English: the city of Hamm

English: “Or a fess chequy Gules and Argent of three.”

English: Hamm was founded in 1226 by Adolf I, Count of the Mark, and later became the capital of the County of the Mark. In 1263 the village received city rights and from the same time dates the oldest seal. This seal shows a castle on a hill, on which the lion of the arms of the Counts of the Mark is placed. Around 1275 the arms of the Counts was changed to the chequered bar. The city subsequently started to use the new arms in its seals since 1297. The new arms became known as the ‘lesser arms’ of the city until 1875, when it became the official arms. The arms were reconfirmed in 1909 and 1934. Between 1297 and 1875 the city also used the ‘greater arms’, which were a combination of the old castle and lion on the left half of the shield and the bar in the right half.