October 6th 2016

Esbjerg 016 – Original City Arms

Esbjerg 016 – Original City Arms

As mentioned in an earlier post, this is the original City Arms of Esbjerg. Although unofficial, the Arms was used in the years 1893-1903 and was superseeded by the City Arms we know today with the Linden and anchors.

This particular example of the old City Arms is placed upon the facade of the Esbjerg Touristinformation bureau (the former Esbjerg courthouse and jail), located at Torvet.

As mentioned, the old City Arms were not officially recognized as such and is actually a design by the architect of the courthouse and jail, Hans Christian Amberg.

As the story goes, upon completion of the courthouse and jail, H. C. Amberg felt that the facade lacked some sort of adornment. Thus he was commisioned by Consul Ditlev Lauritsen, to design something akin to a City Arms.

However, as Esbjerg wasn’t an independant municipality at the time, the design couldn’t be recognized as an official coat of arms.