Oberkirchberg

OBERKIRCHBERG

State : Baden-Württemberg
District (Kreis) : Alb-Donau Kreis (until 1972 Ulm)
Incorporated into: 1972 Illerkirchberg

Official blazon
German	blazon wanted
English	blazon wanted

Origin/meaning

The arms were granted on July 12, 1954.

The arms show the arms of the former Counts of Kirchberg. The black figure probably is the black bride as mentioned in the biblical Black Madonna, derived from the line in the biblical Book Song of Songs 1:5 "I am black but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem, ...". The oldest image of the arms of the Counts of Kirchberg shows the Black Madonna holding a fleur-de-lys, which in later images changed to a mitre, see image below. This was probably done when Eberhard von Kirchberg became Bishop of Augsburg in 1407.

Another story states that the arms of the counts simply showed ther devotion to St. Mary and thus showed St. Mary holding her symbol, a fleur-de-lys. In 1273 Emperor Rudolf is said to have punished the Lords of Kirchberg by changing the figure into a black figure as a symbol of shame. In any case, the arms have been shown during the centuries with a black female and the arms were also taken as such in the arms of the famous Fugger family, when they acquired the county in 1507.

Wappen von Oberkirchberg/Coat of arms (crest) of Oberkirchberg

The arms of the Fugger family as Lords of Weissenhorn and Kirchberg [[1]]).

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