Last modified: 2005-06-25 by santiago dotor
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Most of the information concerning the Napoleonic era is based on articles by Dr. Günter Mattern published in The Flag Bulletin for 1976, 1982 and 1983.
Norman Martin, April 1998
Since the French revolutionaries did not accept the agreements of the French kings concerning these territories, starting in the early 1790s these were seized. Since the annexation by France was a step by step process, I am not concerned with the uncertainties in the 1790s and immediately thereafter; in any, event, from 1793 on the French had de facto control.
Norman Martin, 21 July 2000
Free City and Free Imperial City were synonymous expressions. The imperial cities were concentrated in Swabia; outside that region there were just a few — in the 17th and 18th centuries Nuremberg, Regensburg, Schweinfurt, Frankfurt, (Donauwörth), Rothenburg, Worms, Speyer, Wetzlar, Muehlhausen, Nordhausen, Goslar, Aachen, Cologne, Dortmund, Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck. The list did undergo changes; in the middle ages Nijmegen and Duisburg belonged to the list.
Alexander Ganse, 12 November 2001
With respect to Cologne, Mainz and Trier, the flags I cited were those of the electors (who were the prince bishops). I don't know if the Imperial Cities had flags during this period, but if they did, I don't have the data. With regard to Regensburg, despite the attribution, I did not contribute the info. As a matter of fact, all I have on Regensburg is that the bishopric had as coa "gules, a bend argent" (i.e. a white diagonal on a red field). This suggests that the colors of the flag in question might come from the traditional arms of the bishopric, but since it is clearly not the banner of arms, I'd guess that it is a flag of the city, but I do not know.
Norman Martin, 28 February 2002
![[Cologne 1475-1794 (Germany)]](../images/d/de_kol.gif)
by Jaume Ollé
A black St. George cross on a white flag. In use from 14th century until the late 18th century.
Norman Martin, April 1998
After the Napoleonic era, Cologne became part of Prussia in 1815.
Santiago Dotor, 27 February 2001
Without concrete evidence to the contrary, I find this attribution [to the city of Cologne] doubtful. The traditional colours of the city are red and white. The black cross does however appear in the arms of the archdiocese of Cologne (Erzbistum Köln), see