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Scharnegoutum (The Netherlands)

Wymbritseradiel municipality, Fryslân province

by Jarig Bakker, 22 Sep 2003

Scharnegoutum village (Skearnegoutum)
Scharnegoutum CoA

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Scharnegoutum village (Skearnegoutum)

Scharnegoutum (Frisian: Skearnegoutum) is a village in Wymbritseradiel municipality, Fryslân province. Population (1958) 1006; (1974) 996. It is not affected by the Frisian Lakes-affliction: adult people (mainly Germans and Amsterdammers) behaving very silly when approaching and passing a bridge, such as stealing the little wooden clog, dangling off a little angling-rod, presented by the bridge-keeper, and shouting ununderstandable commands nobody listens to anyway, resulting in unvoluntary halfmasting,
to the delight of the bridge-keeper and the bridge-keeper's wife, for some extra repairs-income, and of course to the sombre comments of sailors-on-land on a terrace.
Scharnegoutum is NNE of Sneek, a village built on a "terp" (mound). Objects dated from the 4th and 7th century AD have been found in the terp. When the Middelzee was made dry (c. 1300 AD) Scharnegoutum was suddenly placed south of it. In the good old times of the feud between Schieringers and Vetkopers the Scharnegoutumers participated enthusiastically until they found out that their village suffered a bit from ransacking by the inhabitants of Sneek city.
Nickname: "Sûkerfretters" (sugar-eaters) - it is told that a Scharnegoutumer lady liked to visit her neighbours to get a cup of
coffee. As soon as the hostess went to the kitchen our dear lady put several spoonfuls of sugar in her mouth...
Scharnegoutum CoA: in blue a lengthened and narrowed silver wavy bar over which a golden five-pointed star; in chief charged gold charged with an erasd red-beaked and -tongued black double eagle's head.
Flag: three wavy horizontal stripes of blue and yellow, proportioned 4:1:1; in the hoist a yellow five-pointed star of 1/2 flagheight.
In the Middel Ages this village belonged. together with the villages Looyenga, Gooyenga, Gauw, and Offingawier, to the "Snitser Fiifgea" (Sneker fiveshire), the former North Wymbritseradiel. It was a union to assist each other in need, when they had all, together with Sneek, the side of the Schieringers. For this the golden five-pointed star was chosen in blue, the colors of the arms of the old "grietenij" (municipality) of Wymbritseradiel. The star is over a silver wavy crossbar, symbolizing the small river "Zette" (which is part of the "Elf-Steden-route"), which in early times, together with the river Boorn, flowed into the old Middelzee. The chief with the double imperial eaglehead can be found in the memorial stone of 1555 in the spire of the St. Martin's church, for emperor Charles V (with golden fleece-chain).
In the flag the wavy bar has been colored yellow, for a quieter composition, and also to point at the municipal flag of Wymbritseradiel.
Design: Fryske