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Deutsche Wappen (Gemeindewappen/Kreiswappen) German Civic Heraldry
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COESFELD
State : Nordrhein-Westfalen
District (Kreis) : Coesfeld
 Origin/meaning:
The arms were granted in 1939.
The bull's head in the arms is canting (from Kuh, compare Dutch Koe, both meaning cow), but bears no ethymological relation to the name of the town. The head already appears in a seal of the city from 1291. Older seals show the patron saint, St. Lambert between two towers. Since 1392 the head is used as the main symbol on the seals and arms. From 1578-1763 the city struck its own coins, also with the head.
The colours of the arms are known since around 1500, and are the colours of the diocese of Münster, as the city was ruled by the Bishops of Münster for many centuries. The Bishops also granted the city rights in 1197.
Hupp showed the arms in the 1920s in a slightly different composition :
Literature : Stadler, 1964-1971, 8 volumes; Hupp, O: Kaffee Hag albums, 1920s
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