Limburg (Netherlands)

Limburg
Country	Netherlands
Flag of Limburg, Netherlands
Adopted	28 July 1953
Wikipedia article
Flags of the World article

For other uses, see Limburg.

The flag colors are taken from those of the provincial coat of arms, which by Royal Decree of December 27, 1886 No. 26 was granted to the Duchy of Limburg (province) by King William III of the Netherlands.

The lion symbolizes Limburg and also refers to the old Duchy of Limburg, whose territory was hardly in the area of the current province. The crown and the double tail make him the Limburg lion. The colors are derived from the colors in the provincial coat of arms: the red of the Valkenburg, Horn and Limburg coat of arms; the blue of the Gelderland coat of arms; the gold of the Hornse, Gelderse and Gulickse coat of arms

History and colors

The flag is based on a design by architect Louis Maris (1904-1986) from Maastricht. The color yellow was missing in his design: the bottom strip was white. In addition to Maris's proposal, there were other proposals, but they were rejected. Various proposals also contain the colors yellow and black, as red, white, blue, yellow and black are the colors of the Limburg coat of arms.

In the 19th century, the Dutch provinces were only allowed to fly the Dutch flag. In the Duchy of Limburg, which became a member of the German Confederation under the Treaty of London (1839) and which would remain until 1866, a red and white flag was used; the colors of the Duchy's coat of arms. In 1885, the province formally applied for the red and white flag as a provincial flag, after which the Dutch government repeatedly announced that this flag was prohibited. Yet it was used informally as a Limburg flag until World War II.