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Boadilla del Monte (Municipality, Community of Madrid, Spain)

Last modified: 2016-05-15 by ivan sache
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[Flag]

Flag of Boadilla del Monte - Image by Ivan Sache, 30 June 2015


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Presentation of Boadilla del Monte

The municipality of Boadilla del Monte (47,852 inhabitants in 2014; 4,720 ha; municipal website) is located in the center of the Community of Madrid, 15 km west of Madrid. The municipality experienced a demographic boom at the end of the 20th century, its population increasing from 1,836 inhabitants in 1970 to 27,443 in 2001.

Boadilla is believed to be of Moorish origin, based on sparse archeological findings (remains of mortar typically used in mosques and "Arab" tombs), and, mostly, on the toponymy. Boadilla could also have been named for Beatriz de Boadilla, the mother of Andrés Cabrera, made Count of Chinchón by the Catholic Monarchs. Yet another theory relates the name of the town to boa, a word used in the 13th century to designate rush.

Ivan Sache, 30 June 2015


Symbols of Boadilla del Monte

The flag of Boadilla del Monte is prescribed by a Decree adopted on 22 February 2007 by the Government of the Community of Madrid and published on 9 March 2007 in the official gazette of the Community of Madrid, No. 58, pp. 17-18 (text). The flag was originally approved on 24 February 2006 by the Municipal Council, following a public contest. The proposed flag was validated on 28 June 2006 by the Royal Academy of History (Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, 2006, 203, 2:199).
The flag is described as follows:

Flag: Rectangular panel, in proportions 2:3, vertically divided into two equal parts, green at hoist and yellow at fly. In the center is placed the municipal coat of arms of Boadilla del Monte in full colours.

The winning design obtained 62.7% of the votes. The flag, inaugurated on 10 May 2007, was distributed to all the educational institutes in the municipality.
The right part of the flag is prescribed and described as yellow, but appears to be white in the flags in use (photo, photo, photos, photo, photo, photo, photo).

The coat of arms of Boadilla del Monte is prescribed by a Royal Decree no. 2,758, adopted on 6 October 1977 and published on 7 November 1977 in the Spanish official gazette, No. 266, p. 24,403 (text).
The coat of arms is described as follows:

Coat of arms: Or five holly oaks eradicated vert per saltire orled by a chain sable. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed.

The coat of arms was adopted on 11 November 1976 by the Municipal Council.
The holly oaks symbolize the mount (monte) and the trees that have been growing there for ages. The chains are the attribute of St. Babylas, Bishop of Antioch martyred in 250 during the Decian persecution, who asked to be buried with the chains that had been used to jail him. The patron saint of Boadilla is, indeed, another St. Babylas, whose attributes are unknown, and were therefore replaced by those of the bishop of Antioch.
[Unofficial website]

The Royal Academy of History validated the proposed arms, stating that the chains represent St. Babylas, buried in a chapel surrounded by several holly oaks.
[Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, 1980, 187, 1: 793]

Ivan Sache, 30 June 2015