Katzenelnbogen

Heraldry of the World
Civic heraldry of Germany - Deutsche Wappen (Gemeindewappen/Kreiswappen)

KATZENELNBOGEN

State : Rheinland-Pfalz
District (Kreis) : Rhein-Lahn Kreis (until 1969 Unterlahnkreis)
Verbandsgemeinde : Verbandsgemeinde Katzenelnbogen

Origin/meaning

The Counts of Katzenelnbogen granted city rights in 1312 to the village that had grown around their castle. The new city also took the arms of the Counts as its arms, as can be seen on several 14^th century seals. The present arms are granted in 1935 and still show the lion of the family, which became extinct in 1479.

The city has used the arms through all the centuries, but the arms were removed from the seals of the city from 1540 until the 19^th century. The seals at the time showed St. Bartholomew, the patron saint of the city.