^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

De Valom (The Netherlands)

Dantumadeel municipality, Fryslân province

image by Jarig Bakker, 23 Aug 2003
adopted c. 2000; design: J.C. Terluin.

De Valom village (De Falom)
De Valom coat of arms

See also:

De Valom village

De Valom - Frisian: De Falom - is a village in Dantumadeel, Fryslân. Until 1964 it was a hamlet belonging to the village of Akkerwoude, between Damwoude and Veenwouden. Several houses belong to people living elsewhere (second houses). Population (1966): 266; (1974): 278 and no church!
De Falom: coat of arms: per fess gold and blue, surmounting a wavy chevron of blue in the gold and of silver in the blue, charged with two two fishes facing each other, placed in the direction of the chevron, silver in blue and blue in silver; the chevron in chief with right a blue chicory flower and left a silver penny and in base a peat block, blue in gold and silver in blue.
Flag: white with a yellow wavy hoist-triangle, with the apex in flag center and joining a blue wavy lengthened hoist-triangle with width of 1/2 flag length and the apex in the fly; the yellow hoist-triangle charged with a blue chicory flower of 2/5 flag height.
The hamlet originated by peat-digging in the 16th century. The Valomstervaart was then dug in order to get rid of superfluous water and to transport the peat. That canal unfortunately enabled salt water to enter the arable land in the eastern part of the hamlet. So plans were made for a lock, but this was never realized because of no funds. Instead there came an "overtoom" (rolling bridge) or "valom" - a construction by which it was possible to pull a ship over a small distance of land; so fresh and salt water remained departed. Which explains the name of the village.
This has been represented in the chevron: blue symbolizes fresh water and silver salt water. The fishes indicate that fishing was quite important for the community.
The chicory flower represent the cultivation of it until the 20th century, and the penny refers to the tollhouse and the pub, important meeting points. The peat blocks refer to the peat-digging, the blue and silver colors: "baggelers" (hard) peat, dug from the water, with a high salt-content.
The colors of the coat of arms have been adopted for the flag. The wavy chevron is here the most important part, undivided because the "valom" was taken out of it and the water represents one continuing canal. The yellow color of the first hoist triangle represents sandy soil with the chicory flower on it.
Design: J.C. Terluin.
Source: Encyclopedie van het Hedendaagse Friesland, c. 1975,
Genealogysk Jierboekje 2002.
Jarig Bakker, 23 Aug 2003

De Valom Coat of Arms

image from Ralf Harteminks's site.