Number of inhabitants (1 Jan 2003): 117.031; area: 23,30 km². Settlements:
Leiden (seat).
Leiden in Zuid-Holland province has the oldest university of the Netherlands
(1574); the city, like Groningen and Nijmegen, nearly coincides with the
university, about all citizens being involved with it.
Flagdescription: three equally wide horizontal stripes of red and white,
with on the white stripe two red crossed keys on a white field, surrounded
by a red circle.
This flag was adopted 11 Apr 1949.
Source: Sierksma's Nederlands Vlaggenboek, 1962 [sie62].
Older images, especially paintings, show always flags with keys, such
as the Napolitan flagbook of 1667. (That is "Bandiere usate in mare da
diverse nazioni sopra i legni da guerra e mercantili", Napoli - manuscript
in possession of the John Carter Brown Library, Providence, USA).
Description: red with two white keys in saltire, the key-bits facing
each other.
Source: Sierksma's Nederlands Vlaggenboek, 1962 [sie62].
Jarig Bakker, 6 Jul 2003