{"product_id":"german-koln-cologne-city-coat-of-arms-cast-metal-wall-plaque","title":"German Köln Cologne City Coat of Arms Cast-Metal Wall Plaque","description":"\u003cp\u003eA substantial German heraldic wall plaque displaying the historic kleines Stadtwappen (small city coat of arms) of Köln, known in English as Cologne. One of the oldest and most recognizable municipal arms in Germany, the design combines three gold crowns on a red field with eleven black ermine-tail devices arranged against white, symbols directly connected with Cologne's medieval religious and civic history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe plaque measures approximately 7 inches high by 6 inches wide and weighs 12.9 ounces. The heraldic face is executed in strongly raised cast metal and mounted to a shaped, black-finished wooden backing. A narrow gold-colored border surrounds the shield, visually separating the red and white heraldic fields from the darker mount.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcross the upper red field are three individually modeled gold-colored crowns. Beneath them, eleven black devices are arranged 5-4-2 across the white field. Although these forms are frequently described as flames, drops, or tears, their heraldic origin is traditionally understood as stylized Hermelinschwänze (ermine tails).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reverse of the plaque is finished in black and retains a recessed vertical hanging channel near the upper center. A simple metal wire spans the recess to provide the suspension point. No maker's mark, manufacturing date, dedication, or ownership inscription is observed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe three crowns are among the oldest symbols associated with Cologne. They represent the Heilige Drei Könige (Three Holy Kings, or Biblical Magi), whose relics were brought to Cologne from Milan in 1164 by Archbishop Rainald von Dassel. Their presence transformed Cologne into one of medieval Europe's most important pilgrimage centers, and the magnificent Shrine of the Three Kings remains one of the defining treasures of Cologne Cathedral. The three crowns had become a civic emblem of the city by the Middle Ages and have remained closely associated with Cologne ever since.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe eleven black devices are connected with the legend of Saint Ursula, another of Cologne's principal patron saints. According to medieval tradition, Ursula and her companions were martyred at Cologne. Over generations the legend developed into the celebrated account of Ursula and 11,000 virgins. Eleven black symbols were incorporated into the city's arms to represent Ursula and her companions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTheir unusual form has long generated different popular interpretations as flames, tears, or drops. Heraldically, however, they derive from stylized ermine tails, traditionally connected with Brittany, the legendary homeland of Saint Ursula. Together with the three crowns, they unite Cologne's two most important medieval cult traditions within a single civic emblem.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCologne's coat of arms has a history extending more than seven centuries. The small shield represented here developed independently of the more elaborate großes Stadtwappen (great city coat of arms), in which the familiar Cologne shield appears upon the breast of a crowned double-headed Imperial eagle carrying sword and scepter. That larger composition emphasized Cologne's status as a Freie Reichsstadt (Free Imperial City) within the Holy Roman Empire, officially recognized in 1475.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe city possessed enormous importance long before the modern German nation-state. Founded as the Roman Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, Cologne became one of the principal cities of Roman Germania and later one of the largest and wealthiest commercial centers north of the Alps. Its position on the Rhine, powerful archbishopric, pilgrimage traffic, and role in medieval commerce made it a major political and economic center.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCologne was also closely associated with the Hanseatic trading network and developed into one of western Germany's most important commercial cities. The enormous Gothic cathedral, begun in 1248 and finally completed in 1880, became both the architectural symbol of Cologne and one of the great national monuments of nineteenth-century Germany.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing the Napoleonic period, Cologne became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1815 and subsequently developed into one of the principal cities of the Prussian Rhine Province. After the establishment of the German Empire in 1871, the city grew rapidly as an industrial, commercial, military, and transportation center. Completion of Cologne Cathedral in 1880, attended by Kaiser Wilhelm I, reinforced the city's considerable symbolic importance within the newly unified German Empire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe heraldic design itself cannot establish the manufacturing date of this particular plaque. Cologne has continued to use the three crowns and eleven black devices through successive political periods and into the present day. In the absence of a maker's mark, dated inscription, or documented provenance, the plaque should therefore be cataloged as an older German Cologne civic heraldic piece rather than assigned an unsupported Imperial-period date.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition is very good overall with attractive age and display character. The raised cast decoration remains complete and well defined. The three gold-colored crowns retain strong detail with scattered rubbing and surface variation. The red upper field remains vivid with localized abrasions and minor finish loss, while the white field shows light age-related discoloration, surface irregularities, and scattered marks. The eleven black ermine-tail devices remain strong and clearly defined. The gold perimeter exhibits scattered rubbing and small areas of wear. The black wooden backing shows expected scratches, edge wear, handling marks, and finish loss consistent with age and display. The recessed hanging arrangement remains present and functional.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith its strong dimensional construction, distinctive red, white, black, and gold presentation, and exceptionally rich connection to Cologne's medieval, Prussian, and German history, this is an appealing piece for a collection devoted to Köln, the Rhineland, Prussia, German municipal heraldry, Hanseatic history, or historic German decorative arts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Derrittmeister Militaria Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50633620291823,"sku":"18-145","price":115.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/9169\/5855\/files\/18-145_1.jpg?v=1787950938","url":"https:\/\/derrittmeister.com\/products\/german-koln-cologne-city-coat-of-arms-cast-metal-wall-plaque","provider":"Derrittmeister Militaria Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}