The official name of this village is Warten; it was formerly in the northeast
of Idaarderadeel, a few kilometers southeast of Leeuwarden.
Wartena, Boarnsterhim municipality, Fryslân.
The Coat of Arms of this village occurs already in the flagbook of Gerrit Hesman
from 1708.
The figures in chief (three swans) point at the important rôle
of water in this village. The swan is a royal bird, which is frequently
used on Frisian village arms, like Langwar / Langweer, Molkwar / Molkwerum
and Kornwerd / Koainwerd. The meaning of the seven balls is not known.
Sierksma believes that they should be "pompeblêren" (waterlily-leaves),
but Hesman drew disks, which don't look at all like pompebl?ren...
The colors red and white might have been derived from the arms of the
former division of Oostergo..
In the summer of 1973 the "Stichting Jachthaven" of Wartena adopted
its own flag, designed by the "Fryske Rie foar Heraldyk", on which the
swan and the penny have been placed. On 25 Jan 1974 this flag was approved
in a meeting of village-societies; now deliberations have started how to
find a new use for the village coat of arms.
Description: quartered red and white; the first and fourth part are
1/2 of the second and 3rd part; In the canton a white swan in take-off
position, in the bottom-hoist a red ball.
Source: Genealogysk Jierboekje 1974 Genealogysk Jierboekje 1986 <The image I received was not very clear, so I have used the famous
swan of Langwar as a model, borrowed from the Encyclopedie van Friesland,
1958>
Jarig Bakker, 19 Aug 2003
![[Warten villageflag]](../images/n/nl-fr0wt.gif)
image
by Jarig Bakker, 19 Aug 2003
![[Warten Coat of Arms]](../images/n/nl-fr)wt.gif)
image
from Genealogysk Jierboekje 1986.
