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Elsloo (The Netherlands)

Stein municipality, Limburg province

Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.flagchart.net
Adopted 17 Apr 1962

Elsloo former municipality
Elsloo Coat of Arms

See also:

Elsloo former municipality

Elsloo is a former municipality in Limburg province, now part of the municipality of Stein. (not to be confused with Elsloo in
Ooststellingwerf, Fryslân). Elsloo lies along the Maas river, a few km north of Maastricht, and consisted of the villages Elsloo (seat), Catsop, Grote Meers, Kleine Meers (part, remainder in Stein), Meers, and Terhagen, with (1968) 6.200 inhabitants. Elsloo is an important archeological site, with band-ceramics of 4.000 B.C., and it has beautiful forests.
Flag: three equally wide horizontal stripes of red and yellow, with in the canton a five-pointed white/green star.
This flag was adopted 17 Apr 1962 by municipal resolution. The colors are derived from the municipal arms. The Virgin Mary, patron saint of the municipality, was symbolized by the five-pointed star, wherein the green color is taken from the background-color of the Coat of Arms.
Source: Sierksma's Nederlands Vlaggenboek, 1962 [sie62].
Jarig Bakker, 31 Aug 2003

From Vexilla Nostra, VI, 1971:
The Dutch Mailservice (PTT) has the habit of regularly confusing Elsloo (Limburg) with Elsloo (Fryslân). The villagers of Elsloo (Fryslân) became annoyed with that - whereupon the members of the Vesuviusclub departed on 28 Dec 1970 for Limburg, and stole the Elsloo municipal Coat of Arms. On 4 Jan 1971 the club returned to Limburg to justify their evil deed. However they were overwhelmed by a grandiose unexpected welcome by Mayor and Aldermen, local press and inhabitants of the Limburgian village. After long tenacious negociations Elsloo (Limburg) offered its Coat of Arms as a gift to Elsloo (Fryslân), under the condition that Elsloo (Limburg) would receive the "Vesuvius"-flag (red with a black bull, the "village-arms"). Furthermore a bottle of Frisian Berenburger was exchanged for a bottle of Limburgian Els.
After that an unofficial party was organized, and the pubs were not allowed to close for 24 hours. Which was a ruse de guerre: for when the Elsloo (Fryslân) villagers departed they missed the Municipal flag of Ooststellingwerf (which they had taken along to underline their protest) - for a moment unobserverved. Here ends this story, but the Frisian Elsloo-ers will attend the carnaval in Elsloo (Limburg).
Quoted from the Leeuwarder Courant, 4 Jan 1971.
Jarig Bakker, 3 Sep 2003

Sierksma writes: "This flag was established 17 april 1962 by municipal resolution. The colours as well as the shape are taken (while ignoring the black) from the double arms of the municipality. Maria as shield-bearer is represented by the well-known symol for this saint: The five-pointed star of white (silver). In this case, however, the star is pointed white and green, because the background shield of the municipal arms is green coloured."
The reason for this is that the arms of the lords of Elsloo are gules, a pale or charged with three chevrons sabel. These arms appear as a shield on the arms of Elsloo, together with a shield for the counts of Arberg and Yalingen. The shield bearer is the Holy Virgin, the first patron saint of Elsloo. The bearer and shields charge a shield vert, seme' of Alder-twigs.
Thus, the colours of the flag and their pattern stem from the shield of the Lords of Elsloo, while the green is the shield colour of the arms of the municipality of Elsloo.
(Additional soure: K. Sierksma - De gemeentewapens van Nederland, 1962)
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 7 Sep 2003

Elsloo Coat of Arms

from Ralf Hartemink's site.

Granted 21 Nov 1888