^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Gaastmeer (The Netherlands)

Wymbritseradiel municipality, Fryslân province

by Jarig Bakker, 22 Sep 2003

Gaastmeer village (De Gaastmar)
Gaastmeer CoA

See also:

Gaastmeer village (De Gaastmar)

Gaastmeer (Frisian: De Gaastmar) is a village in Wymbritseradiel municipality, Fryslân province, with (1958) 352; (1974) 245 inhabitants. It is a village between several lakes. Until 1914 eelfishing was quite important - eels were exported even to London (GB).
Nickname: "Otterfretters" (ottereaters), "Bleien" (white breams).
Gaastmeer CoA: in green a golden eel, placed in S-form, with the tail upwards and going dexter under him; a blue canton charged with a golden fleu-de-lis.
Flag: three horizontal wavy stripes of blue, yellow, and green, proportioned 3:1:3; in the canton a white fish of 3/14 flagheight.
The flag-design was thought out by the villagers: the blue water over the green meadows. The green wavy stripe accentuates the wavy water, and represents to the eel from the CoA; the fish symbolizes Gaastmeer as a fishing village.
The CoA is based on the CoA of the neighbouring village of Heeg. The fleur-de-lis is from the arms of Wymbritseradiel. The color green on the CoA was chosen in order to make it look different from the Heeg arms.
The yellow color of the eel was chosen, because the eels provided money for the villagers' purses.
Source: Genealogysk Jierboekje 1991.
Encyclopedie van Friesland, 1958.
Jarig Bakker, 22 Sep 2003

Gaastmeer CoA

from Ralf Hartemink's site.