Flag of Utrecht

Not to be confused with Flag of Utrecht (province).

Flag of the municipality of Utrecht (2:3)

The flag of the municipality of Utrecht was adopted on the 5th of July 1990 by the city council of Utrecht. The flag is bisected diagonally, with the upper right portion being white, and the lower left portion being red.

History

The history of Utrecht's flag dates back to the medieval period, when the city had its own militia (the military civic guard) for defence. The militia was divided into two sections, each represented by a monochromatic, triangular pennant — one white and one red. With the combination of the two pennants, the flag is visualized.

On April 27 1948, the City Council adopted the following flag:

The Right bevel of red and white, with Sint Maarten in white.

This flag is almost the same as the standard of the militia, but differs in its ratio of 2:3. The patron saint of the city, Saint Martin, known in Dutch as Sint Maarten, is traditionally depicted on the two-tone city flag. His depiction on the flag is based on a legendary scene in which he, on horseback, cuts his red cloak in half to give to a beggar. This scene is occasionally presented as the explanation for the Utrecht coat of arms, but is more so suspected to be an apocryphal legend.

Gallery

• 
  Some archers with the banner of the city (1648)
• 
  Design presented to the city in 1956
• 
  Variant of the flag circa 1961