FSV Frankfurt 1899 e.V., a sports club founded in 1899 in Frankfurt’s Bornheim district, has used a crest that evolved around the Frankfurt eagle and the club’s black-and-blue colors. The club’s official colors are listed as black-blue by the German Football Association (DFB).[1]
Design and History
For decades, the FSV Frankfurt crest featured the Frankfurt eagle on a red background, a design element tied to the club’s Bornheim roots. The red background was explicitly associated with Bornheim, the club’s home district, while the eagle represented the city of Frankfurt.[2] The traditional crest also included a Wolfsangel, a heraldic symbol from the Bornheim district coat of arms.[3]
In 2014, the club’s management and board designed a new logo as part of an “Aus eigener Kraft” (On Our Own Strength) corporate identity campaign. The new design was intended to replace the existing crest starting with the 2015/16 season.[4] The proposed redesign removed the red color and the Wolfsangel, eliminating the visual references to Bornheim, and dropped the word “Frankfurt” from the crest.[5] The new mark was described as black-blue with a silver-colored border, matching the club’s official colors.[2]
The announcement sparked significant fan opposition. A petition titled “Pro Tradition! Pro FSV-Wappen!” was launched in July 2014, gathering 874 signatures in an effort to preserve the traditional crest.[6] Critics argued that the new design looked like an automotive logo and lacked a clear reference to Frankfurt, while supporters of the redesign noted that the eagle still expressed the home city and the founding year 1899 conveyed tradition.[6]
The club’s statutes require a three-quarter majority of valid votes for any change to the club crest, a provision that governs how such identity changes must be approved by the membership.[7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Frankfurt eagle has been a consistent element across FSV Frankfurt crest iterations. Club management explicitly stated that “the eagle stands for Frankfurt” and “the red background stands for Bornheim, our district.”[2] The eagle is also the heraldic animal of the Frankfurt city coat of arms, which depicts a silver eagle on a red field.[3]
The Wolfsangel, present in the traditional crest, is the heraldic symbol of the Bornheim district coat of arms, described as “in black a silver Wolfsangel.”[8] Its removal in the 2015 redesign was a central point of fan criticism, as it severed the visual link to the club’s Bornheim heritage.[5]
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