Stendal
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Country : Germany  State : Sachsen-Anhalt  District (Kreis) : Stendal  Additions: (to see click on expand)
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| German | Gespalten in Silber; vorn am Spalt ein roter golden bewehrter Adler, hinten vier (1:2:1) rautenförmige grüne Steine. |
| English | blazon wanted |
Origin/meaning
The arms were officially granted on July 10, 1995.
Stendal was founded by the Bishop of Hildesheim in 1022. In 1151 Stendal received city rights from Albrecht, Duke of Sachsen. The oldest known seal dates from the 14th century (known from 1344-1530) and shows an eagle above a city wall. A smaller seal is also known from the 14th century and only shows the eagle, but with two unidentified symbols near the claws. A later 16th century small seal also shows the same composition.
The eagle is the eagle of Brandenburg, to which the city belonged at the time. The two small figures are not identified, but may be canting stones, the name Stendal may have been derived from Stein-tal, stone-valley. The 'stone' was used as a symbol for the city and was also seen in for example the seal of the butcher's guild from the 14th century. They also appear on the arms in a manuscript from 1514 and on the Roland statue in the city (see below).
On an wood carving from 1462 in the Stendal city hall in the 19th century the current arms appear for the first time. Here the eagle is shown in a divided shield with 4 square stones in the other half. These stones, probably were derived from the old symbol on the seals. In images and decorations from the 17th century onwards the square stones were changed into diamonds, which are still used. The colour of the eagle has never changed, but the colours of the other half have changed regularly during the centuries. Only in 1995 the colours were officially determined.
Image gallery
The oldest great seal
The first small seal
The second small seal
The butcher's guild seal
The arms in a manuscript from 1514
The arms on the Roland statue
Seal from around 1900
The arms in an album from around 1905
The arms in an album from around 1910
The arms by Hupp in the Kaffee Hag albums +/- 1925
The arms in the Kurmark Wappenschau album from 1929
The arms in the Abadie albums
The arms in an album from around 1950
Postal cancellation 1944
The old seal and arms on a special cover, 1975
Postal cancellation 1986
Local coin, no date (Kleingeldersatzmarke)
Local coin, 1975
The arms on a cover
Literature: Bensing et al., 1984;
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