The origin of the Lübeck shield is not certain, but thought to be derived from the Hanseatic flag, first seen on a ship's seal in 1230.

This is also the oldest reference to its own national emblem of the city, with the Imperial eagle appearing a little later, first seen on early 14th-century coins.

As Lübeck was one of the Bonnes villes of the Empire, a chief gules, with three golden Imperial bees, was added.

After liberation from French rule in 1813, and the restoration of Lübeck's status as an independent city-state, the traditional coat of arms was reinstated.

With the abolition of Lübeck's independence in the Greater Hamburg Act of 1937, annexing it to the Free State of Prussia, as a part of the Province of Schleswig-Holstein, the city was permitted to keep its old coat of arms.