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Bears (The Netherlands)

Littenseradiel municipality, Fryslân province

image by Jarig Bakker, 9 Sep 2003
adopted 1999; Design: J.C. Terluin and R.J. Broersma.

Bears village (Beers)
Bears coat of arms

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Bears village (Beers)

Bears (Dutch: Beers) is a village in Littenseradiel municipality, Fryslân province, not to be confused with the former municipality of Beers in Noord-Brabant province. Bears used to be in the former municipality of Baarderadeel, with (1958) 176; (1974) 140 inhabitants. Here was the old Unia-state (fortified stately house), of which only the gate remains.
Unia-state played an important part in the medieval feud between the "Skieringers" and "Fetkeapers", as a bulwark of the Skieringers; in 1515 it was demolished by the Black Heap, a Gelders band of soldiers of fortune in the service of the duke of Saxony. It was rebuilt, but definitely demolished in 1756. The church, devoted to the Virgin Mary, was built in 1300, enlarged 1500, later improved and deproved, and in 1857 the saddle-roof was lost.
Nickname: "Katten" (cats, referring to the unapproachable women in the village)
Bears coat of arms: in blue a golden gate opened, in the shield corners with two facing silver crescents.
Flag: blue with a yellow gate, standing on the hoist, connected to top and bottom of the flag; with a stepped gable with five steps, starting at 2/3 flag length and ending at 14/15 flag length, and the gate-opening with 8/15 flag height and 8/15 flag length; in the gate-opening a white turned crescent of 2/5 flag height.
The beautiful gate with the renaissance gable of the former Uniastate is central in both coat of arms and flag; the crescent is from the Unia-family arms. Gold/yellow and blue are from the Baarderadeel arms.
Design: J.C. Terluin and R.J. Broersma
Source: Genealogysk Jierboekje 2001.
Encyclopedie van Friesland, 1958.
Baerderadiel: in Geakunde, 1977.
Jarig Bakker, 9 Sep 2003

Bears coat of arms

from Wapens en Flaggen fan Littenseradiel, booklet of the municipality.