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Historical Flags (Heligoland, Germany)

2:3
by Jorge Candeias

Introduction
Flag 17th-18th Centuries
Civil Flag and Ensign since the 19th Century (first reported 1848)

See also:

British Heligoland 1814-1890
Heligoland / Helgoland (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany)
Historical Flags (Germany)
Germany

Flag 17th-18th Centuries

Variant reported 1685, 1737 and 1862

by Jaume Ollé and Jorge Candeias

Eight striped: blue-white-red-blue-white-red-blue-white. Illustrated in Wilson 1986 p. 68.

Norman Martin, March 1998

According to Muir's Historical Atlas, Heligoland was not Danish until 1714. Perhaps the red, white and blue striped flags relate to a pre-1714 Frisian period? (...) The date given for the chart on which the "Holygoland" flag appears in Wilson 1986 p. 68 is 1685-6. The dates 1737 and 1862 seem to have come from somewhere else.

David Prothero, 27 September 2000

Variant reported 1700 and 1705

by Jaume Ollé

Seven striped: blue-white-red-blue-white-red-blue. Illustrated in National Geographic 1917 p. 371, no. 1155 and Wilson 1986 p. 69.

Norman Martin, March 1998

Variant reported 1716

by Jaume Ollé

Seven striped: blue-white-red-blue-white-red-white.

Norman Martin, March 1998

Civil Flag and Ensign since the 19th Century

First reported 1848

2:3
by Jorge Candeias

Horizontal tricolor green-red-white. In use as local flag until the present.

Norman Martin, March 1998

One more thing regarding Helgoland. It is not clear to me where do the red-green-white colours come from. Before the British invasion 1807 and later takeover 1814, the only Helgoland flags appear to have been multi-striped flags in blue, white and red. So where did the green originate and when was the current flag established? It was already being used by 1848, when it appeared on a flag chart.

Santiago Dotor, 27 September 2000

In his letter of 11th May 1888, quoted here, the Governor also referred to, "an old Frisian motto:- Green is the grass, red the cliff and white the sand, these three make the colours of Heligoland".

David Prothero, 27 September 2000

Westermann Lexicon der Geographie 1969 has: "Settled by Frisians; it belonged to the Duchy of Schleswig from 1402 till 1714; from that date till 1807 it was Danish, and from 1807-1890 British. It was exchanged for Zanzibar and the Caprivi strip.".

Jarig Bakker, 28 September 2000

The German editors of Norie and Hobbs 1971 added two charts (which were not originally in Norie and Hobbs 1848) with German flags that were important over time. One of them is no. 2, Helgoland ab 1696 (vorher ohne Wappen), i.e. Heligoland from 1696 (before without arms): as the above image, with the arms from no. 107 mirrored.

Peter Hans van der Muijzenberg, 12 November 2001