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Geldrop (The Netherlands)

Geldrop-Mierlo municipality, Noord-Brabant province

Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.flagchart.net
adopted 16 August 1971

Geldrop former municipality
Geldrop Coat of Arms
1962 Flagproposal

See also:

Geldrop former municipality

Number of inhabitants (1 Jan 2003): 27.995; area: 13,93 km². Settlements: Geldrop (seat).
On 1 Jan 2005 Geldrop merged with Mierlo, to form the new municipality of Geldrop-Mierlo. Geldrop municipality was a merger of Geldrop with Zesgehuchten in 1921. The 6 gehuchten (hamlets) were: Ghisenrode, Hoghe Geldrop, Nuwenhuyse, Riele, Ten Hout, Ten Huls.
Flag: 7 horizontal stripes of blue and yellow, proportioned 2:1:2:1:2:1:2, adopted 16 August 1971 by municipal resolution.

Geldrop Coat of Arms

International Civic Arms : http://www.ngw.nl/

Granted 16 Jul 1817

1962 Flagproposal

by Jarig Bakker, 13 Apr 2004
Proposed 27 April 1962; design: Kl. Sierksma.

Description: blue, with in the direction of hoist-bottom to fly-top three yellow hearts, each of 1/3 flagheight; in hoist-top a yellow double-tailed lion armed red.
This flag was in principle adopted by mayor and aldermen in April 1962.
Flag-color and hearts are derived from the municipal arms, and the placement of the hearts reminds of the wayu the river Dommel has taken in this municipality. The lion of Gelderland has been added to symbolize the ancient situation as a lordship of Gelre or Gelderland.
Source: Sierksma's Nederlands Vlaggenboek, 1962.
Jarig Bakker, 13 Apr 2004

Mr Sierksma added: according to resolution of Mayor and Aldermen of 27 April 1962 (official municipal resolution until 16 August 1971) the lion should be "voided" (contoured).
Source: Vexilla Nostra # 226, 2000.
Jarig Bakker, 19 Sep 2005

The High Council of Nobility (HCN) wrote 19 March 1964 a letter to Mayor & Aldermen (B&W) of Geldrop, in reply to a letter dated 1 May 1963, in which it stated that the lion was not acceptable, because the lion did not figure in the municipal arms; the Duke of Gelre (whose lion it was) had practically no influence in Geldrop, except from some rights to the castle and the parish chrurch. The HCN therefore advised a square (or rectangular) blue flag charged with three yellow "meerbladen" (heart-formed waterlily-leaves) placed 2,1, as on the municipal arms.

On 11 Jun 1971 the municipal council wrote the HCN in which it proposed a blue/yellow flag. The HCN replied on 7 Jul 1971 that this was not acceptable, because the municipalities of Ootmarsum (Overijssel), Midwoud (Noord-Holland) and Uden (Noord-Brabant) did use a flag like that already. It advised the flag with 7 stripes, which became the Geldrop flag from 16 Aug 1971 - 31 Dec 2003.

The flag, designed by Sierksma in April 1962, does not seem to have been adopted in May 1963, and not in 1971, judging from the correspondence cited. The image in Sierksma's Nederlands Vlaggenboek, 1962 was just a design, not officially adopted. The matter was not raised when a new municipal flag was discussed for Geldrop-Mierlo. The "voided" lion is a mystery to me.
Willem van Ham, 20 Sep 2005