Steinau an der Straße

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STEINAU AN DER STRASSE

State : Hessen
District (Kreis) : Main-Kinzig Kreis (until 1974 Schlüchtern)
Additions : 1969 Bellings, Marborn, Seidenroth; 1972 Marjoß; 1974 Hintersteinau, Neustall, Ulmbach

Official blazon

(de) In Blau auf grünem Schildgrund stehend eine weißgekleidete goldhaarige, goldgekrönte und silbernimbierte Frau, links unter der Krone hervortretend ein schalartiges schmales rotes Tuch bis zur Hüfte tragend, in der rechten ausgestreckten offenen Hand ein sechsspeichiges goldenes Wagenrad, in der linken ein silbernes Schwert haltend, die Spitze den Boden berührend, rechts begleitet von einem Schildchen darin in Gold drei rote Sparren, links von fünf wellenpfahlweise gestellten fünfzackigen goldenen Sternen.

Origin/meaning

The arms show St. Catherine, the patron saint of the city, with her attributes, sword and wheel. In most images of St. Catherine the wheel is broken, but in the arms of Steinau the wheel is shown unbroken.
The small half shield on the left side of the arms is the arms of the Counts of Hanau, who ruled the area for many centuries.

The saint and the shield of Hanau appear for the first time on the 15^th century seal of the city. The stars are a later addition, their meaning is not known.

In the 18^th century the wheel was often shown as an orb, for unknown reasons. Otherwise the arms have not changed since the 16^th century.

In 1956 the arms below were proposed, in which the saint was replaced by her attributes. As far as I know these arms were never introduced officially.