As a consultant in the IT domain, I travel all over to work for various customers. Recently, this has included a stay in the city of Coburg, in Bavaria. This is an old city which has been home to many royal families over the years, including Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, as well as to Martin Luther!
Location
In 1920, Coburg had to choose between joining either Saxony or Bavaria. The city negotiated a good deal with Bavaria and is located at what used to be the inner German border between the DDR (East Germany) and West Germany. Due to the border, it is in what most would call “the sticks”.
Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, this region has become more popular, and new highways have connected it to the rest of the area. With only around 40,000 inhabitants, it is small, but as it wasn’t seriously damaged in WWII, it retains many old buildings and is a tourist destination for Germans and others.
Coburg is home to several large companies, including Brose, HUK-Coburg Insurance, Kaeser Kompressoren, and others in manufacturing, and, due to income from these businesses, it is relatively affluent.
Coat of Arms
The symbol and coat of arms of Coburg depict Saint Maurice. He was an Egyptian commander in the Roman army, and when a forgotten artist was asked to render his image, he didn’t know what Egyptians might look like, so he chose this likeness instead.