Gressenberg

Heraldry of the World
Civic heraldry of Austria - Österreichische Gemeindewappen

GRESSENBERG

State : Steiermark
District : Deutschlandsberg

====Origin/meaning====
The arms were officially granted on ??

There were several old roads from Styria to Carinthia, called Weinstrassen (wine roads); one of them passed locally via Gressenberg (an old form of "der grosse Berg", the bigger mountain - which is symbolised by the blue field).

There is a lot of quartz in the stone of the Koralpe mountains - so, from the 16^th century on, small glassworks, Glashütten, were established and the cross in the arms consists of two glass-blowers' pipes. One of these glassworks did so well that a small village grew up, even after the Glashütte was abandoned, and a church was built at Glashütten, dedicated to Our Lady (hence the fleur-de-lis).

The arms are strewn with sprigs of cress because it is a popular explanation that Gressenberg really means Kressenberg (hill of cress).