Alsfeld sealed!Oldest surviving town seal

The oldest Alsfeld city seal dates from 1234, just twelve years after the town attained city status. A seal is the impression of a seal stamp in sealing wax or wax; the Alsfeld seal stamp is made of brass with a diameter of 7.5 cm and a wooden handle 18 cm in length. The seal depicts Landgrave Konrad of Thuringia (Alsfeld was a Thuringian city foundation), the brother-in-law of Saint Elizabeth of Marburg, who from 1231 ruled the part of Hesse that belonged to Thuringia until 1247.

The unique feature of this seal is that the seal engraver – knowing of Konrad’s planned entry into the Teutonic Order – did not use his facial features, but those of his brother and successor, Heinrich Raspe: protruding eyes, bulging lips, bulbous nose. The seal shows the Landgrave sitting on a bench, his head is uncovered, and his cloak falls over his shoulder. In his right hand he holds the bare sword resting on his right knee, in his left the military banner symbolizing supreme military command; in front of him stands the lion shield. The circumscription in Latin translates as: Seal of the mayor and the citizens in Alsfeld. (MNic)