The German eagle is already an old national symbol for the Kings and Emperors of Germany, or its predecessors.

The arms show the three lions of the Dukes of Schwaben form the house of Staufen. On the shield is placed a popular crown, which is covered by the arms of former territories that now form the State.

The arms are a combination of : the lion of the Pfalz, representing the area of the Oberpfalz ; the arms of Franken (Franconia); the panther of the Counts of Ortenburg in Niederbayern; the three lions of the Dukes of Schwaben and the escutcheon with the arms of the Wittelsbach family (the longtime ruling family in Bayern).

Niedersachsen is a modern State, which is a combination of several older states or territories, mainly Oldenburg , Hannover, Braunschweig and Schaumburg-Lippe. Combination of the arms was rather difficult. Finally the horse of the (Nieder) Sachsen was chosen as the new arms. The horse has been the symbol for many parts of Northern Germany in earlier times.

The shield is taken from the arms of the Bishops of Augsburg

The arms of Darmstadt are based on the old seals of the city, which already showed a lion and a fleur-de-lis. The lion is the lion of the counts of Katzenelnbogen.

Göttingen became a city in the early 13th century. The seals of the city did not show the arms until 1662, but showed a castle above which a lion was placed. In a second seal only a lion can be seen.

The oldest seal dates from the 16th century and shows a combination of a cabbage and an onion. These probably symbolize the importance of the horticulture in the area. Around 1600 the vegetables are combined with the cross.

The helmet with the the feathers already appeared in the 16th century and are derived from the counts of Holstein. The lions appeared in the 17th century. The whole arms as they are now were first used officially in 1695 and were officially granted in 1835.

The city of München presently only uses the right arms as the official arms. Until 1957 the left arms were the official great arms, the right arms the arms for daily use.

The monk is a canting symbol. The seals show a gate with the mink and above the gate an eagle, probably derived from the arms of the Bishops of Freising, to which the city belonged. Since 1313 the lion replaced the eagle.

The city uses two different arms; the great arms with the eagle with a king's head and the small arms with the eagle and red bends.

The great arms are derived from the oldest seals of the city, known since 1220. All great seals and secret-seals show the eagle with a Kings's head. Smaller seals only use the imperial eagle. In architecture and other pictures the figure was often displayed as a harpy; i.e. with a woman's head and breasts. The present arms go back to the original seals.

The arms show the crossed keys of St. Peter, the patron saint of the city.