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Westergeest: The Dutch Village With a Flag That Echoes Jamaica’s Design
Westergeest — known in Frisian as Westergeast — is a small village in the northern Dutch province of Friesland, situated within the municipality of Noardeast-Fryslân in the Netherlands. With a population of just over 600 people, this historic village dates back to the early Middle Ages and retains much of its traditional rural charm, including a distinctive local flag that catches the eye of vexillology enthusiasts.
A Village with Deep Roots
Westergeest developed along parallel roads and grew from a settlement on slightly higher sandy ground (“geest” in Dutch) that was easier to inhabit than the surrounding low-lying land. Over centuries, it became known for its characteristic farmland, historic church, and close-knit community.
A Flag That Reflects Local Identity
Like many small towns in the Netherlands, Westergeest has its own dorpsvlag (village flag). The design features a yellow diagonal cross (saltire) dividing the field into four triangular areas — two green and two black. This arrangement bears a structural similarity to the national flag of Jamaica (which also uses a diagonal cross dividing the flag into four colored triangles), but the colours and symbolism differ significantly.
How It Compares to the Jamaican Flag
• Similarities
• Both flags are structured around a diagonal cross dividing the surface into four triangles.
• This type of design — a saltire or St. Andrew’s Cross — is visually striking and uncommon among national and municipal flags.
• Key Differences
• The Jamaican flag uses gold, green, and black, representing the sun’s brightness, agricultural richness, and strength or hardship endured by the people.
• The Westergeest flag also uses yellow, green, and black, but with meanings rooted in the local landscape:
• Yellow symbolizes the sandy soil of the village’s elevated terrain and, historically, the local dairy factory.
• Green represents the clay in the surrounding earth.
• Black refers to the peat soil that characterized parts of the region.
• The diagonal cross itself represents the four roads that historically converged at the village church — a central meeting point for community and law.
In this way, Westergeest’s flag echoes Jamaica’s iconic design but tells a fully different local story tied to the geography, economy, and history of a Frisian farming community.
Symbolism Rooted in Local History
Village flags in the Netherlands often draw directly from centuries-old heraldic traditions and local geography. In the case of Westergeest, the chosen colours and the saltire bring together the agricultural landscape and cultural memory of how the community was once connected by its crossroads — quite literally shaped by its land and paths.
A Small Flag with a Big Identity
While it may remind some of Jamaica at first glance, Westergeest’s flag is unique in its symbolism and origins — a reminder that even small villages have rich visual identities and local stories worth preserving.
Attached is a news article regarding a town in Netherlands called westergeets that has the same flag as the Jamaica flag but in a different concept
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTbhR_wgbA3/
Article written and configured by Christopher Stanley
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