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Schoten (Municipality, Province of Antwerp, Belgium)

Municipal flag of Schoten - Image by Arnaud Leroy, 10 November 2007

Presentation of Schoten
Municipal flag of Schoten

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Presentation of Schoten

The municipality of Schoten (33,132 inhabitants on 1 January 2007; 2,955 ha) is located east of Antwerp.

In the XIIth century, Schoten belonged to the lords of Breda, later succeeded by the lords of Bergen-op-Zoom, and to the abbey of Villers.
Like in several other towns neighbouring Antwerp, the feudal lords were succeeded by local lords whose wealth was linked to the development of Antwerp as a trade town and port.
The industrial revolution caused the split of Schoten in two parts: factories were set up along the border with Merksem and along the canal, while 1/3 of the municipal territory still belonged in 1945 to ten landlords. Today, Schoten is a bridge between the town of Antwerp and its hinterland in Kampen.

Source: Municipal website, text by Roland Baetens

Ivan Sache, 3 November 2007

Municipal flag of Schoten

The municipal flag of Schoten is red with three white St. Andrew's crosses placed 2 and 1.
According to Gemeentewapens in België - Vlaanderen en Brussel, the flag was adopted by the Municipal Council on 25 September 1987, confirmed by the Executive of Flanders on 9 May 1989 and published in the Belgian official gazette on 8 November 1989.
The flag is a banner of the municipal arms.

The municipal arms of Schoten are the former arms of the lords of Breda and Schoten. The white crosses also appears on the flag and arms of Brasschaat. The lords of Breda and Schoten descend from the Dukes of Strijen, in Zeeland, who used the same arms. The Dutch municipality of Strijen changed the field of the arms to yellow. The arms of the lords of Breda are shown in the Lalaing Armorial (1560-1570), #16, folio 72r.
The municipality of Breda uses a flag virtually identical to the flag of Schoten.

Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache, 3 November 2007