Flag of Utrecht
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The flag of the municipality of Utrecht was adopted on 5 July 1990 by the city council of Utrecht as the official municipal flag. The flag is bisected diagonally, with the upper right portion being white, and the lower left portion being red.[1]
History
The history of the flag goes back centuries to when the city had its own militia (the military civic guard) for defence. The militia was divided into two sections, each with its own triangular pennant. One department had a red pennant, and the other a white one. The combination of both pennants makes a square that is divided into two differently colored areas.[2]
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 has a flag 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. The scene is sometimes presented as the explanation for the coat of arms of Utrecht, but it is suspected that this is an apocryphal legend. In the 16th century, Saint Marten disappears from the city flag.[3]
Gallery
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Some archers with the banner of the city (1648) -
Design presented to the city in 1956 -
Variant of the flag circa 1961
References
- ^ "Utrecht City (The Netherlands)". crwflags.com. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
- ^ "The legend about Martin, the Whitehorse rider". ESN Czech Republic. 2021-11-11. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
- ^ "Utrecht City (The Netherlands)". crwflags.com. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
