Schiermonnikoog (The Netherlands) (original) (raw)

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Fryslân province

[ [Municipality flag of Schiermonnikoog] ](../images/n/nl-scoog.gif)image from Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.flagchart.net

Schiermonnikoog municipality

Population (1 Jan 2003): 1.001; area: 168,89 km². Settlements: Schiermonnikoog (official seat).
Schiermonnikoog (Frisian: Skiermuontseach) is an island in the Waddenzee, belonging to Fryslân (Friesland) province. Most of the island consists of wildlife reserves, although some parts are reserved for bathing beauties. The only village is Oosterburen.
The historical flag (already reported in 1708) was confirmed for use by the municipality on 19 April 1949. It has seven horizontal stripes: red, white, blue, green, red, white and blue. The color of the island is green, on the flag surrounded by the colors of the Dutch national flag.
Mark Sensen, 25 April 1998

Schiermonnikoog recently has been a thorn in the thigh of small Zuid-Holland municipalities, because the sparsely populated island is steadfastly winning the contest of "which municipality is the first to have counted the votes?" When all of Fryslân was liberated by Canadians and Poles after the second world war the Germans held on to Schiermonnikoog and threatened to shell Metslawier, the seat of our municipality of Oostdongeradeel. My dad and others always had the opinion that Metslawier was a lousy village, but were severely let down by the Germans, when they lamely surrendered.
What we didn't know was that as a result of the fighting many brave soldiers died on Schiermonnikoog. All soldiers were buried on the same graveyard in the only village on the island, Oosterburen. Later on it was suggested to separate the dead, but the island council decided against it, and it has remained so until now. The "Nieuwe Dockumer Courant" has monitored the meetings between the relatives of the former enemies and made some moving articles, recently edited into a book.
Jarig Bakker, 11 August 2003

Schiermonnikoog flag

A scan of a newsletter from Schiermonnikoog was submitted to FOTW. Upon translation, it states:
"The island flag then had the attention of the council. It was considered necessary to officially adopt the flag as the municipal flag. The flag consists of seven laying stripes with from top to bottom the colours red, white blue, green, red, white, blue."

It appears to date from slightly after the war, and would have been part of the re-emergence of the country, in which everything was going to be done right. This is the only reason I see why it was considered proper to formally adopt the flag the island had been using for centuries already.

de SchiermonnikoogShop (https://schiermonnikoogshop.nl/wimpel-schiermonnikoog-25x200-cm) sells an "Eilander wimpel", island wimpel, 2 x 0.25, with the obvious pattern of the seven flywise stripes of the flag.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 23 April 2018

Note that in the flag archive of Schiermonnikoog there is a drawing where the flag is drawn different from how it's mostly produced. The status of the drawing is unclear to me.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 29 April 2019

Concerning the documents mentioned above:

1: Apparently an answer to a request for information about the order of stripes on the flag of Schiermonnikoog. Hesman, the original that [sie75] reproduces in part, is used as the authority. (4 November 1946, thus after the war, but before the island flag was confirmed as municipal flag).
Note that this concerns the order of the stripes; not their width. It does address a concern about the brightness of the colours, especially relative to the green. (Probably: Dr M.P.v. Buijtenen)

2: An instruction to order several flags: a Dutch flag with orange pennant for the tower, the same for the public school, and for general purposes an island flag. (All three with the same measurements.) Since Napoleonic times, church towers have been municipal property. The public school is likewise municipal. There is apparently only one church and one school. It also speaks of the" island flag" without specification. I'd say we're seeing a town clerk of Schiermonnikoog at work. As there is a note reflecting doubt about the green, I find it likely this is the same quest that also produced #1.

3: Drawing of the flag, with a wider centre stripe. This represent the idea the top and bottom are merely national edges set to the actual colour of the island. Below this drawing is a document by Sierksma. I've checked [sie62], and Sierksma does indeed write from that assumption on the flag. There's no mention of anything to either support or disprove that assumption, though.
I expect that Sierksma was asked for help about the Schiermonnikoog island flag, It could also be that he himself had started this. Either way, he likely sent a design of how the flag ought to look, as he was wont to do. (Unfortunately, Sierksma's correspondence is not included in this stack of scans.) I add Sierksma's proposal. I like it better, but the island decided otherwise.

4: Adoption of the current flag. As with the current Dutch flag, all that was decided was the order of the colours. The flag design being seven stripes was apparently thought to go without saying. Had the design had one wider stripe, though, it would have been worth mentioning, which tells us that Sierksma's proposal didn't make it. (19 April 1949. Two and a half year after the initial exchange.)

Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 29 April 2019

Sierksma's proposal

[ [Municipality flag of Schiermonnikoog] ](../images/n/nl-scoog2.gif) image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 29 April 2019

Schiermonnikoog Coat of Arms

[ [Schiermonnikoog Coat of Arms] scoog.gif)](../images/n/nl%29scoog.gif)from the Schiermonnikoog website.

Granted 19 Oct 1954. The monk has a grey (schier) habit, making the Coat of Arms canting.

Zeemanscollege De Herkenning

[ [Zeemanscollege De Herkenning] ](../images/n/nl~dhs.gif)image by Jarig Bakker, 11 Aug 2003

Somewhere between 1851 and 1878 the "Zeemanscollege De Herkenning" (the Recognition) was founded on Schiermonnikoog. Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg wrote 6 Dec 2001: Collegie Schiermonnikoog, at Schiermonnikoog. Leen Smit pictures number X. By 1979 this college had disappeared.
Flag: Dutch flag with on the white a black bal and a number in Roman numerals.
In "College Zeemanshoop 1822-1972" is a flag plate with said flag (#1)
The undoing of this college has probably to do with the centralization of the whaling-trade into the huge "Willem Barendsz" whaler.
Jarig Bakker, 11 Aug 2003

De Herkenning was founded in 1859.
Ron van Staveren, 15 Aug 2005

Zeemanscollege De Herkenning - variant

[ [Zeemanscollege De Herkenning - variant] ](../images/n/nl~dhs1.gif)image by Jaume Ollé, 15 Nov 2003

#246 in Steenbergen's Vlaggen van alle Natiën, 1870 - Schiermonnikoog, island of the Netherlands, Navigation society.
Jaume Ollé, 15 Nov 2003