Last modified: 2007-05-05 by ivan sache
Keywords: liege | luik | honour flag | union nautique de liege | cross (yellow) | crown: royal ((red) | royal yacht club de la meuse |
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![[Liege]](../images/b/be-wlglg.gif)
Municipal flag of Liège - Image by Ivan Sache, 17 November 2001
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The municipality and town (Ville) of Liège (188,000 inhabitants) is the capital city of the Province of Liège.
The flag is vertically divided red-yellow. It is still unofficial.
The colours of the flag are derived from the municipal coat of arms, described as follows on the International Civic Heraldry website:
The present arms were officially granted on February 1st, 1947, and may be surrounded by several chains of military decorations. The arms of Liége show a monument or 'perron'. The perron is most likely derived form an actual monument in the city. It is first seen on a coin of Hendrik II of Limburg, as Prince-Bishop of Liège, dating between 1145 and 1165. The perron was shown freely on coins until the mid XIVth century, when the symbol was placed in a shield. Whether the city at the time already used it as city arms is not known. Ever since the perron, including the base with the three lions, has been the arms of the city. The actual shape, however has varied widely during the centuries, and similarly, not all images show the lions. In the late XVIIth century the whole name, LIEGE was shown around the perron. The letters L and G appear for the first time in the late XVIIIth century.
Jarig Bakker, 17 November 2001
![[Former flag of Liege]](../images/b/be-wlgl2.gif)
Former municipal flag of Liège, c. 1900 - Image by Ivan Sache, 12 June 2005
Nouveau Larousse Illustré, Dictionnaire Universel
Encyclopédique (7 volumes, published in Paris, 1898-1904) shows the flags of the main Belgian cities, then based on the traditional colours of the cities.
The flag shown for Liège is horizontally divided red-yellow.
Jan Martens & Ivan Sache, 12 June 2005
![[1830 Honour flag]](../misc/be_1830l.jpg)
Honour flag of Liège - Photography by Jean-Marc Demeyer, 21 February 2004
Similar honour flags were awarded in 1830 to several Belgian municipalities that had contributed to the independence.
Ivan Sache, 21 February 2004
The Royal Yacht Club de la Meuse (RYCM) is located on the Ile Monsin, an island in the River Meuse. RYCM was founded in 1928, then named simply Yacht Club de la Meuse, starting out with a dozen boats. Right before and after the Second World War, international yacht gatherings named Pavillon d'Or or Pavillon Bleu. In 1977, the honorific title "Royal" was granted.
The club burgee, as seen on the main page of the club website, is red with a yellow cross (the colours of Liège), offset to the hoist, and having a yellow disk (outlined red) in the cross' centre bearing the initials YCM; a red royal crown is placed above the disk. A different rendition of the burgee is available on the club journal.
Jan Mertens, 10 February 2007
Burgee of UNL - Image by Jorge Candeias, 24 July 2004
The rowing club Union Nautique de Liège was founded in 1873. It is
located on pointe de la Boverie, between the river Meuse and the Dérivation (diversion).
The UNL has 200 rowers, 100 of them taking part to rowing competitions.
Every year, the UNL organizes a long distance (8,250 m) interclub
competition called Les Boucles de Liège (The Loops of Liège).
The burgee of the UNL has two green triangles along the hoist, separated from the white field of the flag by a black fimbriation.
Source: UNL website
A drawing on the website of the FFYB shows the burgee of UNL as above but with black royal crown in upper hoist, alluding to the honorific title of Société Royale granted to the club and the green letters UNL in the white field of the burgee.
A vertically divided green-white flag is shown on a photography taken in 2004.
Ivan Sache & Jan Mertens, 4 March 2007