One of my/our most important Patches :D The traditional Coat of Arms of my hometown Bottrop. (Sadly this crest was replaced with a new one some years ago. But the knew one has less meaning to us, so we stay with this one)
We ordered a bunch of these Patches for the group i am visiting concerts and festivals with.
For those who are interested in heraldry: The black tips of the cross are a relic of the black cross of the "Deutscher Orden" (German Knight Order), which owned a castle here in the middle ages. The fist holds a "Schlägel", which is the traditional Hammer of the coal miners. The coal and iron industry characterized the whole area since the age of industrialization. This is by the way the area, where big parts of the early german Thrashmetal come from, e.g. Sodom and Kreator.
Also, the Hammer is a symbol of hard but honest work, which is also characteristic for the Ruhrpott-Area.
MelFromHell on
First thing I thought when reading the text on this post was of Gelsenkirchen. I know it's a little down the road but still, I had many good times around there.. Anyway, interesting story behind this one thanks for that and it's great you're keeping the old crest alive in your own way
KiWi on
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this! Well, Gelsenkirchen is our neighbouring city, it's not really far away. And it has a very similar tradition of coal and iron-industry. Nice to hear you had a good time in this area
KiWi on
(This comment was unnecessary)
Backwoods Heathen on
Love the history. Thanks for sharing!
KiWi on
Your very welcome