History:
In the city council meeting on December 13, 1946, the chairman, Adjunct Clauss, announced under item 2 the change of the city coat of arms: "The district delegate (military government) has demanded the city coat of arms to be changed. Proposals have been submitted to the government, which will in turn also have proposals developed."
After a brief consultation, the following resolution is adopted: "Unanimously, those present agree that
1. changed the city coat of arms and
2. a heraldist is commissioned with the execution.
The corresponding funds will be approved."
On March 28, 1947 (continuation of the meeting from March 20), the city council, chaired by Mayor Karl Forster, decides after reviewing the received proposals:
“Design No. 1 by the graphic artist Wack from Kaiserslautern is adopted as the city coat of arms of the city of St. Ingbert.” (22 votes to 2)
By announcement of August 11, 1947, published in the Official Gazette of the Administrative Commission of Saarland, No. 52 of November 6, 1947, this coat of arms is granted to the city.
The illustration contained in this announcement shows the coat of arms with a three-turreted mural crown, which is not mentioned in the text. On December 12, 1947, that is, after the official granting, the city council subsequently decided to replace the intended triple-turreted mural crown with a simpler form.
The Graphic Designer:
Franz Joseph Wack, born on August 27, 1905 in St. Ingbert, died on July 9, 1996 in Kaiserslautern
Dr. Wolfgang Krämer commented on the new city coat of arms at that time as follows:
“A solution was reached that, although not ideal, can be described as good and certainly better than the previous one. With the removal of the blue and white lozenge coat of arms featuring the Palatinate lion, the city colors black and red now dominate even the coat of arms itself. At the same time, the older past, which was completely missing in the earlier version, was heraldically recorded and emphasized equally alongside the present. Thus, a diagonal starting from the top left in black with symbols of the urban present and a diagonal starting from the bottom left in red with symbols of the rural past emerges. As mentioned, this overall design can be considered a fortunate and therefore probably final solution to the question of the municipal coat of arms.”
The current coat of arms:
The current coat of arms was granted by the Minister of the Interior of Saarland on May 12, 1976. Since the city of St. Ingbert was dissolved after the municipal reorganization and merged with four other municipalities to form the medium-sized town of St. Ingbert, the right to use the previously used old coat of arms had also expired. However, the medium-sized town was granted the older coat of arms again – with a few small heraldic changes. For example, the mural crown is missing.
This is the original coat of arms granted by King Ludwig II of Bavaria without a mural crown, dated June 8, 1886. The white and blue checked bend references the former affiliation with Bavaria. The lion originates from the coat of arms of the Counts of Nassau-Saarbrücken, while the miner and the tools symbolize the steel industry and mining in the city.
Official Description:
"Three diagonally divided fields. In the middle section, the Bavarian lozenges (silver and blue) with a gold lion passant. In the black field, top left, a silver cogwheel with two crossed silver hammers. In the red field, bottom right, a miner dressed in black growing, wearing the Schachthut with neck leather and silver hammer and pick."
