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Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.flagchart.net
adopted 27 July 2002; Design: Mr. Dingeman de Koning
Terneuzen is in Zeeuws Vlaanderen, the southernmost part of Zeeland
province; the merger took place 2 Jan 2003.
On 27 July 2002 the new Coat of Arms of the merged municipality (that is: Terneuzen,
Axel and Sas van Gent) was presented in the cityhall of Terneuzen, together
with the new municipal flag. Design: Dingeman de Koning from Axel.
In the Coat of Arms elements from the arms of the former municipalities were joined. In the new Coat of Arms the base and the lion from the Terneuzen arms have been used. Those elements were already in the Terneuzen arms in 1584, when Willem van Oranje (William the Silent) granted the city rights. The lock-doors are from the arms of Sas van Gent (which literally means: lock of Gent), where they were already present in 1564.
Axel, the oldest town in the Channelzone, delivered the key, which was already displayed in 1244. That the key is in the right paw has a special meaning: in the time of the "geuzen" (since 1572) it designated that it was a town of Zeeland, not of Vlaanderen. The crown was added to the arms to signify that Central Zeeuws-Vlaanderen used to be under the authority of the Counts of Vlaanderen.
For the flag elements flags of the former municipalities were also used.
In the canton are seven stripes, alternating red and white, derived from
Sas van Gent, which symbolizes the three channel arms (white), which pass
through the town. The key refers to Axel, and the lion and wavy stripes
to Terneuzen.
Source: Terneuzen
municipality website.
Jarig Bakker, 3 May 2003
Gerard van der Vaart (of Shipmate)
was notified by the designer of the Terneuzen municipal flag, Mr. De Koning,
that the image on the Shipmate site and on FOTW-ws was wrong. The bottom
stripes are not wavy but straight.
Gerard accordingly changed the image.
See also: the Terneuzen
municipal site.
Jarig Bakker, 17 Oct 2004
Hans van Heijningen, the veteran Dutch vexillologist, just sent me an
image of a square flag, adopted in 1964, - bottom five wavy bars blue -
white, top a yellow field with a red lion issueing from the waves, holding
a blue key. In the attachment the key-bit is pointing to the bottom - that
has been corrected by a ballpoint-sketch of the bit pointing upwards, which
is the correct rendition (note the mix of old and new technology!)
Jarig Bakker, 12 Aug 2003
Before Biervliet, Zaamslag and Hoek in 1970 were merged into Terneuzen,
there was another flag: square with the old arms without epaulette, adopted
in 1964.
Hans van Heijningen, 12 Aug 2003
Description: Wavy per fess: I. in gold an issuing lion of red, tongued
and nailed blue, with in its right forepaw a key of blue and a shield quartered:
A. in red a narrowed cross of gold, in each quarter with 5 pennies of the
same, placed 2,1,2; B. per fess: a. in blue an opened castle with three
embattlements; b. in gold a left diagonally placed flying swallow of black;
II. wavy and per fess of blue and silver of 6 pieces. The shield surmoiunted
by a golden crown of 3 leaves and 2 pearls.
Description: In gold a lion of red, holding in its right forepaw a key
of blue and swimming on a sea of blue and silver.
That is the coat of arms of Zeeland, with the addition of the blue
key. The fortress of Terneuzen was considered as invincible in the 17th
century, and as the key to Zeeland.