The Veldenz lion is a

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

. As a charge the

heraldic lion The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Christi ...

in the coat of arms has a stationary appearance. The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

is "argent, a lion

rampant In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a charge, a supporter, or as a crest. The attitude of an heraldic figure always precedes any reference to the tincture of the figure ...

azure Azure may refer to: Colour * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 ...

, armed and langued

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

". As a representation of the

County of Veldenz The County of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mosel in the Archbishopric of Trier. A municipality of ...

this lion can be found in many

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

in the region. In the Palatinate the

Palatine lion The Palatine Lion (german: Pfälzer Löwe), less commonly the Palatinate Lion, is an heraldic charge (see also: heraldic lions). It was originally part of the family coat of arms of the House of Wittelsbach and is found today on many coats of ar ...

dominates.

History

In 1444 the Castle of Veldenz and the surrounding area in the Mittelmosel were granted to the Count of Pfalz-Zweibrücken. The arms of

Niederstaufenbach Niederstaufenbach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kusel-Altengla ...

show the black-and-gold colors of the County of Veldenz and the red lion of Pfalz-Zweibrücken. It is a reference to their former overlords. In the arms of Veldenz next to the blue Veldenz Lion are the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate o ...

lozenge Lozenge or losange may refer to: * Lozenge (shape), a type of rhombus *Throat lozenge, a tablet intended to be dissolved slowly in the mouth to suppress throat ailments *Lozenge (heraldry), a diamond-shaped object that can be placed on the field of ...

s. The lion was an 1835

of the

King of Bavaria King of Bavaria was a title held by the hereditary Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished. It was the second time Bavaria was a kingdom, almost a thousand ...

. The Veldenz lion is also known as the ''Bavarian lion "''. The lion remained in the coat of arms until the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The arms lapsed with the abdication of

King Ludwig III Ludwig III (Ludwig Luitpold Josef Maria Aloys Alfried; 7 January 1845 – 18 October 1921) was the last King of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918. Initially he served in the Bavarian military as a lieutenant and went on to hold the rank of Oberl ...

during the November revolution.

Coats of Arms with the Veldenz lion

The Veldenz lion can be found in the 4th field of the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...

until 1919, since 1950 in the 3rd quarter of Arms of the state of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Gallery

Image:Wappen Veldenz.svg, Veldenz Image:Wappen Landkreis Celle.svg,

Landkreis Celle Celle () is a district (''Landkreis'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Uelzen, Gifhorn, Hanover and Heidekreis. Geography The district is located in the southernmost parts of the ...

Image:Wappen Landkreis Gifhorn.svg ,

Landkreis Gifhorn Gifhorn () is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography The district is located at the border of Saxony-Anhalt and extends from the southern edge of the Lüneburg Heath () in the north to the suburbs of Braunschweig and Wolfsburg in the so ...

Image:DEU_Landkreis_Harburg_COA.svg,

Landkreis Harburg District Harburg is a district (''Landkreis'') in Hamburg and Lower Saxony, Germany. It takes its name from the town of Harburg upon Elbe, which used to be the capital of the district but is now part of Hamburg. It is bounded by (from the east a ...

Image:DEU Landkreis Birkenfeld COA.svg ,

Landkreis Birkenfeld Birkenfeld () is a district (''Landkreis'') in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Its seat is the town of Birkenfeld. It is bounded by (from the south and clockwise) the districts of Sankt Wendel (Saarland), Trier-Saarburg, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Rhein ...

Image:DEU Verbandsgemeinde Baumholder COA.svg , Baumholder Image:DEU Berglangenbach COA.svg,

Berglangenbach Berglangenbach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld (district), Birkenfeld Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Pala ...

Image:DEU Berschweiler COA.svg,

Berschweiler bei Baumholder Berschweiler bei Baumholder is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of ...

Image:Wappen Eckersweiler.svg,

Eckersweiler Eckersweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Baumholder, ...

Image:Wappen Fohren-Linden.svg,

Fohren-Linden Fohren-Linden is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Baumholder, w ...

Image:Vordorf - coat of arms.jpg ,

Vordorf Vordorf is a municipality in the district of Gifhorn, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a member municipality of the Samtgemeinde Papenteich. The Municipality Vordorf includes the villages of Eickhorst, Rethen and Vordorf. Municipal Council The ...

Image:Wappen Hahnweiler.svg ,

Hahnweiler Hahnweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Baumholder, whos ...

Image:Wappen Leitzweiler.svg,

Leitzweiler Leitzweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Baumholder, who ...

Image:Wappen Mettweiler.svg,

Mettweiler Mettweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Baumholder, whos ...

Image:Wappen Rohrbach.svg, Rohrbach (bei Baumholder) Image:Wappen Rueckweiler.svg ,

Rückweiler Rückweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Baumholder, whose se ...

Image:Wappen Ruschberg.svg, Ruschberg Image:DEU Landkreis Kusel COA.svg, Landkreis Kusel Image:DEU Gammertingen COA.svg , Gammertingen Image:Wappen Neufra.svg,

Neufra Neufra is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geography and location The municipality of Neufra is located in the Fehla River Valley, a tributary of the Lauchert River, which rises in the Swabian Alp ...

Image:DEU Meisenheim COA.svg , Meisenheim Image:DEU Breitenheim COA.svg, Breitenheim Image:DEU Mülheim an der Mosel COA.svg, Mülheim (Mosel) Image:Wappen Grafschaft Veldenz.svg,

References

{{reflist Lions in heraldry Culture of the Palatinate (region)