renovation plans, initiated by town council's decision on 10 August 1967, for the Old Town and New Town centres (16 ha and 8 ha respectively). Remodelling the Old Town and New Town by building parking garages and pedestrian precincts changed the shape of the town core, but not always to its advantage. One hundred half-timbered buildings were torn down as part of this renovation and were replaced by new buildings that were not always agreeable. The remodelling did, however, contribute to improving the town's economic situation considerably. Frankenberg has become a shopping town, inviting people to take a walk and visit the Old Town and New Town. History of the civic coat of arms Frankenberg's civic coat of arms might heraldically be described thus: In azure a three-knolled hill Or above which a lion rampant gules with four bars argent armed and crowned Or and langued gules. The town's current coat of arms dates back to a small town seal on a document from the St. Georgenberg Monastery dated 2 July 1325 (first occurrence). The seal shows roughly the same as what the current coat of arms shows, except that the lion of Hesse had a double tail. Already in the 14th century, this seal design was being used as a coat of arms and a banner. The local lore has it that the three-knolled hill (called a Dreiberg in German heraldry) refers to the Burgberg, the Goßberg and the Hinstürz, three local peaks. In 1644, the town of Frankenberg had two small town seals of different sizes made that each show the crowned lion rising out of the three-knolled hill. These still exist today. On 19 December 1985, the town council finalized a new charter that said in its first section (§1) – as before – the following: As a coat of arms, the town of Frankenberg bears a red-white striped, golden-crowned lion rising out of a three-knolled hill in a blue field. The town colours are blue-white. The official flag shows the civic coat of arms in the middle of the lengthwise-striped blue-white bunting. As a seal, the illustration of the town of Frankenberg (Eder) with wall, gate and five towers is borne. That last point refers to a town seal first known to have been used on a document from the St. Georgenberg Monastery dated 11 October 1249. Further reading Hans Joachim von Brockhusen: Die Hoheitszeichen der