Last modified: 2005-06-03 by ivan sache
Keywords: belgium | german-speaking community | deutschsprachige gemeinschaft | lion (red) | law | quintefoils: 9 (blue) | gentian |
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![[Flag of the German-speaking Community]](../images/b/be-de1.gif)
by Mark Sensen
See also:
The German-speaking Community stretches over 853 sq. km in the East of Wallonia, and includes ca. 67,000 inhabitants (German-speaking Belgian citizens).
The German-speaking Community is made of two parts, geographically not connected:
The German-speaking Community is not strictly equivalent to Eastern Belgium (Ostbelgien) or the Eastern Districts (Ostkantonen, Cantons de l'Est). Those two names were coined in 1920 to designate the newly annexed Prussian districts (Kantonen) of Eupen, Malmédy and Sankt Vith. However, the municipalities from the district of Malmédy belong today to the French Community and not to the German-speaking Community.
The German-speaking Community exercizes competencies in the German-speaking municipalities, all of them being located in the province of Liège.
The legislative power is exercized by a Council and a Government.
The Council of the German-speaking Community is made of 25 members.
One of them is delegated to the Senate. The members of the Council of
the German-speaking Community are directly elected.
The Council of the German-speaking Community votes decrees.
The executive power is exercized by the Government of the German-speaking Community, made of a Minister-President and two Ministers.
Ivan Sache, 28 November 2004
![[Flag of the German-speaking Community]](../images/b/be-de.gif)
by Mark Sensen
The flag of the German-speaking Community is a banner of the arms of the Community. According to a drawing attached to the decree prescribing the flag, the flag should be square or 'Belgian square' (13:15), but it is always used in 2:3 proportion.
Source: Léon Nyssen Le drapeau de la Communauté germanophone. Vexillacta [vxl] #12, June 2001.
Ivan Sache, 2 July 2001
![[Arms of the German-speaking Community]](../images/b/be)de.gif)
from the official website of the German-speaking Community
The arms are:
Argent a lion gules surrounded by nine quintefoils azure
Pascal Vagnat, 17 May 1996
This flag (square version) is shown on the Flags of Aspirant Peoples chart [eba94], #71, with the following caption:
GERMAN-SPEAKING COMMUNITY
Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft - Eupen, Malmédy and Sankt-Vith
Belgium
Ivan Sache, 14 September 1999
In 1989, there was a call for proposals for a flag and arms of the Community. Some of the proposals were published in the local newspaper Grenz-Echo.
Before the Belgian independence (1830), the northern part of the
Community belonged to the Duchy of Limburg
whereas its southern part belonged to the Duchy of
Luxembourg.
The coat of arms of the Community was designed by merging the arms of
the two former Duchies. Both include a red lion. The lion for the
Community was kept red, but lost its crown. Its claws and tongue were
changed from gold to red.
The (National) Council for Heraldry and Nobility asked to change the
forked tail in saltire for a simpler tail curved to the lion back.
The lion was modernized but many people did not enjoy the
modification, finding the animal much too aggressive and looking
jigsawed.
The silver field recalls both the fields of Limburg and Luxembourg
arms, the latter being charged with five azure stripes. In the
first draft of the arms of the Community, those blue stripes
were supposed to be recalled by nine green lime-tree leaves,
standing also for the nine municipalities of the Community.
Léon Nyssen was eventually able to convince the authorities
that the nine elements should be blue and changed for flowers
of a gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe), easily represented by
quintefoils. However, Nyssen could not convince the authorities to
'transpose' the arms into a flag rather than simply placing them on a
white field.
The flag and arms were adopted on 1 October 1990 by the Community
Council after long discussions. 'Colours' were also adopted (white,
red and blue), but their arrangement was not stated and they were
apparently never used.
The official texts in German do not strictly match their French and
Dutch translations, as it is unfortunately often the case in Belgium.
Source: Léon Nyssen Le drapeau de la Communauté germanophone. Vexillacta [vxl] #12, June 2001.
Ivan Sache, 2 July 2001
The law adopted on 1 October 1990 and published on 15 November 1990 prescribes the arms, the flag, the colours and the Community day.
Article 1.
The Day of the German-speaking Community shall be celebrated every year on 15 November.
Article 2.
The German-speaking Community shall bear the following arms:
In silver a red lion together with nine blue quintefoils, surmonted by a royal crown.
The flag of the German-speaking Community shall show on a white field a red lion together with nine blue quintefoils.
The colours of the German-speaking Community shall be white and red in a horizontal position.
Article 3.
The flag of the German-speaking Community shall be hoisted on 15 November on the official buildings of the German-speaking area (Gebiet of Belgium; outside this area, it shall be hoisted on the buildings, which, because of their use, are placed under the liability of the German-speaking Community or are temporarily put at its disposal.
In the German-speaking area of Belgium, the flag shall be further hoisted on the administrative buildings in the same conditions and on the same days as the Belgian national flag.
Source: Official website of the German-speaking Community
Ivan Sache & Santiago Dotor, 28 November 2004