Last modified: 2013-12-11 by ivan sache
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Municipal flag of Hotton - Images by Arnaud Leroy, 30 0ctober 2005
Left, official flag
Right, flag hoisted in the twin town of Izegem
See also:
The municipality of Hotton (5,043 inhabitants on 1 January 2007; 5,731 ha) is located on the river Ourthe, 10 km north-east of Marche-en-Famenne. The municipality of Hotton is made since 1976 of the former municipalities of Hotton, Fronville, Hampteau and Marenne.
Hotton has been enjoyed by tourists for more than one century thanks to
its green beach and its 5 ha island (Île de l'Oneux). The area is made
of limestone and every village has fountains, sources and wells.
Several houses, as for instance in the rue Haute in Hotton, are built
with local blue stones.
The most famous beauty spot in Hotton is the Thousand and One Nights
cave (grotte des Mille et Une Nuits). The cave was discovered in the
face of a blue stone quarry on 29 November 1958. The site was
immediatly recognized as exceptional and explored by the Speleo Club de
Belgique. It was decided to fit it out for public access, which was
made on 21 April 1962. The already explored part of the cave represents
6 km of galleries at an average depth of 70 m, half of the gallery area
being under water or reachable only through sumps. The great gallery of
the Speleo Club de Belgique (length, 200 m; width, 10 m; height, 35 m)
is the biggest underground gallery in Belgium. The cave is part of a
bigger system of five interconnected caves, not completely explored
yet.
Sources:
Ivan Sache, 30 October 2005
The flag of Hotton is green with two thin white stripes. The
height of the stripes is 1/8th of the flag height.
According to Armoiries communales en Belgique. Communes wallonnes, bruxelloises et germanophones [w2v03], the flag is prescribed by a Decree
adopted on 3 October 1991 by the Municipal Council and confirmed on 18 December 1991 by the
Executive of Wallonia, as Vert chargé de deux laizes longitudinales blanches de largeur égale à 1/8e du guindant.
The flag is a simplification of the municipal coat of arms, De sinople au pont de quatre arches mouvant des flancs de l'écu posé entre deux trangles le tout d'argent (Vert a four-arch bridge issuant from the flank of the shield between two thin bars all argent).
The municipality of Izegem (West Flanders) is twinned with Hotton. On the municipal website of Izegem, a picture of the town hall shows the "flag" of Hotton as a full banner of arms, that is with the bridge.
Arnaud Leroy, Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache, 30 October 2005