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National coat of arms of Germany

The coat of arms of Germany displays a black eagle with a red beak, a red tongue and red feet on a golden field, which is blazoned: Or, an eagle displayed sable beaked langued and membered gules. This is the Bundesadler (German for "Federal Eagle"), formerly known as Reichsadler (, German for "Imperial Eagle"). It is one of the oldest coats of arms in the world, and today the oldest national symbol used in Europe. It is a re introduction of the coat of arms of the Weimar Republic (in use 1919–1935), which was adopted by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1950. The current official design is due to (1887–1967) and was originally introduced in 1928. The German Empire of 1871–1918 had re introduced the medieval coat of arms of the Holy Roman Emperors, in use during the 13th and 14th centuries (a black single headed eagle on a golden background), before the emperors adopted the double headed eagle, beginning with Sigismund of Luxemburg in 1433. The single headed Prussian Eagle (on a white background; blazoned: Argent, an eagle displayed sable) was used as an escutcheon to represent the Prussian kings as dynasts of the German Empire. The Weimar Republic introduced a version in which the escutcheon and other monarchical symbols were removed. The Federal Republic of Germany adopted the Weimar eagle as its symbol in 1950. Since then, it has been known as the Bundesadler ("federal eagle"). The legal basis of the use of this coat of arms is the announcement by President Theodor Heuss, Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and Interior Minister Gustav Heinemann of 20 January 1950, which is word for word identical to the announcement by President Friedrich Ebert and Interior Minister Erich Koch Weser by 11 November 1919:

Since the accession (1990) of the states that used to form the German Democratic Republic, the Federal Eagle has been the symbol of the reunified Germany. Official depictions of the eagle can be found not only in the federal coat of arms but also on the federal institutions flag, the standard of the president of Germany and official seals. These are designs by various artists of the Weimar period and differ primarily in the shape and position of the wings. A large and rather plump version of the eagle decorates the chamber of the Bundestag, the German parliament; it is sometimes called Fette Henne ("Fat Hen"), with a similar representation found on the German euro coins. In addition to the official depictions, artistic renderings of the federal eagle are permitted and have found their way onto coins, stamps and the letterhead of federal authorities. In 1997 the Federal Press Office implemented a slightly simplified version of the original von Weech seal design which has since been used as a corporate design of the Federal government especially for publications and media appearances. It has no official status though as it is not mentioned in any ordinance or shown in the binding patterns of 1952 still in effect. Variants employed by institutionsBundestagBundesratPresidentCabinetFederal Constitutional Court

The German Imperial Eagle (Reichsadler) originates from a proto heraldic emblem believed to have been used by Charlemagne, the first Frankish ruler crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope in 800, and derived ultimately from the Aquila or eagle standard, of the Roman army. By the 13th century the imperial coat of arms was generally recognized as: Or, an eagle displayed sable beaked and membered gules (a black eagle with wings expanded with red beak and legs on a gold field). During the medieval period the imperial eagle was usually single headed. A double headed eagle is attributed as the arms of Frederick II in the Chronica Majora (c. 1250). In 1433 the double headed eagle was adopted by Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor. Thereafter the double headed eagle was used as the arms of the German emperor, and hence as the symbol of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. From the 12th century the Emperors also used a personal coat of arms separate from the imperial arms. From the reign of Albert II (reigned 1438–39), the Emperors bore the old Imperial arms with an inescutcheon of pretence of his personal family arms, which appears as the black eagle with an escutcheon on his breast.