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Gaastmeer (The Netherlands)

Wymbritseradiel municipality, Fryslân province

image by Jarig Bakker, 22 Sep 2003

Gaastmeer village (De Gaastmar)
Gaastmeer coat of arms

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Gaastmeer village (De Gaastmar)

Gaastmeer (Frisian: De Gaastmar) is a village in Wymbritseradiel municipality, Fryslân province, with (1958) 352; (1974) 245 inhabitants. It is a village between several lakes. Until 1914 eel-fishing was quite important - eels were exported even to London (GB).
Nickname: "Otterfretters" (ottereaters), "Bleien" (white breams).
Gaastmeer coat of arms: in green a golden eel, placed in S-form, with the tail upwards and going dexter under him; a blue canton charged with a golden fleur-de-lis.
Flag: three horizontal wavy stripes of blue, yellow, and green, proportioned 3:1:3; in the canton a white fish of 3/14 flag height.
The flag-design was thought out by the villagers: the blue water over the green meadows. The green wavy stripe accentuates the wavy water, and represents to the eel from the coat of arms; the fish symbolizes Gaastmeer as a fishing village.
The coat of arms is based on the coat of arms of the neighbouring village of Heeg. The fleur-de-lis is from the arms of Wymbritseradiel. The color green on the coat of arms was chosen in order to make it look different from the Heeg arms.
The yellow color of the eel was chosen, because the eels provided money for the villagers' purses.
Source: Genealogysk Jierboekje 1991.
Encyclopedie van Friesland, 1958.
Jarig Bakker, 22 Sep 2003

Gaastmeer coat of arms

from Ralf Hartemink's site.