 | |
| Use | Municipal flag |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 2:3 |
| Adopted | 5 February 1975; 51 years ago (1975-02-05) |
| Design | Horizontal tricolour (red-black-red) with three white Andrew's crosses in the black band |
 The banner of Arms of Amsterdam | |
| Proportion | 1:1 |
| Adopted | 1280; 746 years ago (1280) |
| Design | Vertical tricolour (red-black-red) with three white saltires in the black band |
The currentcity flag ofAmsterdam depicts threeSaint Andrew's Crosses and is based on theescutcheon in thecoat of arms of Amsterdam. The flag is very similar to the flag ofAmstelveen.
The colours of the flag are derived primarily from the shield of Amsterdam's coat of arms. According to the city government, its origin could go back to the coat of arms of thePersijn family, which once owned a large tract of land in the capital. These colours, as well as the crosses, are to be seen in the flags of bothOuder-Amstel andAmstelveen.[1]
The popular legend that the threeSaint Andrew's crosses were meant to ward off fire, floods and theblack plague is unfounded as the use of three St. Andrews crosses by noble families in the area precedes the arrival of the Black Death in Europe.[2]
In the coats of arms of two other Dutch cities,Dordrecht andDelft, the middle stripe symbolises water. Regarding Amsterdam, this black strip becomes the RiverAmstel. This could be why other references state that the three crosses represent three fordable places in the riverAmstel.
The flag was officially adopted on 5 February 1975[3] although it was already in use before this date, seen for example on the cover of the day programme of the1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam. Before its official adoption, there was also an unofficial use of a flag with thecity's coat of arms in the middle of a red-white-black horizontal tricolour. Such a design was already in use in the 17th century, but in Amsterdam history, other designs in the colours red, black and white were also used. Sometimes, the three St. Andrew crosses were placed in the white orbit of the red–white–blueDutch national flag.
The February Strike Flag was awarded to the city by QueenWilhelmina on 17 December 1947. It was a token of appreciation for the massive resistance of the people of Amsterdam against theJewish persecution, as expressed during theFebruary strike in 1941.[4][5] The flag is an important symbol in the annual commemoration of the strike. The flag was designed byPam Rueter and made by students of theIndustrial School for Women's Youth. A copy was later made due to wear and tear. The original flag ended up in a depot of theAmsterdams Historisch Museum in the 1970s, where it was recovered in 2008. This banner was subsequently preserved for further preservation.[6][7][8]
The flag consists of a variant of the city coat of arms on a white background and refers to the courage of the city during theWorld War II. The resistance flag is raised at commemorations.[citation needed]
The three crosses can be found on all kinds of buildings, in many logos and also on theAmsterdammertje's.AFC Ajax, an Amsterdam-based football team who plays in the DutchEredivisie, uses the Amsterdam flag as their captain's armband.
