Bavaria was one of the stem duchies of the Eastern Franconian Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. The House of Wittelsbach, which ruled in Bavaria for about eight centuries, used the coat lozengy from 1242, later quartering it with the lion of the Electorate of the Palatinate.
Bavaria became a kingdom in 1806, and in 1835 a new coat of arms was created, similar to today's but representing some regions by different coats of arms.
The first known coat of arms of the House of Wittelsbach was azure, a golden fess dancetty. When Louis I married Ludmilla, the widow of Albert III, Count of Bogen, he adopted the coat of arms of the counts of Bogen together with their land. The number of lozenges varied; from the 15th century 21 were used, increasing to 42 when Bavaria became a kingdom in 1806.[5]
Coat of arms of Electorate of Bavaria (Elector Palatine)
- Description
- Used on the flags of this period,[6] the coat of arms of the joint holding of Duke of Bavaria and Elector Palatine (commonly known as the Elector of Bavaria, as the titles were so closely linked) shows the historical arms of Bavaria and those of the Palatinate, plus an inescutcheon with a golden orb on a red field for his position of Imperial Archsteward of the Holy Roman Empire.
- Years in use
- 1623–1806
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Coat of arms of Kingdom of Bavaria (1807–1835)
- Description
- Marquee and regal crown showing the status of Bavaria has been raised to that of Kingdom. The inescutcheon is for the ruling house.
- Years in use
- 1807–1835
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Coat of arms of Kingdom of Bavaria (1835–1918)
- Description
- The first quarter shows the golden lion of the Palatinate. The second field shows the Franconian rake. The third field shows a red- and white-striped field with a gold pale, the coat of arms of the margraviate of Burgau, representing Swabia. The fourth field shows a blue lion with a golden crown on white ground (the Lion of Veldenz), representing the ruling branch of the House of Wittelsbach. The inescutcheon represents Bavaria itself.
- Years in use
- 1835–1918
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until 1623
1623-1777
1777-1799
1799-1804
1804-1806
1806
1806-1835
1835-1923
1923-1950
since 1950
Lit: Wilhelm Volkert; Die Bilder in den Wappen der Wittelsbacher (Wittelsbach und Bayern, Köln, 1980)
Coat of arms of Kraiburg
A map showing the area represented
In the eleventh century the counts of Kraiburg, a branch of the counts of Sponheim originating in what is today Rhenish Hesse, acquired land in Upper and Lower Bavaria. In 1259, after the death of the last male member of the family, the county was sold to the dukes of Bavaria. The coat of arms of the family was the "Lion of Sponheim", although the charge was not a lion but a "panthier" (pronounced as in French), a mixture of a dragon and a lion. Nowadays, the fire-spitting panthier/panther is the coat of arms of the city of Ingolstadt. The coat of arms created for the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1835 included the panthier.