Hanseatic City of Rostock (Germany)

Hansestadt Rostock, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania

Last modified: 2012-02-10 by german editorial team
Keywords: rostock | warnemuende | griffin | sail |
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3:5 image by Stefan Schwoon, 13 Feb 2001

• City of Rostock Flag
• Rostock Vertical Flag#1
• Rostock Vertical Flag#2
• Rostock-Warnemünde Spa Vertical Flag

• County and Municipal Flags (Mecklenburg-Westpomerania / Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
• Rostock until 1867
• Mecklenburg-Westpomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
• Germany

City of Rostock

The current flag of Rostock is blue-white-red in proportions 2:1:1 with a golden griffin on the blue stripe. Sources: flag from Staack 1997 and Günther 1999a, griffin from the arms from Bensing et al, Lexikon Städte und Wappen der DDR, Leipzig, 1984.
Stefan Schwoon, 13 Feb 2001

From Ralf Hartemink's International Civic Arms website: The arms combine the griffin of the Princes of Rostock with the arms of the Hanseatic League of cities. The griffin first appears on the second known seal of the city, which is known since 1367. (...) The Princes of Rostock were a branch of the Dukes of Mecklenburg. The lower part of the arms first appears in the late 14th or early 15th century on the flags of the city.
Literature: Das Wappen der Hansestadt Rostock, leaflet published by the city of Rostock, 1993; Bensing et al, Lexikon Städte und Wappen der DDR, Leipzig, 1984.
Santiago Dotor, 27 Nov 2001

Rostock Vertical Flag#1

The ratio is 5:2. It's a vertical tricolour blue (double width)-white-red from left to right(visible). In the middle of the blue stripe is a rather tiny golden griffin facing the hoist-side.
The tiny griffin does not match the aims of heraldry. It should fill the whole blue stripe. But here the shape of the griffin on flag was more or less kept. I don't know, whether this version is official.
Source: I spotted this banner on 8 December 2006 in Nienhagen (former Bad Doberan County) next to Rostock.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 15 Mar 2007

Rostock Vertical Flag#2

The ratio is approx 3:1. It is a horizontal blue over white over red tricolour with ratio 2:1:1. In the middle of the blue stripe is a yellow, statant griffin, tongued red. It is an armorial flag.
Source: I spotted this flag on the seaside boulevard in Rostock-Warnemünde on 25 April 2011.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 6 Feb 2012

Rostock-Warnemünde Spa Vertical Flag

The ratio is approx 2:1. It is a white flag. Parallel to the hoist is an inscription in blue capitals "OSTSEEBAD WARNEMÜNDE". At the bottom edge shifted to the fly is another, smaller inscription in blue capitals "HANSESTADT ROSTOCK". Above are a blue and a red sail superimposed by the yellow griffin from the Rostock arms.
Source: I spotted this flag on the seaside boulevard in Rostock-Warnemünde on 25 April 2011.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 6 Feb 2012