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Gorinchem (The Netherlands)

Zuid-Holland province

Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.flagchart.net
adopted 9 Aug 1938

Gorinchem municipality
Gorinchem 1938 flag
Gorinchem 19th century flag
Gorinchem Coat of Arms

See also:

Gorinchem municipality

Number of inhabitants (1 Jan 2003): 34.370; area: 22,01 km². Settlements: Gorinchem (seat), Dalem.
Gorinchem or Gorkum is an old city on the Merwede river. Gorkum was founded in the beginning of the 13th century by Jan van Arkel. Here 21 Roman Catholic priests were taken prisoner on 7 July 1572. 19 of them were taken to Brielle by the "Watergeuzen", where they were tortured and hung, despite the order by Willem van Oranje to free them.

Sierksma's Nederlands Vlaggenboek, 1962 [sie62] has this about the flag:
"Description: Nine equally wide horizontal stripes of white and red; the middle strip is twice as wide as the other stripes.
This flag was instituted by Mayor and Aldermen on 9 Aug 1939. The colors are derived from the arms of the Van Arkels (which is on a small shield on the municipal arms).
This flag is closely related to an image in Steenbergen (c. 1870) [stb65]. That has on the middle stripe the arms of the municipality. A flag of that model has been reported by the Gorinchem mayor to the minister of Internal Affairs in 1857."

Jaume Ollé has sent a lot of Steenbergen images to the Vexillum-mailing list, amongst which
284.- No name -
That fits the description perfectly.

The Gorinchem municipal website has a description of both flags, and adds to the 19th century flag: below the wreath is written "GORINCHEM". Fortunately Steenbergen forgot to include that...
Jarig Bakker, 15 Jun 2003

Gorinchem was my Friday evening's nightmare, exactly ten years ago, when I came back from the Netherlands to France. A major crossroads between two west-east and north-south highways is located near Gorinchem. I came from east and had to turn south. As a revenge, I propose a new flag for Gorinchem, grey (for the clouds) with a black cross for the roads. As a result, I never visited the city of Gorincham, whose 'binnenstad' seems to be nice.
The Guide Michelin has more fishy details on the Arkel family.
In 1417, Willem van Arkel attempted to reconquer the city from the Hoeken, the partisans of Countess Jacoba van Beieren. Arkel belonged to the Cod (Kabeljauwen; in French, cabillaud) party and died during the fighting inside the city.
Jacoba was Willem IV's daughter. When he died in 1417, she inherited the counties of Hainaut, Holland and Zeeland. In 1421, her second husband, Jan IV van Brabant, spoliated her from the county of Holland which he gave to her uncle Jan van Beieren, a partisan of the Kabeljauwen. Next year, she married the Duke of Gloucester in England. Later, the Duke of Burgundy Philips de Goede invaded her lands and she fled to Goes, in Zeeland. Jacoba was forced to sign an agreement in Delft in 1428 (Zoen van Delft), by which she promised to recognize Philips as her heir and never remarry. In 1432, she broke her truce and lost in 1433 her title of Countess. She died three years later in the castle of Teilingen, near Leiden.
Ivan Sache, 18 Jun 2003

Gorinchem 1938 flag

Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.flagchart.net

In use c. 1938

Gorinchem 19th century flag

by Jaume Ollé, 15 Jun 2003

Gorinchem Coat of Arms

image from the Gorinchem municipal website.

Granted 24 Jul 1816. Below the Coat of Arms is a scroll with the text: “Fortes creantur fortibus”: “Strong ones create strong ones”..