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Deutsche Wappen (Gemeindewappen/Kreiswappen) German Civic Heraldry
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ECKERNFÖRDE
State : Schleswig-Holstein
District (Kreis) : Rendsburg-Eckernförde (until 1970 Eckernförde)
 Origin/meaning:
The arms were granted in 1936.
Eckernförde received city rights in around 1288. The first seal dates from the early 14th century and shows the castle at the coast (waves). The squirrel is a canting symbol (Eichhorn, or Ekern in the local dialect), which first appears on the seal in the 15th century. At first the squirrel was shown somewhere on the seal, later it became part of the arms itself. It was said that the area was covered with a forest, so dense that a squirrel could travel to Kiel without touching the ground.
Hupp showed the arms in the 1920s in a slightly different composition :
Literature : Stadler, 1964-1971, 8 volumes; Kaffee Hag albums, 1920s
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