St. Annaparochie, or Sintanne, seat of the municipality of Het Bildt, Fryslân
province.
Coat of Arms: divided I. silver with four red fesses; II. gold with a pot and
a pan both black; a blue canton with a golden six-pointed star.
Flag: nine equally wide horizontal stripes of white and red; a yellow
hoist-triangle lengthened with 2/9 flag length and the point at 1/2 flag length;
the triangle charged with a black pot, a blue six-pointed star and a black
pan, the first in the canton, the second in the point and the third in
the hoist-bottom.
The coats of arms of the villages Sint Jacobiparochie, Vrouwenparochie, Oude
Bildtzijl were designed, together with the arms of St. Annaparochie, in
1949 based on a nursery rime: "In pot en in panne is it wapen fan Sint
An", (a pot and a pan is the arms of St. Anne). Because the rimes were
no credible source they should not be taken as serious. The arms were never
granted officially. The rimes did not say anything about the placement
of the elements.
After the hamlet Westhoek was granted the status of village the inhabitants
asked the Fryske Rie foar Heraldyk for a coat of arms and a flag in 1999, the FRfH
asked the other villages if coats of arms were in use.
It was stated that the rime of St. An was well known - the village
paper's name was derived from it, so it was decided to retain the
elements of the coat of arms. To make it more canting and in order to add some local history
some change was proposed: addition was found in the coat of arms of the Van Haren
family, former "grietmannen" (mayors) of Het Bildt.
The new coat of arms was divided and in the right side the right part of the
Van Haren arms was placed. The canton, which was in the van Haren arms
gold with three red stripes, was made blue, the color of the municipal
arms, with a six-pointed golden leading star, signifying Sint Annaparochie's
function as municipal seat. The pot and the pan were placed on top of each
other in the old colors.
The flag is derived from the coat of arms. The base is the coat of arms of the Van Haren
family; the hoist triangle was lengthened to leave more space for the kitchen-implements.
The star couldn't be painted yellow, so inversion of colors took place.
The hoist-triangle refers also to the municipal flag.
coat of arms designed by Kl. Sierskma, adapted by R.J. Broersma.
Flag design by R.J. Broersma, member of the Fryske Rie foar Heraldyk
Source: Genealogysk Jierboekje 2001.
Jarig Bakker, 18 Aug 2003