 1756, row 8 column 10
2) Steenbergen: "Vlaggen van alle Natien", Amsterdam 1862, plate17, image no.585
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 May 2020

Flags of the Prussian Seaport Stettin

Stripes Flag (until 1945)

It was a horizontal 6-stripes flag with alternating red and blue stripes. According to Erwin Günther after 1945, without having any idea about the city flag there were versions in use having between four and ten stripes, some of them beginning with a blue stripe. The stripes flag was the successor of the white-red flag with squares in counterchanged colours centred or shifted to the hoist.
Source: Erwin Günther: "Wappen und Flaggen der Kreise und Kreisstädte in Pommern" , Usti nad Labem 2000, p.76
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 6 May 2020

Number Flag 31

Number Flag No.31: It was a white flag. At hoist was the coat of arms of Stettin crested by a coronet Or. At fly was a big black number 31. According to source it was flown by ships based inStettin until 1869.
Sources: Erwin Günther: "Wappen und Flaggen der Kreise und Kreisstädte in Pommern" , Usti nad Labem 2000, p.76 and Kurt Pittelkow and Reinhart Schmelzkopf: "Heimathafen Stettin", Cuxhaven 1987
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 6 May 2020

Number Flag 200

Number Flag No.200: It was a white flag with a black number 200 shifted to hoist. In the canton were the arms of Stettin, in a blue shield a red griffin's head crowned and armed Or, the shield was crested with a golden coronet.
Sources: "Flaggen Charte des Verlags E.Sanne", Stettin 1835, row 8 column 7
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 11 May 2020

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