Last modified: 2006-09-02 by jarig bakker
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image by Santiago Dotor
Flag adopted 1805, abolished 1806
The field (rather than "basic") colour (Grundfarben) of the French
imperial coat-of-arms was blue. So the flag is quite simply bendy
of eight Or and Azure.
Santiago Dotor, 13 Dec 1999
The description and the flag appear on pp. 85-86 of Neubecker
1939a (the description is only the first part quoted above, up to "...Gelb
und Blau"). The flag is labelled Rheinoktroi 1805-1806 and appears
to be almost exactly a ratio of 2:3. I believe the flag was no longer used
after the Holy Roman Empire disappeared in
1806.
Santiago Dotor, 27 Mar 2001
Oktroi is an old German term for customs. The word came from
the French octroyer meaning "(customs) imposed or forced upon".
Therefore Rheinoktroi means Rhine Customs.
Jens Pattke, 28 Mar 2001
In French, octroi specifically refers to a city toll, and is
translated in English, in this sense, as octroi, according to Robert-Collins
dictionary. A tax had to be paid on several goods, especially foodstuffs,
when entering a city (this tax was suppressed in 1948). Octroi was
also used to design the administration in charge of the tax and the offices
where it was paid. The word comes from the popular Latin auctioridare,
with the same root as author, authorize etc.
Ivan Sache, 31 Mar 2001
Later the civil ensigns of the Rhine states should add the word "Rhenus"
(Latin for Rhine).
image by Marcus E.V. Schmöger, 15 Dec 2002
used 1913-1924; 1933-1949
For the river police from 1913 onwards there was a specific recognition
flag, made of triangles in the national colours black-white-red (Dutch
police boats in red-white-blue).
image by Marcus E.V. Schmöger, 15 Dec 2002
used 1924-1933; 1951-?
In 1924 this was replaced by black-red-gold triangles, switching back to black-white-red in 1933. A temporary police flag was introduced in 1949, showing on a white field two black diagonal stripes, and a "P" at the hoist. In 1951 the 1924-1933 flag was reintroduced.
Unfortunately, I do not have more material on these flags, neither if
they are still used, nor do I have an illustration of the 1949 flag.
Marcus E.V. Schmöger, 15 Dec 2002
The "Règlement de police pour la navigation du Rhin" dated
1 January 1955 and issued by the Commission Centrale pour la navigation
du Rhin has further recognition flags for Switzerland (upper and lower
triangles red, left and right triangles white) and France (upper and lower
triangles white, left triangle blue, right triangle red). With Germany
and the Netherlands, they can be found under Art. 105.1 Contrôle
(daylight use that is) of Annexe 6, Tableau des signaux, p. 76.
This booklet has other interesting flags, for traffic purposes mainly,
but I have no idea if they are still in use. I have it from my father who
was a civil servant responsible for inland shipping.
Jan Mertens, 16 Dec 2002