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Augustinusga (The Netherlands)

Achtkarspelen municipality, Fryslân province

Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.flagchart.net

Augustinusga village
Augustinusga Coat of Arms

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Augustinusga village

Augustinusga (Stiensgea in Frisian), a village with 1343 inhabitants and in the outskirts three hamlets: Rohel, Blauwverlaat and Roodeschuur. The painter Willem Bartels van der Kooi was born in Augustinusga; he is most known for his painting "De Minnebrief", (the loveletter), which must be quite fiery if one views the flag.
Augustinusga is one of the eight old villages of Achtkarspelen. The oldest building in this village is undoubtedly the church, built in the 14th century, presumably by Cisterciensian monks. The church was devoted to the patriarch St. Augustine, and the village was named after him. "Ga" or "gea" means: village-area. The attributes of St. Augustine are central in de village arms:
1. A book, the Word, referring to the gospel of St. John 1:1-18.
2. The burning heart of love, which a.o. occurs in St. Augustine's "Confessiones".
St. Augustine was bishop of Hippo, hence the epicopal red background of his attributes. Moreover red is the heraldic color of heather, which grew abundantly around the village in the past.
The "gea" is represented in the arms by the silver border. Silver and red are also the colors of the municipal arms of Achtkarspelen. Augustinusga was an important village, with three noble houses of the families of Gayckema, Siccama, and Jensma. Several "grietmannen" (mayors) from the Haersma-family lived in Augustinusga. Symbols from the arms of those families adorn the silver border: acorns and clovers. Clover symbolizes also cattlefarming, and the acorn the region, which is known as the "Friese Wouden" (Frisian forests), where the oak was an important tree.

In the flag the colors of the village arms have been retained. In the yellow fly the burning heart is central, and in the hoist the colors of the shield's border are used: a green stripe with in white a clover-leaf between two acorns.
Source: Wapens en vlaggen in de gemeente Achtkarspelen, Buitenpost, 1999.

Augustinusga Coat of Arms

from the Achtkarspelen municipal website.