Bad Arolsen
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Heraldry of the World Civic heraldry of Germany - Deutsche Wappen (Gemeindewappen/Kreiswappen) |
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BAD AROLSEN (until 1997 Arolsen)
State : Hessen
District (Kreis) : Waldeck-Frankenberg (until 1976 Waldeck)
Additions : 1974 Braunsen, Bühle, Helsen, Kohlgrund, Landau, Massenhausen, Mengeringhausen, Neu-Berich, Schmillinghausen, Volkhardinghausen, Wetterburg
Origin/meaning
The arms are a combination of an oak-tree as a symbol of the woods and the clean air, and an escutcheon showing the star of Waldeck an the initial of the town.
The town was founded in 1719 and became the seat of the Princes of Waldeck in 1728. The original arms, used from the 18th century until 1938 showed the star and initial under so-called God's-eye, a triangle surrounded by solar-rays (see bad-krozBad Krozingen]]). The colours were not well defined, which can be seen from the different images below. The God's eye was probably a religious or freemason symbol and not acceptable in the 1930s. In 1938 it was therefore replaced by an oak tree to form the present arms. The tree stands for the woods in the area and the fact that the city is a spa, based on clean air and water.
 The arms around 1900 |
 Seal from around 1900 |
 The arms in the Kaffee Hag albums +/- 1925 |
 The arms by Rühl (1939) |
Literature : Stadler, 1964-1971, 8 volumes. Rühl, 1939.