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Epe (The Netherlands)

Gelderland province

by Mello Luchtenberg, 14 Nov 2004
adopted Jan 2003

Epe municipality
Unofficial flag
Emst village flag

See also:

Epe municipality

Number of inhabitants (1 Jan 2003): 33.245; area: 157,24 km². Settlements: Epe (seat), Boshoek, Dijkhuizen, Emst, Geerstraat, Gortel, Hanendorp, Hegge, Jonas, 't Laar, Laarstraat, Loobrink, Niersen, Oene, Oosterhof, Schaveren, Tongeren, Vaassen, Vemde, Westendorp, Wijnbergen, Wissel, Zuuk.
Epe is another Veluwe municipality in the north of the province, with forests and heather.
The flag is described in Sierksma's 'Nederlands vlaggenboek', 1962 as follows: 'The unofficial flag of Epe is horizontally YB, used at special occasions, quite popular with the shopkeepers. The municipal council uses a banner with the same colors with in the canton the municipal CoA.' In Sierksma's 'Gemeentewapens van Nederland', 1968. The CoA symbolizes the former oak-forests, where many deer were to be found. The original municipal colors (of CoA and flag) were RW.
Jarig Bakker, 22 September 1999

Until Jan 2003 the municipality of Epe, Gelderland province, had an unofficial flag with in the canton the municipal arms.
Mello Luchtenberg just sent me the new flag of Epe: white with the municipal logo. So there is even progress in the Veluwe region!
Jarig Bakker, 14 Nov 2004

It looks like the gemeente Epe was awarded a commercial price, the "Deer of the year" 2004 :-(
Pauvres Pays-Bas... helaas...
Pascal Vagnat, 18 Nov 2004

Epe former flag

Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.shipmate.nl/flags.htm
flag never officially adopted.

Unofficial flag

Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.shipmate.nl/flags.htm

Epe coat of arms

by Jarig Bakker, 14 Nov 2004
granted 20 Jul 1816.

Description: Azure a deer standing on a base, surrounded by a wreath of oakleaves, all or.
Epe had already a seal like that in 1465; it belonged to the parish of Epe, with a deer. This has been found on a parchment charter of 1465, in which Henrick opten Brynck, Aernt Dorre and Frederik van Oerle, churchwardens of Epe, declared that they sold a "tyns" (tax) to the St. Agnieten monastery in Elburg. That was an amount of one and a half "groot" (Dutch groat - one halfpenny) per year out of farms in Oosterwolde. The churchwardens attached a seal of the parish of Epe, which stayed intact until now. On this seal is a "royal deer", a "tienender" (with antlers with 10 horns), surmounted by an escutcheon
with the arms of the former Counts of Gelre.
In the arms of Harderwijk that can still be seen: a lion with billets.
The 1465 seal is the only one known. Perhaps it existed already before 1400, judging by the style of the ornaments.
In 1795 the French changed the former "richterambten" (old municipal dividions) into "municipaliteiten", which adopted arms and seals. While several municipalities chose new freedom-symbols (a maiden, a tree), Epe decided to reintroduce Mr. Deer.
Source: The Epe municipal website.
Jarig Bakker, 14 Nov 2004

Emst village flag

by Jarig Bakker, 30 Sep 2004
adopted 2000; design: Mr. Vijge

Emst is a village in the Veluwe region, municipality Epe, Gelderland province.
Its flag was chosen after a design competition in 2000.
The circular form symbolizes the central position of Emst in Epe municipality.
The wooden hay-shed represents the countryside.
The general division in four rectangles is for the four villages in the municipality: Epe, Oene, Emst & Vaassen
Green symbolizes the green Veluwe area.
Brown is for the wooded area.
Yellow is for the Veluwe sand, grain and sunny aspects of life in general and in Emst in particular
Blue is for water in brooks, channels, watercourses, pools.
Design: Mr. Vijge.
Source: Emst village website, spotted by Mr. Marcel van Westerhoven.

Note: a hay-shed consisted of four large poles, which sustained a pyramid-shaped wooden roof, which could be lowered and lifted depending of the amount of hay in the shed. Its secondary significance was that one could judge the wealth of the farmer by the hay left in hard times. Suitors passed the sheds where there was no hay visible...
Jarig Bakker, 30 Sep 2004