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Sittard-Geleen (The Netherlands)

Limburg province

image located by F Smyth, 23 January 2026

Other Sittard-Geleen pages:

See also:

Sittard-Geleen municipality

Number of inhabitants (1 Jan 2003): 97.753; area: 79,63 km². Settlements: Born, Buchten, Einighausen, Gebroek, Geleen, Graetheide, Grevenbicht, Guttecoven, Holtum, Limbricht, Munstergeleen, Obbicht, Papenhoven, Schipperskerk, Sittard; Sittard, Geleen and Born are the three municipal seats.
The new municipality of Sittard - Geleen is a merger of the former municipalities of Sittard, Geleen and Born (1 Jan 2001), and is using the flag of the former municipality of Sittard.
Jarig Bakker, 29 May 2003

For a long time, Sittard-Geleen was the only municipality in the Netherlands without one. Now, like the others, it has a municipal coat of arms and a municipal flag. The merged municipality of Sittard-Geleen was formed 25 years ago. This marked the end of the three separate municipalities of Sittard, Geleen, and Born, each with its own coat of arms.

Creating a single, unified emblem proved challenging. Rivalry is particularly strong between Sittard and Geleen. The official coat of arms diploma was presented to Mayor Hans Verheijen on Tuesday evening at the Toon Hermans Theater in Sittard.

According to the municipality, "the design is constructed from elements of the former municipal coats of arms of the eight old village and town centers. A single historical coat of arms was deliberately chosen as the starting point, but rather a design that is as widely supported as possible and fully heraldically sound. The colors of the old coats of arms – red, blue, silver, and gold – have been combined, as have recognizable symbols such as the snake-headed cross and the tower of the castle in Born. Research and expert advice from a heraldic expert, as well as coordination with the council working group, led to this design."

Sources:
https://www.limburger.nl/regio/sittard-geleen
https://sittard-geleen.nieuws.nl/gemeente
https://www.l1nieuws.nl/nieuws
F Smyth, 23 January 2026

Sittard [former municipality]

Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.flagchart.net
adoped 1982

Geleen [former municipality]

Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.flagchart.net

Geleen is c. 20 km north of Maastricht, one of the old mining centers in the region. After the mines were closed the chemical industries of DSM offered employment.
The flag was unofficially used until it was officially adopted in (?), derived from the Coat of Arms.
Jarig Bakker, 26 November 1999

Geleen is the result of a merger of 3 villages (Oud-Geleen, Lutterade and Krawinkel), after 1920 these villages started growing in towards each other, and when the State Mine Maurits opened (in 1928) this accelerated. After the State Mine closed, DSM (Dutch State Mines) developed a very large chemical complex here. The municipal borders were adjusted in 1982, so that all DSM property was within the municipal borders.
Franc Van Diest, 25 February 2001

The former SBB (Stikstof Bindings Bedrijf) changed its name to DSM, but existed long before the closure of the mines - it expanded immensely till the end of the 1960's. If the chemical company had been founded after the closure of the mines I wonder where my dad had been working all that time! He laboured in naphta-crackers, phenol- and hydrochloric factories.
After the expansion "talking poles" were put around the factories, which ought to warn the population in the case of a calamity.
C.W.De Meyer-Honneff, 30 Jan 2004

Born [former municipality]

Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.flagchart.net

Born is northwest of Sittard on the Maas river. It was built around the castle of the count de Noidans (built 1647-1666), where according to tradition one can find the throne of king Zwentibold or Sanderbout. Zwentibold was the illegal son of Arnulf (c. 850-900), king of Germany, who spent some time in Born before he was elected king of Lorraine (895-900). He died in the battle of Susteren (13-8-900).
The colors of the flag are the Gelderland colors upside-down; Born used to be partly of Gulik, partly of Gelre.
Jarig Bakker, 23 November 1999

Munstergeleen former municipality.

Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.flagchart.net

Flagdescription: Two equally wide horizontal stripes of blue and red; on the blue stripe charged with a white sword; on the red stripe with white plyers; and a yellow hoist-triangle with a black snakehead-cross.
This flag was adopted by municipal resolution on 17 Apr 1962. It is derived from the municipal arms; the white sword symbolizes Saint Pancratius, and the white plyers Saint Apollonia. The snakehead-cross is taken from the Sittard Coat of Arms.
Source: Sierksma's Nederlands Vlaggenboek [sie62]