Last modified: 2009-08-08 by jarig bakker
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![[Nordfriesland County (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany)]](../images/d/de-sh-nf.gif)
image by Stefan Schwoon
adopted 10 Jul 1972
The Hauptsatzung (statutes) of the district at the Nordfriesland official website states that the red and gold stripes should be thin, so the choice of 1:1:12:1:1 is mine. The ships should be shifted slightly to the hoist. The ships are taken from the arms; more on their meaning at Ralf Hartemink's International Civic Arms website, where I copied them from (Reissmann 1997). Adopted 10 Jul 1972, according to Dirk Schönberger's Administrative Divisions of the World website.
Note that this flag does not collide with the North
Frisian flags below. The latter have no official status and are popularly
used to show adherence to (the historical region of) North Friesland whereas
this is the official flag of the district authorities.
Stefan Schwoon, 1 February 2001
From Ralf Hartemink's International
Civic Arms website:
"The arms were granted on July 10, 1972. The arms are based on the
arms of the former county Eiderstedt. The symbols of the ships differ from
the old arms, in that the plough is the symbol of the former county Husum,
the fish is slightly changed and represents the typical herring of the
island of Sylt in the former county Südtondern. The ox-head is still the
symbol for Eiderstedt. The arms [of Eiderstedt] were based on a seal dating
from 1613, after the area was reclaimed from the sea. The ships represented
the three areas (Harden) in the new territory: Eiderstedt, Everschop and
Utholm. (...) On the original seal the ships were placed 1:2 instead of
2:1 and the symbols were placed on the hulk of the ship, not the sails.
Literature: Stadler 1964-1971 and Reissmann
1997.
Santiago Dotor, 23 October 2001
On 11 Nov 2004 the parliament of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein passed a "Law on the Furtherance of the Frisian Language in the Public". The law, which was passed in both German and (North) Frisian, can be found online here.
Among other things, the law establishes (North) Frisian as an official
language in the county [Landkreis] Nordfriesland and on the island of Heligoland
[Helgoland]. Paragraph 5 states: (My translation):
"In the county of Nordfriesland, the colours and the coat-of-arms of
the Frisians can be used alongside the colours and coat-of-arms of the
state [i.e. Schleswig-Holstein]. The Frisian colours are yellow-red-blue."
Some more information on the law (in German) can be found in an online
article on the website of the parliament of Schleswig-Holstein.
Note that, although the law consistently speaks of "Frisians", the
"Frisian language" etc, it only pertains to the Frisians living in Schleswig-Holstein,
i.e. the North Frisians. The "coat of arms of the Frisians", which is mentioned
but defined in the law, is as follows: Parted per pale, in dexter per fess
azure a king's crown or and gules a pot of porridge sable, in sinister
or a demi-eagle sable. [See also the "Civil flag"] The
first use of this coat-of-arms is generally attributed to a North Frisian
festival at Bredstedt in 1844.
The "Frisian colours" mentioned in the law usually translate to flags
with three stripes, yellow, red, and blue, occasionally with the afore-mentioned
coat-of-arms, which are quite popular in the coastal areas and islands
of North Frisia. The new law now allows official buildings in North Frisia
to fly this flag along with the state flag.
Stefan Schwoon, 7 Dec 2004
![[Plain Nordfriese flag]](../images/d/de-nf.gif)
image by Stefan Schwoon, 7 Dec 2004
An article in the German weekly magazine "Der Spiegel" about the law features a photo of school children holding the plain flag. Flag manufacturers also produce other variants for private use, see e.g. here.
Background: Frisians are living along the coast of the North Sea in
areas belonging to the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. Their language
belongs to the West Germanic branch, is related to German and English,
and consists of three dialect groups: West Frisian, with about 400,000
speakers in the Dutch province of Friesland, Sater Frisian with only about
1,500 speakers in the Lower Saxon municipality of Saterland,
and North Frisian with about 10,000 speakers in the coastal areas and islands
of Schleswig-Holstein. Quite many Frisians do not speak the language anymore
(e.g. it has all but died out in East Frisia) as it has been replaced by
Low German and nowadays increasingly by High German, or by Dutch, respectively.
The above mentioned law defines the cultural rights of the North Frisians
living in Schleswig-Holstein and intends to strengthen attempts to revive
the use of the Frisian language.
Finally, some comments about the current situation at FotW-ws. Currently, this page shows the flag of the county of Nordfriesland, followed by the yellow-red-blue flag plus variants. My feeling is that these two things should be kept on separate pages. The county is an administrative unit, whereas the yellow-red-blue flag expresses affiliation with North Frisian identity. Therefore, the yellow-red-blue flag cannot properly be called a "Civil Flag" variant of the county flag.
The Scandinavian cross variant appears not to be
in use anymore. A while ago, DGF member Friedrich Rackow reported on the
German flag mailing list that he never sighted this flag despite many visits
to North Frisia - the stripe flag was used throughout. He concludes that
the Scandinavian cross variant was only used in a brief period after World
War II, during which the Danish tried to lure the Frisians to their side
in an attempt to revise the German-Danish border of 1920.
Stefan Schwoon, 7 Dec 2004
Some time ago I got a different flag from the North Frisian Institute
in Braeist (Bredstedt). It is a simple yellow-red-blue flag, the gölj-rüüdj-ween
as it is called in the North Frisian language (also the title of the unofficial
gold, red and blue) have been the North Frisian colours since the beginning
of this century. The colours are taken from the fields of the coat of arms.
Source: Thomas Steensen, The Frisians in Schleswig-Holstein, Braeist/Bredstedt:
Nordfriisk Instituut, 1994.
Jan Oskar Engene, 6 December 1995
![[Civil Flag (North Frisia, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany)]](../images/d/de-nfri1.gif)
image by Jorge Candeias
The flag shown here with the coat of arms is sometimes shown with a
smaller shield above a white scroll on which is written Lever düd as
Slav. Source: Walther Stephan, Das Wappen der Landschaft Nordfriesland,
in Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte,
16er Band, Neumünster in Holstein, 1931. According to this source, the
North Frisian flag originated at the same time as the flag Schleswig-Holstein,
also during feasts, and with the coat of arms and the motto in the middle.
Pascal Vagnat, 17 May 1999
Lever düd as Slav means 'Rather dead than slave'. It is another
rendering of the motto Leaver dea as slaef, which can still be found
on a monument on the Rode Klif (Gaasterland, Fryslân,
Netherlands), remembering the victory of the Frisians over the Hollanders
in 1345.
Jarig Bakker, 18 May 1999
I have a flag, yellow-red-blue, with arms, which is used as the flag
of the island of Sylt. In FOTW it is shown as the civil flag of North Friesland
County. I suspect that the island of Sylt and North Friesland County are
one and the same. This may well explain why the inhabitants of the
island fly this as and call it the flag of Sylt.
Robert Jungst, 10 Sep 2002
"Nordfriesland: The most northern county of Germany was created in 1970
by the union of the former counties Eiderstedt, Husum and Südtondern. It
is on the oast of the North Sea and includes the Penninsuela Eiderstedt
and the north Frisean Islands (incl. Sylt) and the Halligen. Area: 2043
sq.km; inhabitants: 162.000; capital: Husum".
Source: "Diercke Lexikon Deutschland", 1988.
The CoA of the county shows three yellow sailing ships (Koggen?), each
with another red symbol at its main sail. A plough, a fish and a Oxen's
head. Background is light blue.
J. Patrick Fischer, 11 Sep 2002
![[Nordfriesland 1844 flag]](../images/d/de-nf844.gif)
image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 29 Jul 2009
Nordfriesland flag (since 1844)
The oldest flag of Nordfriesland was hoisted on 10 June 1844 on a local
festival in Bredstedt.
According to source
the coat of arms doesn’t match heraldic rules. A former coat of arms for
whole Nordfriesland didn’t exist, because the region always was divided
between their neighbours. There are traces, that this coat of arms was
created by the Frisian frontman Reverend Christian Feddersen (1786-1844)
or a member of his circles. His motto was: “Love to your own people must
coincide with love to all mankind.”
The half double eagle is taken from the coat of arms of Holy Roman
Empire and is symbolizing the privileges, which have said being granted
by the German Emperors in early middle ages. The crown is symbolizing the
King of Denmark, who had been souvereign of the whole region until 1864.
The pot of grits is symbolizing the brotherliness, for which Feddersen
fought.
Also the motto “Lewer duad üs Slav!“ has been reducted to ideas
of Feddersen. In his book “Fünf Worte an die Nordfriesen” (Engl.:
Five words to the Northern Frisians), published in 1845, but already written
in 1842, he claims: “Be no man’s slave, at first not your own slave, i.e.
slave of your own cravings!”
In the eve of the first Schleswig-Holstein war (1848) on Bredstedt
festival this motto was also considered to be a statement against Denmark,
so was the half double eagle.
I also talked to the owner of the flag, I spotted. She told me, that
the pot was considered being the pot of curly cale, in which fisherman
Pidder Lüng killed the representative of the Danish king, who made the
attempt to collect the taxes, the people of Sylt didn’t pay with respect
to their privileges. The Dane became impatient, spit into the pot and was
for this insult killed by the fisherman immediately, the latter crying
out “Lewwer duad üs Slaav!”. Having lost their leader the Danish
soldiers committed a massacre killing all the people in the village. This
story is told in the ballad of Pidder Lüng, by German poet Detlev von Liliencron
(1844-1909). He inserted a 2nd “w” to mark a short vowel and a 2nd
“a” to mark a long vowel in the motto to fit German pronounciation. But
the motto has many regional differences.
The first lines of the ballad are written in Frisian language:
"Frii es de Feskfang, //Frii es de Jaght, //Frii es de Strönthgang,
//Frii es de Naght, //Frii es de See, de wilde See //En de Hörnemmer Rhee."
In English: “For free is fishing, //for free is hunting, //for free
is beachwalking (to pick up goods of stranded ships??), //for free is the
night, //for free is the sea, the furious sea // at the roadstead (German:
Reede) of Hörnum (a small municipality at the southernmost horn
of Sylt Island).”
The complete text can be found e.g. here.
Source: I spotted this flag on 19 July 2009 in HH-Moorfleeth
We have already a variant of this flag, painted by Jorge, on our pages.
According to the regional differences, both versions of the motto may be
right.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 29 Jul 2009
![[North Frisia (Schleswig-Holstein, Germany), Scandinavian cross variant]](../images/d/de-nfr-x.gif)
image by Jan Oskar Engene, 6 Dec 1995
Kannik 1958a shows a Frisian (Germany)
flag which has a blue Scandinavian cross, fimbriated
red, on a yellow field. Horizontal proportions 6+1+2+1+12.
Pascal Vagnat, 6 Dec 1995
I noticed the same in Kannik 1956a.
In the notes it is explained that the Scandinavian
cross pattern was chosen to symbolise the relationship of the Frisians
to the Nordic countries (whatever that may have been — except for the fact
that the North Frisians once were ruled by Denmark).
Jan Oskar Engene, 6 Dec 1995
In the Flags of Aspirant Peoples
chart appears "75. North Frisians (Helgoland & Schleswig-Holstein)
- North Germany". Identical to the Scandinavian cross variant in
FOTW.
Ivan Sache, 14 Sep 1999