Flag of the Netherlands

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Flag of the Netherlands
Flag of the Netherlands.svg
Vexillological symbol : National flag on land and at sea?
Aspect ratio: 2: 3
Officially accepted: in this form for the first time on
February 14, 1796;
confirmed on
February 19, 1937

The flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and its country, the Netherlands, is the oldest tricolor among the national flags in use today. Its roots go back to the 16th century. It served as a model for a variety of other flags.

History of the tricolor

Flag of the Netherlands

During the War of Independence, the Wassergeusen , who played an important role in the struggle against Spain , used a horizontal tricolor with the colors orange, white and blue. In honor of the leader, Prince Wilhelm of Orange-Nassau , the flag was named the Prinsenvlag (Prinzenflagge). Probably the colors are derived from his livery . It was first mentioned in 1572, during the conquest of Den Briel .

The first red, white and blue flags appeared around 1630 and the orange version was banned in the province of Holland in 1653. The reasons for this are not clear. One theory is based on production errors in the orange coloration, another on the declining popularity of the House of Orange . Better visibility at sea may also have been a reason.

On February 14, 1796, the first flag law was passed, which specified the red version as the flag. The Batavian Republic officially accepted it, which also demonstrated a close relationship with the occupying power of France . The resulting Kingdom of Holland retained the tricolor in 1806 and even after the liberation from the French, the flag was reaffirmed on March 16, 1816. With the return of the House of Orange to power, the orange form also gained supporters again, so that it became a point of discussion again in the 1930s, especially through the National Socialist NSB , which used the orange version. On February 19, 1937, Queen Wilhelmina confirmed the colors red, white and blue as the flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands while on vacation in Zell am See (Austria). In 1958, the colors were more precisely defined as bright cinnabar and cobalt blue .

Use of the flag

The flag is the national flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands . It is the trade flag, the flag of war at sea and on land and was also the jack of the Dutch Navy until 1931 . At the same time, it also acts as the flag of the largest part of the Netherlands .

An orange pennant is hoisted together with the flag on the birthdays of members of the royal family and other joyful, royal events. As a symbol of national mourning , the flag is raised to half-mast .

In May and June, families of just graduated students hang a satchel on the top of the flagpole over the national flag.

Orange pennant
National flag at half mast

  • National flag with an orange pennant

  • Flag with school bag

Het Vlaggelied

Jan Pieter Heije wrote "het Vlaggelied" in the 19th century, German the flag song

Dutch text

O schitt'rende kleuren van Nederlands vlag
Wat wappert gij fier lang de vloed!
Hoe klopt ons het harte van vreugd en ontzag
Wanneer het uw banen begroet!
Ontplooi u, waai uit nu, by night and by day!
Gij blijft ons het teken, o holy vlag
Van trouw en van vroomheid, van vroomheid en moed
Van trouw en van vroomheid en moed

Of is niet dat blauw in zijn smetloze splendor
De trouw onzer vad'ren gewijd?
Of tuigt niet dat rood van hun manlijke kracht
En moed in zoo menige strijd?
Of wijst niet die blankheid zo rein en zo zacht
Op vroomheid, die zegen van Gode keeps
De zegen, die enig, die enig gedijt
De zegen, die enig gedijt?

Waai uit dan, o vlag, zij een tolk onzer beê,
Om trouw en om vroomheid en moed.
De wereld ontzie u op golven en ree,
Maar - daaldet gij ooit op den vloed -
Wij heffen uw wit uit de schuimende zee
En voeren naar 't blauw van de hemel u mee,
Al kleurt zich, al kleurt zich uw rood met ons bloed
Al kleurt zich uw rood met ons bloed!

German text

O radiant colors of the Dutch flag
What are they proudly blowing along the tide!
How our hearts beat with joy and awe
When your tracks greet us!
Unroll, woe, now, day and night.
You remain a sign to us, O holy flag.
Of loyalty and piety, of piety and courage.
Of loyalty and piety and courage.

Or isn't the blue in its blameless shine
dedicated to the loyalty of our fathers?
Or does not the red testify to your male strength
and courage in so many battles?
Or does the white woman not point so pure and so softly
to piety, who expects blessings from God?
The blessing of the only, the only thriving
the blessing of the only thriving?

Woe out then, O flag, be the translator of our prayers
for loyalty and for piety and courage
The world respect you on sea and land
But - if you ever sink in the tide -
We lift your white from the foaming sea
And raise your blue to the sky .
And colors, and your red colors with our blood,
and your red colors with our blood!

Subnational flags

countries

The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of four autonomous countries. While, as already mentioned, the Netherlands uses the same flag as the whole of the Kingdom, the other three countries have their own flags:

Provinces and Special Municipalities

The flags of the twelve Dutch provinces and three special municipalities are very different and do not follow any particular pattern.

Communities

Flag of Amsterdam

There are no requirements for the 443 municipal flags of the Netherlands. The flags are correspondingly diverse. Here are a few examples. All municipal flags can be found at Commons (see web links).

More flags of the Netherlands

Until 1931 the tricolor was used as a jack, only then were the flagged flags introduced.

There is a purple-orange flag for the Ministry of Defense , and there are similar flags for the various branches of service. The minister has his own flag, which has the same design as that of the governors: a white flag with the tricolor at the top and bottom. The minister's coat of arms rests in the center.

  • Royal standard

  • Gösch for civil ships

  • Gösch for warships

  • Ministry of Defense flag

  • State Secretary for Defense (since 1971)

  • General Inspector

  • Church pennant (Kerkwimpel) of the Navy

  • Flag of the public transport company GVB Amsterdam

Command and rank flags of the Navy

In the Dutch Navy, a distinction is made between command flags, which stand for function, and rank flags, which stand for rank.

  • Admiral's rank flag

  • Admiral's command flag

  • Flag of rank of an admiralty lieutenant

  • Command flag of the admiralty lieutenant

  • Flag of rank of the Vice Admiral or Lieutenant General

  • Command flag of the Vice Admiral or Lieutenant General

  • Flag of rank of the Rear Admiral or Major General

  • Command flag of the rear admiral or major general

  • Flag of rank of the commodore

  • Command flag of the commodore

Historical flags of the Dutch possessions

Until 2010 there was a joint administrative unit for the Caribbean components of the kingdom with the Netherlands Antilles . Until 1975, Suriname belonged to the Netherlands as Dutch Guiana .

The governors of the individual areas have or had their own flags:

  • Historic flag? Governor of the Dutch Guiana (1966 to 1975)

  • Governor of Aruba since 1986

  • Historic flag? Governor of the Netherlands Antilles (1959 to 1986)

  • Historic flag? Governor of the Netherlands Antilles from 1986 to 2010

Similar flags

The flag of Luxembourg and the flag of the Netherlands are similar in arrangement and colors . Despite the geographical proximity, the similarity is pure coincidence, both flags have different historical backgrounds. The Luxembourgers adopted their red, white and blue from the coat of arms of Count Heinrich V of Luxembourg. The differences exist on the one hand in the lighter blue of the Luxembourg flag, on the other hand in the different aspect ratios (Luxembourg 1: 2 or 3: 5, Netherlands 2: 3).

The same arrangement of colors can also be found in the national flags of Croatia and Paraguay , which also have their national coats of arms in the center of the flag. Again, the models are not the Dutch flag. Croatia's colors come from the country's historical regions, while Paraguay took the flag of France as a model.

Flags based on the Dutch model

Because of their Dutch roots, South Africa and the Boer Republics adopted the Dutch tricolor or Prinsenvlag in several of their flags .

The city ​​of New York also shows its Dutch roots as New Amsterdam in its city flag .

When Russian Tsar Peter I traveled to the Netherlands in 1699 to learn more about shipbuilding, he realized the need for Russia to need its own flag for its navy. He took over the design of the flag of Russia from the Dutch, but the colors white-blue-red come from the coat of arms of Moscow .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Whitney Smith , Ottfried Neubecker : Coats of arms and flags of all nations. Battenberg, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-87045-183-1 .
  2. ↑ a b c Flags of the World - The Princevlag (The Netherlands)
  3. ↑ Johannes Cornelis de Jonge: Over den oorsprong der Nederlandsche vlag, The Hague 1831, p. 62 digitized version of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
  4. ↑ a b c Flags of the World - Usage of the flag
  5. ↑ https://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/onderwerpen/koningsdag/vraag-en-antwoord/wanneer-mag-ik-de-vlag-uitsteken
  6. ↑ Listen to Het vlaggelied
  7. ↑ Flags of the World - Royal flags (The Netherlands)
  8. ↑ Flags of the World - Civil Jack (The Netherlands)
  9. ^ Flags of the World - Dutch Naval Jack
  10. ↑ Flags of the World - Defense Department (The Netherlands)
  11. ^ Flag of the Secretary of State of Defense (1971) Flags of the World - Flag of the Secretary of State of Defense (1971)
  12. ^ Flags of the World - Inspector General
  13. ↑ Flags of the World - Church pennant (The Netherlands)
  14. ↑ Flags of the World - Command and Rank flags (The Netherlands)
  15. ^ Flags of the World - National flag of Luxembourg

Web links

Commons : Flags of the Netherlands  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Flags of the municipalities of the Netherlands  - album with pictures, videos and audio files