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Schwarzburg Principalities until 1918 (Germany)

Fürstentümer Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt und Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Thüringen

Last modified: 2023-12-09 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: saxony | schwarzburg-rudolstadt | schwarzburg-sondershausen | fürstentum schwarzburg-rudolstadt | fuerstentum schwarzburg-rudolstadt | fürstentum schwarzburg-sondershausen | eagle |
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• Introduction
• Schwarzburg Civil Flag (both Principalities) 1866-1920 - Landesfarben
• Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Civil Flag 1815-1866 - Landesfarben
• Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Civil Flag 1815-1866 - Landesfarben
• Banner of the Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt until 1918 - Fürstenstandarte Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
• Banner of the Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen until 1918 - Fürstenstandarte Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
• Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Coat-of-Arms
• Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Coat-of-Arms

• Clicable map of Saxon Duchies 1871-1918 - Germany
• Historical Flags - Thuringia
• Saalfeld-Rudolstadt County - Landkreis Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, Thuringia, Germany
• Index of all German Pages

Introduction

The original county was divided into two counties in 1552. Both counts received the title of [Imperial] Prince (Reichsfürst) in 1697 and 1711 respectively. In 1909 the branch S[chwarzburg]-Sondershausen became extinct and the Prince of S[chwarzburg]-Rudolstadt became prince. From 1909-1918 the two states were ruled jointly. In 1918 both became Free States and were incorporated into Thüringen in 1920. These were the smallest principalities within the German Empire, with Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt having only 940 km² and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen 862 km².
Source: Ralf Hartemink's webpage
Santiago Dotor, 14 Feb 2001

Schwarzburg Civil Flag (both Principalities) 1866-1920
Landesfarben

Blue-white bicolour. Adopted officially 1866. In use until 1918.
Norman Martin, Mar 1998

Before ca. 1815 national flags and Landesfarben or civil flags etc. were not known i.e. not in use in Germany, there are only a few exceptions. Rudolstadt was white-blue (c.1815-1866), Sondershausen blue-white (c.1815-1866). Both blue above white from 1866.
Landesfarben blue and white since about 1814. Used in flags since about 1815. Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt used white over blue horizontal. Schwarzburg-Sondershausen used blue over white horizontal. In 1866 both states agreed upon using (light) blue above white.
In 1909 both states were united in a Personalunion under Prince Günther von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. In 1918 both became Freistaaten [republics]. In 1920 both merged into Thuringia. Quite surely the Freistaaten [i.e. republics] used the flags until 1920.
Ralf Stelter, 15 Feb 2001

At first the flags were [regular] blue, since 1866 the shade was lighter. As the colour shades were not defined then I would suppose the first is heraldic blue (Pantone 293), the latter about UN blue (ca. Pantone 292).
Ralf Stelter, 16 Feb 2001

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Civil Flag 1815-1866
Landesfarben

2:3 image by Santiago Dotor, 14 Feb 2001
Flag adopted c.1815, abolished 1866

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Civil Flag 1815-1866
Landesfarben

2:3 Image by Santiago Dotor, 14 Feb 2001
Flag adopted c.1815, abolished 1866

Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt's Banner until 1918
Fürstenstandarte Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt

1:1 image by Jaume Ollé

Square yellow flag with crowned black eagle, with a crown on a yellow field in escutcheon. (Arms awarded by the Emperor on the occasion of promotion to the status of [sovereign] prince in 1697). In use until 1918.
Norman Martin, 1 Mar 1998

Princely standard of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt: a yellow banner of arms of the lesser arms of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt.
Ralf Stelter, 15 Feb 2001

Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen's Banner until 1918
Fürstenstandarte Schwarzburg-Sondershausen

1:1 image by Jaume Ollé

Blue-white bicolour with gold lion rampant in upper hoist. In the centre a coat of arms with the arms awarded by the Emperor. In use until 1918.
Norman Martin, 1 Mar 1998

Jaume Ollé's images of the Rudolstadt banner and the Sondershausen coat-of-arms look have some mistakes:

• the Rudolstadt eagle is nimbed (i.e. bears golden discs behind its heads), the Sondershausen one is not;
• above the Rudolstadt eagle is an imperial crown, above the Sondershausen a royal one;
• the inescutcheon on the Sondershausen arms clearly depicts a German sovereign prince's crown, the one on the Rudolstadt arms shows an unidentifiable shape, etc.

If my information (from Ströhl 1897) is right, they should be identical (except for the field of the Regalienfeld at the bottom of the arms. By the way, the small arms consist of the eagle — the imperial Gnadenwappen. In the great arms, the eagles are nimbed for both Rudolstadt and Sondershausen. The crown over the eagle's heads should be imperial for both. The inescutcheon should show a crown for both. The two red charges in the base of the arms [Regalienfeld] are a distinctive Schwarzburg charge (with the Regalienfeld field gold for Rudolstadt and silver for Sondershausen).
Norman Martin, 14 Feb 2001

Princely standard of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen: blue over white. In the upper hoist a gold lion from the ancestral coat-of-arms (Stammwappen) of Schwarzburg. In the centre the shield with the same eagle as Rudolstadt. On the shield a [sovereign] prince's crown (Fürstenhut). (...) Only the Regalienfeld [base of the shield] was different in each state, but this field was not shown on the flag of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. Source: Ströhl 1897.
Ralf Stelter, 15 Feb 2001

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Coat-of-Arms

Lesser State Arms	Colour detail
both scanned from Ströhl 1897

The lesser arms of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (lesser state coat-of-arms) is composed of the imperial double headed eagle, in the golden base a red [hay] fork [Heugabel] and a red rake (sometimes called Rosskamm i.e. 'horsecomb'). On the inescutcheon a [sovereign] prince's crown (Fürstenhut).
The double headed eagle was black, armed red and its heads were nimbed, above them the imperial crown. In Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt the princely hat was changed gradually (since about 1895) to a modern princely crown, while in Schwarzburg-Sondershausen the [modern] princely crown had already been in use for a long time. Source: Ströhl 1897.
Ralf Stelter, 15 Feb 2001

Schwarzburg-Sondershausen Coat-of-Arms

Lesser State Arms	Colour detail
both scanned from Ströhl 1897

The lesser arms of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (lesser state coat-of-arms) was the same as the one of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, but the base with the red fork and red rake was silver. A variant without base was also in use (e.g. in the flag). So only the Regalienfeld was different in each state, but this field was not shown on the flag of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.
The double headed eagle was black, armed red and its heads were nimbed, above them the imperial crown. In Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt the princely hat was changed gradually (since about 1895) to a modern princely crown, while in Schwarzburg-Sondershausen the [modern] princely crown had already been in use for a long time. Source: Ströhl 1897.
Ralf Stelter, 15 Feb 2001

I scanned the lesser arms of both principalities, from Ströhl 1897. I also send a coloured detail of the scans to make clearer that there are more little differences (the imperial crown, claws etc.) between them.
Ralf Stelter, 16 Feb 2001

	Rudolstadt	Sondershausen
Base	Argent	Or
Crown sides	Gules	Azure
Eagle's beak and talons	Gules	Or
Orb	Azure	Or
Prince's crown model	old*	modern

The greater arms of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (identical for both) are shown in Smith 1975 p. 27, reproduced from Ströhl 1897.
Santiago Dotor, 5 Mar 2001

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