The flag of Amsterdam is the official

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

for

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, the capital of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The current design of the flag depicts three Saint Andrew's Crosses and is based on the escutcheon in the

coat of arms of Amsterdam The coat of arms of Amsterdam is the official coat of arms symbol of the city of Amsterdam. It consists of a red shield and a black pale with three silver Saint Andrew's Crosses, the Imperial Crown of Austria, two golden lions, and the motto of ...

Meaning

The colours of the flag are derived primarily from the shield of Amsterdam's coat of arms. According to the city government, its origin could go back to the coat of arms of the Persijn family, which once owned a large tract of land in the capital. These colors, as well as the crosses, are to be seen in the flags of both

Ouder-Amstel Ouder-Amstel () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Population centres The municipality of Ouder-Amstel consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Duivendrecht, Ouderkerk aan de Amstel ...

and

Amstelveen Amstelveen () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands with a population of 92.353 as of 2022. It is a suburban part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area. The municipality of Amstelveen consists of the historical villag ...

. The popular legend that the three Saint Andrew's crosses were meant to ward off fire, floods and the

black plague The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causin ...

is unfounded as the use of three St. Andrews crosses by noble families in the area precedes the arrival of the Black Death in Europe. In the coats of arms of two other Dutch cities,

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after ...

and

Delft Delft () is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, and The Hague, to the northwest. Together with them, it is part of both the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolita ...

, the middle stripe symbolises water. In regards to Amsterdam, this black strip becomes the River

Amstel The Amstel () is a river in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It flows from the Aarkanaal and Drecht in Nieuwveen northwards, passing Uithoorn, Amstelveen, and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, to the IJ in Amsterdam. Annually, the ri ...

. This could be why other references state that the three crosses represent three fordable places in the river

History

The flag was officially adopted on 5 February 1975 although it was already in use before this date, seen for example on the cover of the day programme of the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated fro ...

held in Amsterdam. Before its official adoption there was also an unofficial use of a flag with the city's coat of arms in the middle of a red-white-black horizontal tricolor. Such a design was already in use in the 17th century, but in Amsterdam history, other designs in the colors red, black and white were also used. Sometimes the three St. Andrew crosses were placed in the white orbit of the red-white-blue Dutch national flag.

Symbolism

The meaning of the crosses is unknown, but historians assume that it is derived from the coat of arms of the family Persijn (Mr Jan Persijn is mentioned as founder of "that place" the current Dam).Helmers Johanneke
"The coat of arms of Amsterdam"
''Official Website City of Amsterdam'', 2002 -10-07 Other possessions of this family,

and

(

Duivendrecht Duivendrecht () is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Ouder-Amstel, and lies about 6 km southeast of Amsterdam’s city centre. In fact, it is surrounded by Amsterdam. History The village w ...

and

Ouderkerk aan de Amstel Ouderkerk aan de Amstel () is a town in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is largely a part of the municipality of Ouder-Amstel; it lies about 9 km south of Amsterdam. A small part of the town lies in the municipality of Amstelve ...

) carry similar coats of arms derived from the family coat of arms. It is also reported that the crosses represent the three plagues that have hit Amsterdam, namely water, fire and plague. The three crosses can be found on all kinds of buildings, in many logos and also on the Amsterdammertjes. Another theory is that the three crosses represent three fords in the

February Strike Flag

Februaristakingvlag.svg, February strike flag Herdenking februaristaking vlag halfstok bij dokwerken, Bestanddeelnr 925-4108.jpg, Commemoration

February strike The February strike ( nl, Februaristaking) was a general strike in the German-occupied Netherlands in 1941, during World War II, organised by the then-outlawed Communist Party of the Netherlands in defence of persecuted Dutch Jews and agains ...

with flag at half mast at

the Dock worker ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

The February Strike Flag was awarded to the city by Queen Wilhelmina on December 17, 1947. It was a token of appreciation for the massive resistance of the people of Amsterdam against the

Jewish persecution The persecution of Jews has been a major event in Jewish history, prompting shifting waves of refugees and the formation of diaspora communities. As early as 605 BCE, Jews who lived in the Neo-Babylonian Empire were persecuted and deported. A ...

, as expressed during the

in 1941. The flag is an important symbol in the annual commemoration of the strike. The flag was designed by Pam Rueter and made by students of the

Industrial School for Women's Youth Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

. A copy was later made due to wear and tear. The original flag ended up in a depot of the

Amsterdams Historisch Museum The Amsterdam Museum, known until 2010 as the Amsterdam Historical Museum, is an Amsterdam-based museum dedicated to the city's past and present. Due to the renovation of its main location, the museum is temporarily located in the building the Amst ...

in the 1970s, where it was recovered in 2008. This banner was subsequently preserved for further preservation. NH (omroep)
''AHM discovers February strikes flag''
25 February 2009 The flag consists of a variant of the city coat of arms on a white background and refers to the courage of the city during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The resistance flag is raised at commemorations.

Uses

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the ...

, an Amsterdam-based football team who plays in the Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

, uses the Amsterdam flag as their captain's armband.

Historical flags

Amsterdam vlag 16e eeuw.svg, 16th century Amsterdam vlag 17e eeuw.svg, 17th century - 1975 Amsterdam flag - Bowles's naval flags of the world, 1783.jpg, Flag of Amsterdam, as drawn on a flag chart in 1783

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amsterdam, Flag of Flags introduced in 1975

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

Flags of cities in the Netherlands Saltire flags