Everyone knows what the Dutch flag looks like, but what the flags of our twelve provinces look like is becoming a lot more difficult for many people. Usually people know what the flag of their ,own, province looks like, but then it quickly stops. In the article below you will find all twelve flags listed with a brief explanation.
Province flags
The Netherlands has twelve provinces and each has its own flag. Many flags refer to historical events and/or are derived from the provincial coat of arms. The flags were only officially adopted after the Second World War. Below you will find all flags, with a brief explanation and in random order, in a row.
Groningen
The flag of the province of Groningen was designed by Jan Tuin and adopted in 1950. The flag consists of the colors white,
Groningen
green, red and blue. In the middle there is a white cross with a green cross on it. The top left and bottom right corners are red, the bottom left and top right corners are blue. These colors and shapes are derived from the flag of the city of Groningen and that of the so-called historic Ommelanden. The Ommelanden is an old name for areas outside the capital Groningen. The province of Groningen has had a good trade relationship with the Scandinavian countries since the Middle Ages and this is reflected in the cross that is centrally incorporated into the flag.
Drenthe
Drenthe
Drenthe had a first on February 19, 1947, as it was the first province in the Netherlands to have its own official flag. The flag of Drenthe is white with two red horizontal stripes (white and red are the traditional Saxon colors). Between the red stripes is a black tower with three red stars next to it on both the left and right sides. The tower symbolizes the castle of Coevorden and the six red stars refer to the six thing games (ding game = a legal area). The design is in the hands of Gerlof Auke Bontekoe.
Friesland
Friesland
The flag of the province of Friesland, with its three white and four blue diagonal stripes and seven red pompeblêden on the white stripes, is perhaps the best-known provincial flag in the whole of the Netherlands. Many people mistake the ,pompeblêden, for hearts, but nothing could be further from the truth, they are leaves of the yellow sapphire. The yellow plum is a water lily and is the national plant of Friesland. The seven leaves indicate the free Seven Frisian Zeelands from the Middle Ages. The Frisian flag was officially used for the first time in 1927, but was only officially adopted by the Provincial Council in 1957.
Overijssel
Overijssel
Overijssel has a flag with five stripes, a red stripe at the top and bottom, then two yellow stripes and in the middle, a blue wavy stripe. The blue wavy track symbolizes the IJssel river. The red and yellow stripes symbolize the historical bond with North Holland and South Holland. The flag of Overijssel was adopted in 1948.
Gelderland
Gelderland
The flag of the province of Gelderland consists of three horizontal stripes with a blue stripe at the top, a yellow stripe in the middle and a black stripe at the bottom. The flag was established by the Provincial Council in 1953. The colors come from the Gelderland coat of arms, which depict two lions, a black one on a yellow background and a yellow lion on a blue background.
Flevoland
Flevoland
A wide green and a wide blue stripe separated by a narrower yellow stripe, which makes a wavy movement on the hoisting side (left side), is the flag of Flevoland. The blue stripe symbolizes water, the green for the meadow landscape and the yellow stripe represents the rapeseed and corn fields and arable farming. In the blue (upper) part of the flag, on the left, a white French lily is depicted, also called fleur-de-lis. This lily comes from the family coat of arms of Cornelis Lely, the planner of the Zuiderzee project. The flag, which was designed by the Amsterdam agency BRS after intensive consultation with the provincial government, was hoisted for the first time in 1986.
North Holland
North Holland
The flag of the province of North Holland is made up of the three primary colors yellow, red and blue. The colors are divided over three horizontal stripes. These colors come from the coat of arms of North Holland, red and yellow from Holland and blue from West Friesland. Initially the flag was red-yellow-blue, but because it was very similar to our national tricolor, the order of yellow-red-blue was chosen. In 1958, the flag was officially adopted by the Provincial Executive of North Holland.
Utrecht
Utrecht
The province of Utrecht has a red-white flag, with the top half being white and the bottom half of the flag being red. At the top left there is a red square with a white cross. The flag is composed of two other flags, namely that of the Archbishopric of Utrecht (Catholic diocese) and the Sticht Utrecht (area over which an abbot or bishop ruled). In the 1930s, Utrecht had a flag with three horizontal stripes in the colors red, white and yellow, but this flag was not officially adopted and the current flag was chosen in 1952.
South-Holland
South-Holland
The flag of the province of South Holland is yellow with a red lion ,looking to the left, and outlined in black. Red and yellow are the colors of Holland and the lion comes from the traditional coat of arms of South Holland. The flag is still quite young, before 1986 the official flag had three stripes: yellow-red-yellow. This flag had to be replaced because people preferred a flag with Dutch symbols, in this case a climbing lion.
North Brabant
North Brabant
The flag of North Brabant is red and white and consists of twelve red and twelve white squares, starting at the top left with a red area and ending at the top right with a white area. These colors have appeared in the flags of North Brabant since the proclamation of the County of Leuven (942 1794). The checkered flag has been used since the Middle Ages, but has only been officially the flag of North Brabant since 1959. It is therefore the oldest provincial flag in the Netherlands.
Zealand
Zealand
The water is central on the flag of Zeeland, there are four blue and three horizontal wavy stripes with an image of the shield and crown of the Zeeland coat of arms in the middle. The lion on the coat of arms, rising from the waves, with the text below: ,Luctor et Emergo, (Struggle and emerge) is a strong symbol. Especially during the flood of 1953, it stood as a symbol of international solidarity. suffering and struggle. The Zeeland flag was designed by TAJW Schorer and
officially adopted by the Provincial Executive in 1949 .
Limburg
Limburg
The flag of the province of Limburg has three horizontal stripes, at the top a wide white stripe, in the center a narrower blue stripe and at the bottom a wide yellow stripe. On the left is a red lion with a crown and a double tail. The blue stripe symbolizes the river Maas. The colors white, yellow and blue correspond to the colors of the provincial coat of arms. The flag was established by the Provincial Council of Limburg in 1953, part of the design was in the hands of architect Louis Maris.