The flag of Flanders flying high over the Market Square in Bruges, Belgium
The flag of Flanders, called the Vlaamse Leeuw ("Flemish Lion") or leeuwenvlag ("Lion flag"), is the flag of the Flemish Community and Flemish Region. The flag was officially adopted by the Raad voor de Nederlandse Cultuurgemeenschap ("Counsil for the Dutch cultural community") in 1973, and later, in 1985, by its successor, the Flemish Parliament. In 1990, also the coat of arms was adopted as an official symbol. The Flemish lion derives from the arms of the Counts of Flanders. Their first appearance is on a seal of Count Philip of Alsace, dating from 1163. As such they constitute the oldest of the many territorial arms bearing a lion in the Low Countries. Still, Count Philip was not the first of his line to bear a lion, for his cousin, William of Ypres, already used a seal with a lion passant in 1158. When the county of Flanders was inherited by the Dukes of Burgundy in 1405, the Flemish lion was placed on an escutcheon in their dynastic arms. It passed with the rest of the Burgundian inheritance to the House of Habsburg in 1482. The Habsburgs would bear the title and arms of the county of Flanders until 1795. As part of the claims and counterclaims resulting from War of the Spanish Succession, the Flemish lion likewise featured in the arms of Kings of Spain until 1931 and in the arms of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies until 1860. In 1816 the Flemish lion became part of the coats of arms of the provinces of East Flanders and West Flanders that administer most of the territory of the former county. It is the inverse of the arms of Brabant, which are a gold lion on a black field.
Size: 3620px × 5445px
Location: Market Square, Bruges, Flanders, Belgium, Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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