La Aldea de San Nicolás (Municipality, Canary Islands, Spain)

Last modified: 2013-12-28 by ivan sache
Keywords: la aldea de san nicolás |
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Flag of La Aldea de San Nicolás, as seen hoisted on top of the Town Hall - Image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 7 October 2011

• Presentation of La Aldea de San Nicolás
• Symbols of La Aldea de San Nicolás

See also:

• Spain
• Canary Islands (Autonomous Community, Spain)
• Las Palmas Province (Canary Islands, Spain)
• Gran Canaria Island (Canary Islands, Spain)

Presentation of La Aldea de San Nicolás

Until 2005 the official name of the municipality was San Nicolás de Tolentino. The capital of the municipality is the town of La Aldea de San Nicolás de Tolentino, called by the locals La Aldea (The Hamlet / The Village).

Klaus-Michael Schneider, 7 October 2011

Symbols of La Aldea de San Nicolás

The flag of La Aldea de San Nicolás is prescribed by a Decree adopted on 28 August 1997 by the Government of the Canary Islands and published on 3 October 1987 in the official gazette of the Canary Islands, No. 128, pp. 11,904-11,905 (text). The flag was initially adopted on 24 September 1996 by the Municipal Council and validated on 6 June 1997 by the Heraldry Commission of the Canary Islands, which prescribed the addition of the municipal coat of arms in the middle of the flag.
The flag is described as follows:

Flag: Rectangular flag [in porportions 2:3], vertically divided in the middle, yellow at hoist and black at fly. In the middle of the panel is placed the municipal coat of arms.

The coat of arms of La Aldea de San Nicolás is prescribed by a Decree adopted on 20 February 1959 by the Spanish Government. The coat of arms is "Quarterly, 1. Per pale, gules a castle or a lion gules, 2. Azure a church proper, 3. A nave proper on waves azure and argent, 4. Or a sword and a pair of scales sable above the year "1927" of the same. A bordure argent eight pairs of swords sable per saltire. The shield surmounted with a Royal crown open. The shield surrounded by two palms vert [not shown on the flag]. Beneath the shield a scroll azure inscribed with the motto "Omnes Labore Uniti" in letters or."

According to José Manuel Erbez (Banderas y escudos de Canarias, 2007; website), the castle and lion symbolize the incorporation of the archipelago into the Kingdom of Castile. The church represents the chapel devoted to St. Nicholas, built by colonists from Mallorca, who arrived here in the 14th century. The nave represents the galleons that sailed near the coast of the municipality. The scales and the year "1927" recall the court case won that year by the villagers against the landlords. The swords in the bordure are taken from the coat of arms of Gran Canaria.

Klaus-Michael Schneider & Ivan Sache, 7 October 2011