Bocholt (Germany)

BOCHOLT

State : Nordrhein-Westfalen
District (Kreis) : Borken (until 1974 Bocholt)
Additions : 1975 Amt Liedern-Werth (partly), Barlo, Biemenhorst, Hemden, Holtwick, Liedern, Lowick, Mussum, Spork, Stenern, Suderwick

Official blazon

German	blazon wanted
English	blazon wanted

Origin/meaning

The arms of Bocholt were granted on March 6, 1930.

Bocholt got city rights in 1222 from the Bishop of Münster. The oldest known seal dates from the same time and shows, just as all later seals, a beech as canting symbol (beech = Buche). The arms have thus basically not changed ever since, although the size and shape of the tree have changed considerably in style during the centuries. The only exception is a 17^th century seal that shows the tree with a bar. This bar is taken from the arms of <a href=m/munster2|Münster]], as Bocholt at the time was part of the State of Münster. The colours have been used for centuries, their original meaning is not known.

Seal of Bocholt from 1311 (Meijer, 1940)	The arms on a 1616 coin
Seal from around 1900
The arms by Hupp in the Kaffee Hag albums +/- 1925	The arms in the Abadie albums

Literature: Stadler, 1964-1971, 8 volumes.

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