The seal was not only a guarantee of quality, but also indicated where the roll of fabric was made and what material it was made of. Cloth sealing pliers (Dutch: lakenloodjestang) were used to attach a lead seal to cloth, as a kind of hallmark.May the people of Amsterdam draw from this memory time and again the strength to stand firm for freedom, justice and humanity, for the sake of which they then resisted the overwhelming power.”” ↩ Queen Wilhelmina performed the ceremony: ,May the words added to the Amsterdam coat of arms keep alive for the length of days the memory of your struggle, sustained at the cost of immeasurable sacrifices, for long years, until the final victory. On December 17, 1947, after a solemn ceremony in the Nieuwe Kerk and in the presence of a crowd of people, the flag was hoisted on what was then park on Dam Square.

Baukje Jelles, needlepoint teacher at the First Industrial School for Female Youth, made the flag together with a group of students. For the official blessing of this motto, the Queen commissioned Pam Reuter to design an enormous flag, five meters wide and 3.5 meters high, bearing the coat of arms of Amsterdam and the new city motto. It explains: “The motto was awarded to the capital in 1946 by the then Queen Wilhelmina as a token of royal appreciation for the resistance of the people of Amsterdam against the persecution of the Jews during the February strike in 1941 and in memory of it. The Dutch-language website commemorates the strike of February, 1941. There is some confusion as to which year the motto was added.Andrew’s character, although he is also said to have been heroic, resolute, and merciful. This fact also contradicts the claim by some that the three crosses represent the character of St.

In recognition of the conduct of the people of Amsterdam during the Germany occupation of 1940-1945, Queen Wilhelmina granted the city the right on 27 March 1947 to add to the coat of arms the motto, ‘Valiant, Resolute, Compassionate.’” The two lions were added as shield bearers in the 16th century. The crown adorning the emblem and the tower of the Westerkerk church is in fact the crown of emperor Rudolf II. In 1489 the small merchant city obtained the right to add to its coat of arms the crown of the monarch, Maximilian I, archduke of Austria, German King, and Holy Roman emperor.įor the merchants of Amsterdam the crown was a weighty recommendation in other elements of the Kingdom, right down the the 17th century.īy that time Amsterdam had long been a powerful trading city in a by now Protestant country which, in 1648, was formally to leave the Holy Empire of the Germany Nation on the Peace of Münster. This is the case in the case of several other Dutch cities, such as Delft and Dordrecht. The black banner in the centre could represent the water of the rivers Amstel and IJ at which the city is located. ( Click for larger image)Īccording to an article once posted on the official website of the municipality of Amsterdam, “The heraldic origins of the coat of arms of Amsterdam are unknown. Detail of the Westertoren, showing the emblem of Amsterdam, as well as the symbol of the imperial crown of Maximilian of Austria.

The x and o