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Lippe County (Germany)

Kreis Lippe, Nordrhein-Westfalen

Last modified: 2021-07-17 by klaus-michael schneider
Keywords: lippe | detmold(county) | lemgo(county) | rose(red) | swallow | star(8-point) |
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[Lippe County flag] 3:5 image by Stefan Schwoon, 5 Feb 2001 See also:

Lippe County

Lippe County Banner

At least according to the official approval in 1973, the county uses flags (horizontal and vertical) with the coat-of-arms.
However, unofficial variants are already mentioned in our page. I guess, these are flags used by citizens to show their attachment to the former state of Lippe, rather than to the current county.
Source: Veddeler 2003, p.311
M. Schmöger, 10 July 2005

Lippe County Flag

Lippe was a state on its own until 1946 when it was integrated into the newly created Northrhine-Westphalia. The present-day county coincides with the state. The arms of Lippe, the rose, are part of the state arms of Northrhine-Westphalia. According to the local Hauptsatzung, version 25 October 1999, the flags bear the shield with the coat of arms, i.e. a yellow-red horizontal bicolour with arms shifted to the hoist.
Stefan Schwoon, 5 Feb 2001

Lippe County Banner

[Lippe county banner] 5:2 image by Stefan Schwoon, 5 Feb 2001

It is a yellow-red vertical bicolour with arms shifted to the top.
Source: Veddeler 2003, p.311
Stefan Schwoon, 5 Feb 2001

Lippe County Coat of Arms

Shield Argent a heraldic rose Gules seeded and barbed Or.
Meaning:
The arms are based on the old arms of the Princes and State of Lippe. The number of 16 seeds in the rose symbolises the 16 municipalities in the county.
Source: Linder and Olzog 1996 and Ralf Hartemink's webpage
Santiago Dotor, 25 Oct 2001

Flag, banner and arms were approved on 17 July 1973 by Minister of Interior of Nordrhein-Westfalen.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 25 Oct 2001

Flag Variants

[Lippe County centred rose wo/ shield]
3:5 image by Stefan Schwoon, 5 Feb 2001 		[Lippe County off-centred rose wo/ shield]
3:5 image by Stefan Schwoon, 5 Feb 2001 		   

A variant with rose only is also in use either centred (see left image above) or off-centred (see right image above).
Source: obsolete county website (www.lippe.de/new/politik/main-set.htm)
Stefan Schwoon, 5 Feb 2001 and Gerd Ballay, 21 June 2005

Today I saw on television a World Cup mass-start race which took place in Oberhof (Germany). A supporter standing near the arrival waved a horizontally divided yellow-red flag with a red rose in the middle, but skewed to the hoist, like on the official flag but without shield.
Ivan Sache, 12 Jan 2002

Problems

The problem with Lippe is, that there are several, somewhat overlapping territories, partly historical, so different things get mixed up, namely the historical Land (state) Lippe, the current Landesverband (regional association) Lippe and the current Kreis (county) Lippe.
First of all, there is mentioned an"aktuelle Flagge des Landes Lippe" (current flag of the state Lippe). There is no current state, as Lippe ceased to exist as separate state of Germany shortly after WW2 (1947, IIRC). Historically, Lippe used different variants of the colours yellow and red, for official purposes (especially for the head-of-state) frequently with the arms. Only rarely (especially 1933-1937) flags with the rose alone, i.e. without shield, were used. The Lippe flag history is comprehensively described in Kittel 1950. The arms is described in Veddeler 1978.
The Landesverband Lippe, as far as is known, uses the plain bicolour flag.
M. Schmöger, 10 July 2005

Detmold County (1932-1973)

Detmold County Flag

[Detmold County (1932-1973) wo/ CoA]
3:5 image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 15 Jan 2014 		[Detmold County (1932-1973) w/ CoA]
3:5 image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 18 May 2020 		   

According to Klemens Stadler it was a plain yellow-red horizontal bicolour, acc. to Falko Schmidtwith coat of arms is in the canton.
Sources: Stadler 1964; p.26 and ABl RB Detmold no.26, p.256
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 18 May 2020

Detmold County Banner

[Lippe county banner] 5:2 image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 July 2021

It was a yellow red vertical bicolour. The coat of arms was shifted towards the top.
Source: presentation of Klaus Günther on 27 September 2020 in Schwarzburg (DVT28)
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 July 2021

Detmold Coat of Arms

Shield parted per fess, above Argent a heraldic rose Gules barbed and seeded Or, beneath Gules a faceted 8-point star Or under a swallow statant Sable.
Meaning:
The upper half displayes the family arms of the Barons of Lippe, who ruled the area since the 12th century. They were upgraded to counts in 1528 and to imperial princes (German: Reichsfürsten) in 1720. The lower half displays the arms of the Counts of Schwalenberg. The swallow (German: Schwalbe) is canting. This county belonged partially to Lippe including the namesake castle.

Source: Stadler 1964, p.26
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 15 Jan 2014 / 18 May 2020

The flag was approved on in 1967 and the arms on 13 December 1951 by Minister of Interior of Nordrhein-Westfalen. The symbols were abolished on 31 December 1972.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 18 May 2020

Lemgo County (1932-1973)

Lemgo County Banner

[Lippe county banner] 5:2 image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 July 2021

It was a yellow red vertical bicolour. The coat of arms was shifted towards the top.
Source: presentation of Klaus Günther on 27 September 2020 in Schwarzburg (DVT28)
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 July 2021

Lemgo Coat of Arms

Shield parted per fess, above Argent a heraldic rose Gules barbed and seeded Or, beneath Or a faceted 8-point star Gules.
Meaning:
The upper half displayes the family arms of the Barons of Lippe, who ruled the area since the 12th century. They were upgraded to counts in 1528 and to imperial princes (German: Reichsfürsten) in 1720. The lower half is taken from the arms of the Counts of Schwalenberg. This county belonged partially to Lippe including the namesake castle.
Source: Stadler 1964, p.56
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 July 2021

The flag was approved on 15 May 1953 and the arms on 6 February 1952 by Minister of Interior of Nordrhein-Westfalen. The symbols were abolished on 31 December 1972.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 18 May 2020

The flag colours of both former counties are those of the Principality of Lippe. Detmold County and next Lemgo County were both established in 1932 as parts of the State of Lippe, which was dissolved in 1947. Then both counties became part of Nordrhein-Westfalen. The counties of Detmold and Lippe merged on 1 January 1973 and formed Lippe County.The arms were approved on 6 February 1952 by Minister of Interior of Nordrhein-Westfalen. The symbols were abolished on 31 December 1972.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 14 July 2021

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