Cologne

Köln
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Flag of Cologne
Wikipedia article
Flags of the World article

Cologne (German: Köln; Kölsch: Kölle) is the largest city of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany

The official flag of the city of a Cologne is a bicolour with vertical stripes, red above and white bellow, with the coat of arms of the city in the center, ratio 3:5.

Coat of Arms

The arms of the city in the 16th century were Argent, on a chief Gules three crowns Or. Between 1550 and 1580, the arms were altered to Argent eleven gouttes of tar Sable (5/4/2), on a chief Gules three crowns Or. The three crowns symbolize the Magi (Three Wise Men) whose bones are said to be kept in a golden sarcophagus in Cologne Cathedral (see Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral). In 1164, Rainald of Dassel, the Archbishop of Cologne, brought the relics to the city, making it a major pilgrimage destination. This led to the design of the current cathedral as the earlier church was considered too small to accommodate the pilgrims.

The eleven drops recall Cologne's patron, Saint Ursula, a Britannic princess, and her legendary 11,000 virgin companions who were supposedly martyred by Attila the Hun at Cologne for their Christian faith in 383. The entourage of Ursula and the number of victims was significantly smaller; according to one source, the original legend referred to only eleven companions and the number was later inflated.

Historical flags

Flag of the Electorate Of Cologne (953-1803).