Wheel of Mainz

" The coat of arms of the city Mainz shows two by a silver cross linked, sloping, six-spoked silver wheels on a red background. The city colors are red and white. "

The Mainzer Rad is a common figure in the heraldry of the city of Mainz in Rhineland- Palatinate. There is a coat of arms image with proper names, showing a sechsspeichiges silver tone wheel on a red background. To differentiate from the earlier Electorate of Mainz, the city leads in their coat of arms a double instead of a single wheel, which is connected with a cross. Even the state of Rhineland -Palatinate and many communities that are historically linked to the city or the Electorate of Mainz, the wheel lead in their coat of arms. Moreover, it is even today in many stone carvings - to find and on medieval seals and similar work - for example, on old boundary stones.

• 2.1 Elector of Arms
• 2.2 City of Mainz

• 3.1 Municipal coat of arms
• 3.2 coins and seals
• 3.3 stone carvings and Landmarks
• 3.4 namesake
• 3.5 Other

Formation

The coat of arms of Mainz, emerged from the badge of the Diocese of Mainz, can be a double wheel on coins of Archbishop Siegfried III. evidence of Eppstein ( 1230-1249 ). At this time, Mainz was a center of the Rhenish Confederation. From the 14th century it was connected with a cross for double wheel. Two centuries later the helical status as a silver wheel on a red field. As Worbis to the archbishopric of Mainz was one (14th century), it changed its coat of arms and seal after the ceremony by Archbishop Daniel Brendel of Homburg in 1576, which still shows the wheel.

The emergence of the Mainz wheel is not yet clear. There are numerous legends and a theory that is considered likely.

Willigis saga

A tradition refers to the bishop Willigis, voted 975 to the archbishop of Mainz and was said to be the son of a Wagner. To emphasize his humble origins, Willigis should have chosen a coat of arms, the wheel, one of the main products of Wagner profession. However, this is not tenable for scientific research, as there are crest until the 12th century.

The late medieval tradition has become popular by the Germans Tell the Brothers Grimm:

"In the year 1009 Willegis, a pious and learned man, was elected Bishop of Mainz; he was but Wagner was a man of small, poor background and his father. Des hated him, the noble companions Tumherren and pen, chalk and took him maleten verdrießweise wheels on the walls and doors of his castle; intended him to do with it a disgrace. As the pious bishop heard their mockery because he was call a painter; which he commanded, with good color in all his rooms to paint white wheels in red boxes, and had to put a rhyme that said. " Willegis, Willegis, thinking, how did you come sis " Hence, that since the time all the bishops white wheels lead to Mainz in the red shield. Other add, have Willegis, had a wooden Pflugrad always hang of due humility, to his bed facility. "

Wheel of Saint Martin

More likely is the theory that the wheel comes from the visions of the prophet Ezekiel about God the car and the wheel as an attribute of St. Martin, patron of the city and the cathedral. The Council Seal of 1300 in any case shows the saint with the two wheels. In addition, the archbishops of Mainz of the Middle Ages were called currum Dei ( God's arm carriage ) or currum ecclesiae Moguntinae aurigantes ( driver of the vehicle from the church in Mainz ). When asked about the reason for the election of the wheel for the Coat of research sometimes takes back to the theories of the monogram of Christ. This, set in a circular nimbus, have then give the Wheel of Mainz. Its leadership in the coat of arms was a matter of course for the Archbishop and Elector of Mainz as Reichserzkanzler the Holy Roman Empire and thus the leading princes of the Church in the empire.

Other theories

See other theories in the wheel, the monogram of Christ XP ( Chi - Ro), the Emperor Constantine served as a banner, the symbol of Mithras, a Persian- Roman Sun God or the Mogon, a Celtic Sun God, of which the Roman name of Mainz " Mogontiacum " derives.

Representation

Elector of Arms

The first double wheel can be on coins of Archbishop Siegfried III. evidence of Eppstein ( 1230-1249 ). Since then, almost all electors and bishops of Mainz had the wheel in their coat of arms. A list is included in the list of bishops of Mainz.

In Siebmachers armorial of 1605 the image of the archdiocese is on the table 3 below electors with twin wheels of a diagonally left Eisenhut row isolated with eight spokes. On the second helmet there is also a eight-spoked wheel on panel 9 under Archdioceses and dioceses is a colored drawing in red sechsspeichiges a silver wheel

Elector Baldwin of Trier (Coat: red cross on a white background ) meets his nephew John, king of Bohemia (Coat: white lion on red background). In the accompaniment of John can be recognized by its coat of arms (white wheel on a red background ) the Archbishop of Mainz.

Siebmachers armorial panel 3: Ertzbistum Maintz, in a red eight-spoked dual wheel

Siebmachers armorial panel 9: Archdiocese of Maintz, in a red sechsspeichiges wheel

Kurmainzische coat of arms panel from the mid-18th century ( oil on wood)

The chapter seal shows the chapter crest surmounted by a wheel sechsspeichigen The Latin inscription means: Seal of the Mainz cathedral chapter.

Defenestration on Electoral castle of Mainz Johannesburg, Aschaffenburg

City ​​of Mainz

The coat of arms of Mainz has since the first pictures in the 15th century on some changes. Thus, the double wheel in the 15th century was represented vertically. In Siebmachers armorial of 1605 is on the board 220 under imperial cities and other cities a colored drawing of the coat of arms of Mainz shown. In a red fünfspeichiges silver double wheel, connected by a cross.

Siebmachers armorial panel 220: Maintz ( 1605 )

In some cases, there are representations of two independent wheels with a free-floating cross as a connection. A 1811 conferred by Napoleon Bonaparte crest to the then French city of Mayence has temporarily on far-reaching changes. So find it typical elements of the Napoleonic heraldry, such as bees, an eagle, wall crown and oak wreath.

As well

As well

Simplified representation, 1811

Later, the coat of arms was again simplified and reduced to the dual wheel. The latest change comes from the May 2008 and was city legal effect on 1 June 2008. This is a slight modification of the previous crest. The upper arms were not straight, but has received a slight curvature.

1992-2008

Since 2008

Dissemination

Municipal coat of arms

The archbishopric of Mainz was a contiguous area and ranged from the Hunsrück about Rheinhessen, Rheingau, Taunus, the northern Odenwald and Vogelsberg up to Einbeck and the Saale ( see map: Distribution of the Mainz wheel ).

By Kurmainzische country rule until 1803, the Wheel of Mainz spread over the vast territory Kurmainzer and can be found in more than 270 municipal coat of arms of the former Bishopric, see List of Coat of Arms with Mainzer Rad

In addition, it was also included in the design of the emblem of the state of Rhineland -Palatinate in 1948 and is located on the left heraldic blazon.

Coins and seals

• The first double wheel can be on coins of Archbishop Siegfried III. evidence of Eppstein ( 1230-1249 ).
• The Weißpfennig was a late medieval penny coin. In the second half of the 14th century that was the club coin of the Rhenish Münzbundes. On this coin the Wheel of Mainz was mapped and led to the Weißpfennig was also called Rader bus or bus only. The high silver content was the inspiration for the name. The Elector of Trier, Cologne, Mainz and the Palatinate were the minters.

The Mainzer Rad is also detectable in many seals.

• In the land of peace Siegel ( Pax Thuringiae ) of Henry II, archbishop from 1286 to 1288, is included a eight-spoked wheel:
• In Dieburger Seal (18th century)
• Representation of the wheel on the court sealing of Rauenberg and Wessental of 1811.

Stone carvings and Landmarks

• At the entrance of the cemetery wall of Möbisburg Rhoda - the Wheel of Mainz and the bishop's cap are shown. Möbisburg historically belonged to Erfurt and Kurmainz
• On Muehlhaeuser Landgraben are still landmarks with the Mainz wheel of kurmainzischen Principality calibration field on the back.
• Throughout the calibration field, there are still Electoral Mainz landmarks.
• On the slope of the castle Leite to Mühlburg ( three of a kind ) found several landmarks, which bear the Wheel of Mainz as a sign of Mainz sovereignty and the number 1777. The then ruler, Archbishop and Elector of Mainz, Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal, 1777 visited the city of Erfurt and the Mühlburg.

• As a sign of the reign of the outer bailey of the castle Scharfstein ( Eichsfeld ) were carved the Wheel of Mainz and the year 1587 the target. The castle was Kurmainzisches office home and prison.
• At the archway of the hospital of the Holy Spirit in Bad Mergentheim is in the heart shield of the arms of the Prince Bishop Franz Ludwig von Pfalz- Neuburg in gold, a black eagle, carrying a small Brustschildchen the Silver Wheel of Mainz in red.
• In the town hall of Erligheim is a stone Mainzer Rad The community leads in the arms no wheel, but a lying moon. Probably the stone came in 1666, from the mortgage rule Boennigheim (which has the Wheel of Mainz in the crest ) to the rulers of Württemberg. However, the stone figure has only four spokes.

Landmark of the upper Eichsfeld at Heyerode (KP 1784)

Namesake

• Mainz chemist Helmut Ringsdorf has designed a liquid crystal molecule having the symmetry of the Mainz wheel. And he has two disk-shaped mesogens and a rod-shaped mesogen linked laterally. With a molecular size of approximately five to seven nanometers, it would be the smallest realization of the Mainz wheel.
• Since 2001, the Wheel of Mainz is the highest award at the Festival of German Cinema Filmz in Mainz. The length film competition is endowed with 1000 Euro.

Others

• Glass window of the Cathedral of Mainz show the most Bishop Coat of Arms with sechsspeichigen silver wheel on a red field.
• The 13th chasuble in Mainz Cathedral shows the Wheel of Mainz in flames.
• Most manhole covers in Mainz have the dual wheel as a motive.
• The Town Museum of Bretten an elector plate is preserved from the 17th century. It is made of tin and shows the Mainz wheel
• In St. Wendel, the Basilica of St. Wendelin is with crest about paintings from the period between 1463 and 1464 on the ceilings. Among the 15 emblem is the Archbishop of Mainz, showing the Wheel of Mainz.
• The coat of arms stationed in Mainz Military Police Battalion 251 contains the Wheel of Mainz, thus bringing the closeness of the battalion with the city to express.

Myths and legends surrounding the Wheel of Mainz

According to legend, the Capuchin friar Bernhard von Trier castle and town of Aschaffenburg is said to have 1631 saved by his craftiness by the troops of the Swedish King Gustav Adolf from pillage. After he had handed over the keys of the city, let the Swedish king heard that he would find it very sad to have to burn down the first few years earlier, completed lock because he unfortunately could not take it to Sweden. The Capuchin said, however, that he could do so well, he had to roll it there easily. Interrogative wrinkled Gustav Adolf the forehead and the wily Father referred to the under each of the numerous windows carved in the 2nd floor wheels ( the Mainz Coat of Arms). The king laughed and gave up being destroyed.