Flag of Amsterdam
The flag of Amsterdam is the official flag of the Dutch capital, Amsterdam . It consists of three horizontal stripes red-black-red and shows three white St. Andrew's crosses on the black stripe . It was introduced on February 5, 1975.
meaning
The colors of the flag are mainly derived from the coat of arms of the city of Amsterdam, or rather the shield in the same. The meaning of the colors and the white crosses are unclear. According to the city of Amsterdam, its origin could be found in the coat of arms of the Persijn family, who once owned a large part of the land around the capital.
In the coats of arms of two other Dutch cities, Dordrecht and Delft , the middle stripe refers to water . If you now apply this to Amsterdam, the black stripe would stand for the Amstel river . Both the colors and the crosses can be found in the flags of the two municipalities of Ouder-Amstel and Amstelveen .
history
As early as the 17th century, several designs for a city flag were created , all of which were based on the coat of arms of Amsterdam. Among other things, there was a copy divided horizontally into seven strips of white-red-black-white-black-red-white, which showed the city's coat of arms shifted to the left of the center. Until 1975, however, a flag in red, white and black was used unofficially. It also showed the coat of arms of Amsterdam. Another earlier variant is that of a Dutch flag with three black crosses in the middle.
The Februaryistakingvlag
In 1947 the city was given a so-called "Februaryistakingvlag" ( Dutch for "February strike flag") by Queen Wilhelmina . This happened on the occasion of the introduction of the new city slogan Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig , which in German means something like "Heldenhaft, resolute, merciful". The new motto was awarded to Amsterdam because of its services in World War II .
The flag shows the city's coat of arms on a white background and is now mainly seen on commemorations for the war.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Flags of the World - Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
- ↑ Het Parool , Historisch museum ontdekt Februaryistakingsvlag 25 February 2009
- ↑ NH (omroep) , AHM ontdekt Februaristakingsvlag 25 February 2009
