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Baaium (The Netherlands)

Littenseradiel municipality, Fryslân province

image by Jarig Bakker, 10 Sep 2003
adopted 1999; Design: J.C. Terluin and R.J. Broersma.

Baaium village (Baijum)
Baaium coat of arms

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Baaium village (Baijum)

Baaium (Dutch: Baijum) is a village in Littenseradiel municipality in Fryslân province; it used to be in the former municipality of Hennaarderadeel with (1958) 133; (1974) 110 inhabitants. It is on the road Dronrijp-Winsum, ESE of Franeker city. In the middle ages there was a priory of Norbertine nuns (St. Michaelsberg or Monnikeberg), founded 1186. It is known that in 1235 many bricks were produced here. It was pulled down in 1580. In the old church of Baaium was a big baptismal font, which can now be admired in the present churchportal, hence the expression: "Sa great as de Baaiumer fonte" (as big as the Baaiumer font).
Nickname: "Eartepotten" (pea-pots), "Eartefretters" (pea-eaters) - the Baaiumer font was named by other villages "eartepot"; The 19th century writer Waling Dykstra said that the churchbell of Baaium was very small and produced no stately galming noises, that's why that bell was named a "eartepot".
The Belgian village of Gerdingen (Bree municipality, Maaseik arrondissement, Limburg province) had inhabitants named
"Erwtenschijters" (pea-s***ters)
Baaium Coat of Arms: per fess a. in red three rectangular silver windows issuing from the fess, each with a gothic rim, charged with a lying brick. b. in blue a golden corn sheaf, placed in base, with on top two silver sheep's heads.
Flag: two vertical stripes proportioned 1:2; the first stripe divided in three vertical stripes of white and blue, with on blue a yellow corn sheaf; the fly is red with a white gothic window issuing from the hoist. with the point at 14/15 flag length.
The top of the shield refers to the Baaiumer font, made of red sandstone. The font has the form of a cube with on three sides each three niches, symbolized in the gothic windows.
In the niches red bricks, reminding of the brick-production in the Middle Ages. The corn sheaf symbolizes agriculture and the two sheep's head cattle-breeding, and that the soil was so sound that the sheep didn't get liver-rot. The blue color is from the municipal arms.
The flag is a simplification of the arms.
Design: J.C. Terluin and R.J. Broersma
Source: Genealogysk Jierboekje 2001.
Encyclopedie van Friesland, 1958.
Groot Schimpnamenboek van Nederland, by Dirk van der Heide, 1998.
Jarig Bakker, 10 Sep 2003

Baaium coat of arms

from Wapens en Flaggen fan Littenseradiel, booklet of the municipality.