Surhuizum / Surhuzum (1382 inh) used to be the biggest village of the municipality;
it was an agricultural settlement and has retained that character up till
now. It has an annual feast-week, during which the World Championship "Seineharjen"
(sharpening of the scythe) takes place. In 1223 Olifernus preached on the
churchyard of Surhuizum, imploring the his audience to go on a crusade,
whereupon a blue cross appeared in the sky. That cross can be seen on the
Coat of Arms. I can't tell anything about the flag.
The blue wavy top of the Coat of Arms represents the Lauwers river, which forms
on the eastside of the village the border between Fryslân and Groningen
provinces. The golden lilies point at the Gerkesklooster of the Cisterciensian
monastic order. Such a lily occurs on the arms of the Haersma family on
the stained church-windows. The red point symbolizes the church-spire,
which was masoned, and had a blue cross on top. This reminds of the miracle
of Olifernus. The acorn and the grain of buckwheat signify that there were
forests here, and that buckwheat was a popular source of food. The colors
of the arms can also be seen in the arms of Surhuisterveen,
that later was founded on the village-territory of Surhuizum.
The flag is a simplification of the arms. The blue stripe represents
the Lauwers; the red triangle and the lily have the same meaning as on
the arms. The yellow color represents the sandy soil.
Source: Wapens en vlaggen in de gemeente Achtkarspelen, Buitenpost
1999.
![[Surhuizum flag]](../images/n/nl-fr_sz.gif)
Shipmate Flagchart : http://www.flagchart.net
![[Surhuizum Coat of Arms]](../images/n/nl-fr)sz.jpg)
from the Achtkarspelen municipal
website.
