Last modified: 2019-06-26 by ivan sache
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![[Flag]](../images/b/be-vanks.gif)
Flag of Kasterlee - Image by Jarig Bakker, 1 October 2001
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The municipality of Kasterlee (17,998 inhabitants on 1 January 2007; 7,152 ha: tourism website) is located in central Kempen, south of Turnhout. The municipality was establshed in 1976 as the merger of the former municipalities of Kasterlee, Lichtaart, and Tielen.
Kasterlee was mentioned for the first time in 1135, as Castelra; Lichtaart appeared, as Lifterde, in the same period. Several funerary urns from the late Age of Bronze (1100-700 BC) were found on the municipal territory. In Lichtaart, the Partisaensberg was named after a partisan who committed suicide in the 18th century and was buried on this hill after his body had been hung as an example. Excavations made later on the hill yielded remains of the partisan and several urns. In the south of the municipality, another cemetery was found in the place called Duivelskuil, a place associated with legends involving witches and devils.
Ivan Sache, 5 August 2007
The flag of Kasterlee is horizontally divided
blue-yellow-black.
According to Gemeentewapens in België - Vlaanderen en Brussel [w2v02], the flag, adopted on 3 June 1986 by the Municipal
Council, is prescribed by a Decree issued on 10 March 1987 by the Executive of Flanders and published on 3 December 1987 in the Belgian official gazette.
The three stripes symbolize the three components of the municipality,
while the colours of the flag were taken from the municipal arms.
According to Van evers en heiligen. Wapens en vlaggen van de gemeenten in de provincie Antwerpen [pbd98], the arms of Kasterlee combine elements of the arms of the former municipalities forming Kasterlee. They are divided per pale; the dexter half, "Or a double-headed eagle sable" represents Kasterlee; the sinister upper quarter is "Quarterly, 1. and 4. Or a wild boar sable, 2. and 3. Sable three chevrons argent", representing Lichtvaart via the arms of the Van de Werve family, owners of the domain in the 18th century - these arms are used today by the municipality of Vorselaar, with the matching banner of arms as the municipal flag; and the sinister lower quarter represents Tielen. According to Servais, the arms of Tielen, "Azure St. Margaret slaying the dragon all or", were granted by (Belgian) Royal Decree on 6 October 1819 with the Dutch national colours and confirmed by (Dutch) Royal Decree on 29 March 1839.
Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache, 5 August 2007