Plauen
PLAUEN
State : Sachsen
District (Kreis) : Vogtlandkreis (until 2008 Free Urban District)
Additions : 1899 Haselbrunn; 1900 Chrieschwitz; 1903 Kleinfriesen, Reusa, Sorga, Tauschwitz; 1939 Reißig; 1949 Reinsdorf; 1950 Oberlosa, Stöckigt, Thiergarten, Unterlosa; 1994 Meßbach; 1996 Großfriesen; 1999: Jößnitz, Kauschwitz, Neundorf, Straßberg
| German | |
| English | No blazon/translation known. Please click here to send your (heraldic !) blazon or translation |
Origin/meaning
The arms were officially granted on January 12, 1939.
The arms are based on the oldest known seal of the city, dating from 1329. The arms show two towers or a gate, with between the towers the arms of the medieval Lords of Plauen. The oldest use of the lion by the Lords of Plauen is known from a seal of Heinrich I von Plauen from 1288. The family was a branch of the Lords of Weida, who used the same arms (see Gera).
The first time the arms of the city are described dates from 1598. This description only mentions the lion, not the castle. The actual shape of the different elements (with or without towers), as well as the colours, differed widely until 1899 when the current design was formalised by the Ministry of the Interior of Saxony, but with red towers. In 1939 the, still current, arms were officially granted by the German State Archives.
 The oldest seal of Plauen |
 The arms in a 16th century manuscript |
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 Seals from around 1900 |
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 The arms of the city shown in 1900 |
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 The arms by Hupp in the Kaffee Hag albums +/- 1925 |
 Postal cancellation 1975 |
 Postal cancellation 1978 |
Literature: Hupp, O: Kaffee Hag albums, 1920s; Benzing et al, 1984; Plauen city Archives