Buitenpost / Bûtenpost is the municipal seat of Achtkarspelen municipality,
with 5703 inhabitants. Its name means: Outer post (of Fryslân against
the Grunninger frontier). At present it is halfway on the railway Groningen
- Leeuwarden. In ancient times Buitenpost belonged to the Westerkwartier
of Groningen province. But it has belonged for ages already to the old
Frisian division of Oostergo. As main element
of Buitenpost's Coat of Arms the Oostergo arms have been chosen "gules two fesses
argent". On the choir of the church in Buitenpost is a black metal cross
with a wreath of eight golden lilies (a Mary-emblem). The eight golden
fleur-de-lis stand for the old "grietenij" (municipality), and have been
spread over the shield 3:3:2. The two silver fesses each contain a symbol
from the Oostergo-arms. In the center of the topmost bar is a red six-pointed
star. In Frisian heraldry this is a "leading star', symbolizing Buitenpost
as the municipal seat. In the village were several noble houses, like Jeltinga
and Herbranda. Most of these families had arms with one or more roses -
to honor them a red rose has been placed in the center of the bottom silver
bar.
The Scandinavian cross on the flag represents the important roads crossing
the village (east-west: Groningen-Leeuwarden; north-south: Kollum-Drachten).
Source: Wapens en vlaggen in de gemeente Achtkarspelen, Buitenpost,
1999.
![[Buitenpost villageflag]](../images/n/nl-fr_bp.gif)
Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.flagchart.net
![[Buitenpost Coat of Arms]](../images/n/nl-fr)bp.jpg)
from the Achtkarspelen municipal
website.
