Minden

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MINDEN

State : Nordrhein-Westfalen
District (Kreis) : Minden-Lübbecke (until 1973 Minden)
Additions : 1973 Amt Dützen (partly), Aminghausen, Barkhausen (partly), Bölhorst, Dankersen, Dützen, Haddenhausen, Hahlen, Hartum (partly), Häverstädt, Holzhausen II (partly), Kutenhausen, Leteln, Meißen, Neesen (partly), Päpinghausen, Stemmer, Todtenhausen

Official blazon

Origin/meaning

Minden became a city in the 12^th century and was the seat of a bishop, later a prince-bishop. The prince-bishops of Minden were very influential and built several fortified towns to protect their lands. The arms of the diocese were the two crossed keys of St. Peter, which also became the arms of the city (and cities that were founded by the bishops, like Petershagen, Hausberge and Schlüsselburg).

The oldest seal of the city shows St. Peter sitting on a throne, the seal dates from the early 13^th century. The smaller seals of the city only used the crossed keys. The imperial eagle was granted by Emperor Ferdinand II in 1627. First the eagle was placed in a separate shield, but during the years the eagle gradually moved to the shield, resulting in the present arms. The arms were granted in 1853.

The arms in a manuscript from 1514	The arms on a 1634 coin
Seal from around 1900	Seal from around 1900
The arms by Hupp in the Kaffee Hag albums +/- 1925	The arms in the Abadie albums