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Asperen (The Netherlands)

Lingewaal municipality, Gelderland province

by Jarig Bakker, 19 Sep 2004
adopted 13 May 1971, design: Hans van Heyningen

Asperen former municipality

See also:

Asperen former municipality

Asperen was a former municipality in Zuid-Holland; since 1 Jan 1986 it is part of Lingewaal municipality in Gelderland province. It was part of the region known as "Vijf-herenlanden".
Flag: a white hoist and a red fly; on white a half black swan beaked red; on red the white back-half of a ship, the bottom wavy, the whole red contoured and provided with a tiller; swan and ship form one whole; the swan of 3/4 flagheight, the ship of 2/5 flagheight.
The municipal arms has been left out of consideration for the flagdesign. The colors are derived from the old Asperen arms (silver two embattled red fesses, in chief dexter a black merlette.) The arms are from the Van Arkel family. White and red have bacme the fieldcolors of the flag. The merlette was considered inappropriate. Instead a black swan was adopted, the merlette's color. The swan was important for the Van Arkel Family: c. 690 one Jan van Arkel returned to his tribal home, guided by a swan, which flew ahead of him. There he settled definitively. The ship is a reminder as well.
The ship represents also the position of Asperen along the Linge river.
The swan symbolizes the wealth of water-fowl and the ship watersports.
To make the swan more lively it got a red beak, contrary to the completely black merlette.
Flag adopted 13 May 1971, design: Hans van Heyningen - the flag is now