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Grathem (The Netherlands)

Heythuysen municipality, Limburg province

by Jarig Bakker, 21 Apr 2005
adopted 8 Dec 1982; design: Hans van Heyningen

Grathem former municipality
Grathem CoA

See also:

Grathem former municipality

Grathem is a former municipality in Limburg province, since 1991 part of Heythuysen, northeast of Roermond on the other bank of the Maas.
Flag: (my description) blue, a yellow hoist-chevron reaching 1/3 flaglength; a "Y" turned left from hoist to fly, the bottom half is red, the top half is white.
adopted 8 Dec 1982; design: Hans van Heyningen

The colors are derived from the municipal arms. Blue is the shield's color - and therefore the field color of the flag. The "Y" represents the bishop St. Severinus for the pallium, his sign of honor as a bishop.
The bishop himself is golden and the shield at his feet shows four lions in silver. the chevron is therefore yellow and the "Y" is red/white.
Source: Vexilla Nostra 129 (yr 18), 1983.
Jarig Bakker, 21 Apr 2005

Grathem CoA

scanned from "Limburg in Vogelvlucht".
Granted 31 May 1873

Arms: azure a bishop facing, holding in his right hand a covered chalice, in his left hand a crozier, all or; the bishop's feet behind an escutcheon argent quartered with four lions gules.

The bishop is St. Severinus (the philosopher Boethius c. 475-524). The escutcheon is from the Brederode family, which was very influential in Grathem, mainly through the princess-abbess of the convent of Thorn, Margaretha van Brederode. She granted this coat of arms to the court of aldermen.
Source: Kl. Sierksma, "De gemeentewapens van Nederland", 1960.
Jarig Bakker, 21 Apr 2005