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Friedensfahne, Münster

Original Friedensfahne, c. 1648, Münster, Germany Original Friedensfahne, c. 1648, Münster, Germany

In the main public hall of Münster's city hall (Rathaus), Germany, there is a replica of a banner that was made to celebrate the Peace of Westphalia, which helped to officially bring to an end the Thirty Years' War in 1648. The original banner is 250 x 250 cm in size and has a mid-blue silk ground.

The central design consist of four symbols: a dove with olive branch in its beak over a gold coloured imperial crown of the Habsburgs. Under the crown are two crossed arms with white, gloved hands that are holding palm branches (a symbol of joy and peace). The fourth symbol is based on the arms of the city of Münster, worked in gold, red and silver.

The various emblems are made from coloured silk cloth that were appliquéd down onto the blue silk ground. The whole of the surface of the cloth is covered in a square trellis of stitches. It is not clear if this was original or added at a later date, perhaps during one of the periodic restorations of the banner. Due to the fragile nature of the original banner it is now housed in the LWL-Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kultur, Münster, and is not on display.

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 20 June 2016).

GVE

Last modified on Wednesday, 19 April 2017 19:38