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Heerlen (The Netherlands)

Limburg province

Last modified: 2003-07-05 by jarig bakker
Keywords: heerlen |
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Heerlen municipality Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.shipmate.nl/flags.htm
adopted 7 Feb 1966

Other Heerlen pages: See also:

Heerlen municipality

Number of inhabitants (1 Jan 2003): 93.989; area: 45,40 km². Settlements: Heerlen (seat), Hoensbroek.
Heerlen is in extreme southeast Limburg, formerly the main mining town, now a prosperous municipality with several national government institutions like the Algemeen Burgerlijk Pensioenfonds (General Pension Fund). It is the second town qua number of inhabitants in Limburg.

According to Sierksma [sie62] there was an unofficial horizontal RW flag, while there was an even more unofficial BY flag.
The Heerlen municipal council adopted the present flag on 7 Feb 1966. Description: A square cloth of blue with in the center a yellow Roman eagle, placed in proportions 2:1.

The blue color symbolizes trade and industry. The Roman eagle the development of Heerlen. It has a specific heraldic form. The image of the eagle, as well as its placement on the flag, make it imperative that the flag is square. The flag represents the municpality from the time it was founded in Roman times until the present. Heerlen is the only Dutch municipality with the Roman eagle on its flag.
Source: the Heerlen municipal website.
Jarig Bakker, 1 December 1999

The Romans set up in Coriovallum thermae, whose remains can still be seen in Heerlen.
Heerlen was until recently the main center of coal mining in the Netherlands. Industrial coal extraction started in 1896 and was abandoned in 1975.
Ivan Sache, 25 Jun 2003

Heerlen square flag

[Heerlen square flag] image after Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.shipmate.nl/flags.htm

Heerlen old unofficial flag

[Heerlen old unofficial flag] Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.shipmate.nl/flags.htm

Sierksma's Nederlands Vlaggenboek, 1962 [sie62] has:
Description: Two equally wide horizontal stripes red and white.
This flag is not official, but is used on festive occasions by several local societies and firms since quite some time. These colors are not derived from the municipal arms.
Jarig Bakker, 25 Jun 2003

Heerlen other unofficial flag

[Heerlen other unofficial flag] by Jarig Bakker, 25 Jun 2003

Sierksma's Nederlands Vlaggenboek, 1962 [sie62] mentiones further:
Beside that flag recently another flag has become in use, with two equally wide horizontal stripes of yellow and blue. This is based on an incorrect interpretation of the municipal arms (see Ralf Hartemink's site.
Jarig Bakker, 25 Jun 2003

Heerlen CoA

[Heerlen CoA] image from the Heerlen municipal website.

Granted 24 Nov 1982