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German rowing clubs

Deutsche Rudervereine

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 21 Apr 2006
burgee of the Deutscher Ruderverband (DRV, German Rowing Association)

German Rowing: Introduction
Historical topics
Flag Use
Zirkel
DRV-pennant
DRV-pennant (1901)

Other rowing pages:

List of German Rowing Clubs

See also:

Germany

German Rowing: Introduction

Sources: Rudersportalmanach 1977 -> called "RA77"
Club's Website -> called "CW06"
Own painting -> called "KMS80"
Own photo -< called "KMS06"

Method:
1) RA77 contains all flags of existing clubs in 1976. Problems: The information is fairly old. The flags are depicted in a black -and-white-code which comes, I believe from heraldry encoding the tinctures. Vertikal stripes f.e. mean "red", horizontal ones mean "blue", dots mean "yellow". The flags are very small (1cm x 1.5 cm).
Sometimes you can't see the details properly. In cantons (and in most flags) the letters of the inscriptions are always black on a white background. It may be that they have a different colour. In white flags with saltires usually the letters are black. There are two types: rectangular flags and triangular pennants (German:"Wimpel").

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 21 Apr 2006

You can see, what colour it is, it is red and blue but you can't see what kind of blue it. The ratio is, as you see above 2:3, but that is caused by the very small pictures and is wrong. I have measured a few helmsmans-flags in Hamburg by myself. I found out that the right ratio is 3: 5 as usual in Germany.

2) In CW06 some websites display the flags. Problems: The flags are displayed as flying colours with a flagstaff and a cord. But you can see the colours.

Primary source is always RA77 unless a club does not appear in RA77. The relations of objects on the flags are always estimated according to RA77. Some clubs may meanwhile be dissolved or have merged with others. Some of the clubs mentioned in RA77 do not appear in an actual namelist of DRV (=German Rowing Federation).

I have meanwhile finished the images of nearly 80 flags. The average size is 10Kb in GIF-format. There are actually more than 400 clubs in Germany. But I think, I'll stop with 100 images maximum because I run out of time.

The flag information shall be very brief, just the following topics: name of club, location of club, establishing-date, specials(only a few), description of flag, website of club.

To keep control I have made an EXCEL-sheet with the columns: name, location, date, status (finished or not),specials, filename, filesize, homepage.

I'll use the terms "right" and left" according to heraldry, i.e. "right" means left and "left" means right to describe objects in the flag as e.g. animals.

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 21 Apr 2006

Very special question: What do you call a star with one bigger and stretched out point? I do not even know the German term, perhaps it should be called a
comet.

You will wonder, how I displayed 80 flags within a short time. At first many of them are really easy. On the other hand, instead studying flags in Malaysia in the sun in holidays I had to stay at home in rain in Hamburg, because I had serious trouble with my spine. My "holidays" were less boaring designing some flags. And I got a few weeks "extra holidays" from my doctor. But that time will end. And so its time to start the descriptions of flags, that are not finished.

I'll start my contribution with a very brief history of rowing in Germany, the rules for using flags, an image of the pennant of the federation, the images of rowing clubs in Lübeck (the corresponding blades you already got) and an image of the very first flag of a German rowing-club from 1836. For this flag is too big, the image will be sent one day later.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 21 Apr 2006

Historical topics

In 1836 the first rowing club in Germany ("Der Hamburger Ruder-Club") was established in Hamburg. In 1844 the first regattaclub ("Allgemeiner Alster-Club") was established also in Hamburg. A regattaclub is organizing races between rowing-clubs (also yacht-clubs). In 1853 the "Germania Ruder-Club" was established also in Hamburg. Both clubs merged later to "Der Hamburger und Germania Ruder-Club".On the 18th March 1883 the German rowing federation (=Deutscher Ruderverband, abbr.:DRV) was founded in Köln. In 1951 the DRV became member of the International Rowing Association (Federation Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron, abbr.: FISA, est. on 25th June 1892 in Torino(Italy)). In 1956 the "Deutscher Ruder-Sport-Verband in der DDR (DRSV)" became also member of the FISA.
In 1990 or a little bit later after German reunion the DRSV merged with the DRV. The DRV is naming itself "the most successfull rowing-federation in the world".
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 22 Apr 2006

Flag Use

There are two types in general: rectangular flags (ratio 3:5) and triangular pennants (ratio 3:5).
Every club has two sizes of flags:
1) the helmsman's flag, which is stuck upon the stern of the rowing boat.
2) the flag, which is hoisted above the boat-house of the club. Sometimes the flag of the club is hoisted together with the DRV-pennant . The flag of the club is always topping the DRV-pennant. (see f.e. www.maruba.de). The same rules are valid for helmsman's flags. As hoisted flags are obviously a speed-killer while training hard or running races, helmman's flags are used very seldom. The boats are identified by their name (on the prow) and the name of the club (on the stern). Sometimes a small image of the DRV-pennant is added on the stern. Helmsman's flags are only used for ceremonial purposes (i.e. opening and closing the season, naming new boats, visits of VIPs) and when touring on lakes, canals and rivers out of area. The club can be easier identified by the blades of the oars respectively sculls (=shorter oars). Some blades have the same pattern as the flag, some have a simplified pattern, some are just showing the colours. Nearly every club has its special blade-pattern. The flag above the boat-house is usually only hoisted for ceremonial purposes. Some clubs in Hamburg however, located in a very touristic area as f.e. Alster-Lake, are hoisting their flags every day.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 22 Apr 2006

Zirkel

A „Zirkel" (lit.: compasses) is the logo of a fraternity. Fraternities are connections of academicians, students and pupils of high-level schools (in Germany: Gymnasium). They are usually for males only. Two types are of interset. 1) Rowing Departments of academic gymnastics federation and 2) academic rowing-fraternities. Most of them are members of ARB (Akademischer Ruderbund). The "Zirkel" is a flourished connected ensemble of the initials of the fraternity topped by a wavy line and always accompanied by an exclamation-mark. It is often displayed in the canton of an ARB-club.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 May 2006

DRV-pennant

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 21 Apr 2006

Desciption of the DRV-pennant: It's a blue pennant with a white shield in the centre. In the shield is a black eagle with red claws and a red beak.
Source: KMS80
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 22 Apr 2006

DRV-pennant (1901)

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 18 Oct 2007

DRV (version 1901)
Description of flag: It is a vertical black, white and red tricolour pennant.
Source: 25 Jahre Geschichte des Berliner Ruder Vereins von 1876; Berlin, 1 September 1901, flagchart.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 18 Oct 2007