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Drenthe Province (The Netherlands)

Last modified: 2014-06-28 by andrew weeks
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[Provincial flag of Drenthe] image by Mark Sensen, 4 May 1999

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Drenthe Province

At <http://www.drenthe.nl/balie/vlag.htm> some explanation of the flag of the Dutch province Drenthe:
Since 19 February 1947 Drenthe has its own flag. The flag has the colors white and red because these are the traditional Saxon colors. White and red are also the colors of Utrecht. Drenthe used to be part of the 'Oversticht' ('Sticht' was the name of the domain of the Bishop of Utrecht; 'Oversticht' was the part of the 'Sticht' on the other side of the river IJssel), and thus part of the bishopric of Utrecht. The six stars symbolize the six 'dingspels': Zuidenveld, Oostermoer, Noordenveld, Rolder, Beiler en Dieverder dingspil. The tower points at the castle of Coevorden, from where Drenthe was ruled by 'drosten', who had their seat in Coevorden castle.
(Dingspel or dingspil: jurisdiction; 'drost': title of the representative of the Bishop of Utrecht; after that the title of the lord of the land.)
Jarig Bakker, 9 March 2000

Drenthe Coat of Arms

Drenthe Coat of Arms International Civic Arms : http://www.ngw.nl/

"Or, seated on a throne of the same , the Virgin Mary in a mantle azure over a robe gules, wearing a crown composed of three fleur-de-lys or; in the right hand a scepter or with a fleur-de-lys finial, on the left knee the Christ-child in a robe argent. The shield crested by a coronet of four pearls between five leaves and three diadems or, lined gules. Supporters: two lions rampant or, armed and langued gules."

Drenthe is a province in the north of the Netherlands. It used to be part of the bishopric of Utrecht, but became more and more independent. It has not been a separate county or duchy as most of the other Dutch provinces, but it retained the status of "landschap" (a kind of self-governing area). Drenthe joined the Utrecht Union (see Utrecht), but as a landschap did not have voting rights in the republican parliament (Staten-Generaal). It became a province in 1805. The arms of the province of Drenthe are derived from the seal of the Landschap Drenthe, which depicted the same composition since 1262.
Ralf Hartemink, 3 Sep 1997

1938 Parade flag

Parade flag Drenthe by Jarig Bakker, 26 January 2001

In 1938 Queen Wilhelmina had reigned the Netherlands for 40 years. On that occasion a lot of municipalities paraded in front of HM with their flags, which consisted of the provincial flag with the municipal coat of arms in the canton (or something...). Those municipal flags can only be considered as 'curiosities', while the status of the provincial flags is not quite clear.
Jarig Bakker, 26 January 2001