Flag of Friesland
The flag of Friesland is the official flag of the Dutch province of Friesland. The flag was officially adopted by the provincial executive of Friesland on 9 July 1957.
It consists of four blue and three white diagonal stripes; in the white stripes are a total of seven red seeblatts, leaves of the yellow water-lily, that may resemble hearts, but according to the official instructions "should not be heart-shaped".
The Frisian flag is probably the best known and most recognizable Dutch provincial flag. It flies abundantly during national skating competitions and is also used by one of the largest and oldest dairy producers. Moreover, the design is the basis of the home jerseys of the football clubs SC Heerenveen and the.
Symbolism
The seven red pompeblêden are a reference to the Frisian "sea countries" in the Middle Ages: independent regions along the coast from Alkmaar to the Weser who were allied against the Vikings. There were never precisely seven distinct regions, but the number seven probably has the connotation "many." Some sources hold, however, that there have been seven Frisian lands: West Friesland, Westergoa, Eastergoa, Hunsingo, Fivelingo, Emsingo, and Jeverland.The pompeblêden are used in other related flags such as the flag of the Ommelanden in neighbouring Groningen Province, a historically Frisian area, and for a proposed pan-Frisia flag put forth by the Groep fan Auwerk.
History
In the 13th century, a flag with pompeblêden is described in the Middle High German epic poem Gudrunlied:15th century books on heraldry show that two armorial bearings were derived from the early ones: a coat of arms showing lions and seven pompeblêden transformed into billets, the other being the arms with the seven now known lilies on stripes.
The current design was officially approved in 1897 and was first used by the provincial government in 1927. The flag was officially adopted by the provincial executive of Friesland on 9 July 1957.