Cestas (Municipality, Gironde, France)

Last modified: 2003-05-31 by ivan sache
Keywords: gironde | cestas | boars: 2 (brown) | beehives: 2 (white) |
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by Arnaud Leroy

Source: Personal observation in situ by Pascal Vagnat

• Presentation of the city
• Description of the flag

See also:

• France
• Gironde (Department, France)

Presentation of the city

Cestas is a city of ca. 15,000 inhabitants located south-west of Bordeaux.

In the Roman times, Cestas was called Ad Sextum. The sixth milliary column on the Road of Salt (from Bordeaux to the Atlantic Ocean) stood in Ad Sextum.

Ivan Sache, 8 January 2002

Description of the flag

The flag of Cestas is white with the municipal coat of arms in the middle and the writing VILLE DE (city of) and CESTAS placed above and below the shield, respectively.
The coat of arms is quartered, 1 & 4 or a boar's head briwn, 2 & 3 gules a beehive argent, with St. Roch placed in the middle of the shield.

According to the municipal website, the etymology of the city name did not inspire the coat of arms of the city.
In the Middle-Ages, Cestas was located on one of the numerous pilgrimage trails which led to Santiago de Compostela. One of the numerous saint patrons of the pilgriums and saint patron of Cestas was St. Roch, who is portrayed in the center of the coat of arms.
The boar's heads stand for strength and tenacity.
The beehives are locally called bournak. The inhabitants of Cestas were famous for the honey they brought to the market Porte-Neuve in Bordeaux.
Note that the coat of arms shown on the municipal website has yellow and green quarters, whereas it has yellow and red quarters on the flag.

Ivan Sache, 8 January 2002