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Stadsdeel Osdorp (The Netherlands)

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland province

image by Jarig Bakker, 14 Aug 2006

Stadsdeel Osdorp
Sloten village

See also:

Stadsdeel Osdorp

Amsterdam is divided in 14 "stadsdelen" (city-parts), most of which have logo-flags. There may be a subtle change in this field, as Amsterdam-Osdorp adopted some time ago a flag, in which the logo doesn't dominate the design. It is quartered yellow-red-black-white, in which the fly is c. 1/6 of flag length; on yellow at the hoist the citypart's logo: a vertical row of three red crosses above the black contour of an oxen's head.
An image of the flag is at this webpage, while at this webpage one can see it flying.

Osdorp ("Oxen village") has 45.000 inhabitants. It is in West-Amsterdam, consisting of the former cityparts of Osdorp, Geuzenveld/Slotermeer and Slotervaart, the Western Gardencities (Westelijke Tuinsteden), and the former village of Sloten, all along the lake of Sloterplas. Most of the area was formerly the lake of Slotermeer, which was reclaimed in 1644. Since 1956 the Sloterplas has been dug to get sand for building the Western Gardencities. Osdorp was probably "Oostdorp" - Eastvillage, seen from Haarlem. Old manuscripts and maps of Holland mention since c. 1100 "Ostdorp" or "Oostdorp". The inhabitants are oriented on Haarlem. In 1529 the Lord of Brederode sold Osdorp to Amsterdam, and Haarlem's influence vanished. In 1921 Amsterdam annexed the area definitively. Only in 1957 effective building was started.

To most Amsterdammers Osdorp is at the end of the world, although one can get there fast by Tramway 1. Recently it gained popularity because of the Bunker, where our most successful criminals are tried.

The oxen's face represents the popular etymology of Osdorp, the three crosses represent Amsterdam, while the colors represent the citypart, possibly derived from Sloten
Jarig Bakker, 14 Aug 2006

Sloten village

image by Jarig Bakker, 20 May 2004
adopted ?; design: F. Muller

Sloten village, Noord-Holland province
"In Sep 2000 I saw in the heart of the old village of Sloten near Amsterdam a village-flag: "Two stripes yellow-red with in the center the old coat of arms, confirmed 26 Jun 1816, of the municipality of Sloten (which was merged into Amsterdam in 1921): "Quartered: I. in black a blue cake charged with a golden five-pointed star (Sloterdijk); II. in red three golden padlocks, placed 1 and 2 (Sloten); III. in red a gyron issuing from sinister (De Vrije Geer - The Free Chevron); IV. in silver a turned black-patched ox of natural colors, standing on a rising green terrace (Osdorp)."
The old manor of Sloten (in Dutch it has a double meaning: ditches and locks) consisted of those 4 entities. However it cannot be used for one of the Amsterdam city-parts. The original village of Sloten is now part of Osdorp, the ward Nieuw-Sloten belongs to Slotervaart-Overtoomse Veld. The old village of Sloterdijk is part of Geuzenveld-Slotermeer en Bos en Lommer. The flag obviously has no official purpose, but is apparently used for the original village, in the good old days capital of the huge municipality of Sloten, to which Osdorp and Sloterdijk belonged.
One small detail: in the arms, confirmed in 1816, the ox is red-patched, while on the flag it is in the colors of Ús Mem (that's the statue of his mum in Leeuwarden)."
Source: Vexilla Nostra #237, 2003; article by Hans van Heijningen.
Jarig Bakker, 20 May 2004

"Quartered: I. in black a blue cake charged with a golden five-pointed star (Sloterdijk);"
Obviously, this has to be a rather bright colour of blue, as the cake would otherwise become invisible against the black. Demonstration of the reasons for colour rules.

"The old manor of Sloten (in Dutch it has a double meaning: ditches and locks) consisted of those 4 entities."
Thus, the second and third quarter of the arms are canting
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 30 May 2022

There's a reference to William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg. After the death of William the Taciturn in 1584, William Louis of Nassau-Dillenburg became the stadtholder of Friesland, and later also of Groningen and Drenthe. His prowess in the times of war with Spain were such, that he was considered the father that protected his people, the Frisians. Thus, he was known as "Us Heit" (our father), In 1906, he was immortalised with a statue in bronze in front of the Stadtholder Palace in Leeuwarden.

In 1954, the Frisian cattle studbook, existed 75 years, and for this a bronze statue was erected in Leeuwarden of the ideal cow (through mid-20th century eyes), again in bronze. Her qualities in times of peace were such, that she was considered the mother that provided for her children, the Frisians. Thus, she was known as "Us Mem" (our mother). Originally, this was a nickname, but over time it became more serious.

These two statues stand outside all day. I don't know what colour they were on the day they were revealed, but for a long time, they have been bronze black statues. The reference to the flag with the colours of "Us Mem" (note that in modern Frisian, capitals do not get accents), thus tells us that the cow in the arms in the flag are black. Our image, however, shows the colour to be pied.

I found, among others Playground Sloten (https://www.speeltuinsloten.nl/tuin-van-sloten/mogelijkheden) flying the flag, and it turns out that indeed it's a pied cow, not actually the colours of Us Mem.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 30 May 2022