London - Canada

London is next to the river Thames and this place is not in Great Britain but in the Canadian region of Southwestern Ontario. The county surrounded the Canadian  London is called Middlesex, only the original British London absorbed it's Middlesex but still next to their original Thames. Early settlers are not that original of naming things in the New World, it's an recurring theme with European explorers and settlers around the world. The Canadian London was originally chosen to became the capital of the Upper Canada, the present day Ontario. But the war of 1812 with the United States changed it because London was close to America and the capital moved to York, present day Toronto. Still an important city in Ontario with an population of around 383 thousand, the economical activity is about brewing, education, medical research, insurance, and information technology. Also special of this city it is surrounded by woodlands and have many urban parks, Springbank Park and Victoria Park are the finest to visit. So let's take an look at the flag.

The flag has an green background bordered with two white stripes and an white tree in the center. The green has to do with all the green around and in London, it's nickname is "The Forest City" and the tree symbolize it to. The white symbolize the opportunity the municipality offers to its existing and prospective citizens. So that an simple and clear explanation and the flag is good as well.

Ogasawara Subprefecture - Japan

Ogasawara Subprefecture is an part of the prefecture of Tokyo and is not even nearby of the capitol of Japan. The distance to Tokyo is almost 1000 km (621,37 mi) and only reachable with an ferry. Tokyo governs the Bonin Islands, Volcano Islands and the far remote islands of Minami-Tori-shima and Okinotorishima. The Bonin Islands are also know as the Ogasawara Islands, also there is an village with the name Ogasawara. This is the only village of the sub prefecture but is spotted over two islands, 2000 people live on Chichijima and 400 on Hahajima. The other 28 islands are uninhabited. South of the Bonin Islands there is the next archipelago of the Volcano Islands, it comprise out of three islands and hence the name they are volcanic. The famous of them is Iwo Jima of the battle in World War II, this is the only island with an population mainly military personnel. The other two menton islands are uninhabited and only purpose to enlarged Japan's economical zone. So let's take an look at the flag. 

The flag has an white background with an white and blue image in the centre. The white stands for peace. The disc in the centre for the sun, harmony and progress. The image resembles an parent bird with two baby birds which symbolize friendship and also peace. The image is also an stylized Japanese letter 小, it is the Latin letter O. Pokemon looking flag that only works for an Japanese flag. 

Lika-Senj County - Croatia

Lika-Senj County is the largest county of Croatia and the least populated there are around 45 thousand people live there. Also it's the least prosperous of all Croatian counties, but on the other hand the nature is stunning. The Adriatic coast has some pittoresque views and Pag is the only Croatian island that is shared with an another county, the southern part belongs to Zadar county and maybe is the 5th largest island but it have the longest coastline. The Velebit mountain range goed trough the county from the northwest to the southeast and the seaside has an rocky appearance with cliffs, the other side has dense forest with an lot of fauna. Also it separated the eastern Lika region were the capital Gospić is located from Senj the historical seaside town known since the days of the ancient Greeks. Also in the Lika region are the impressive Plitvice Lakes, this national park has 16 lakes and a lot of cascades and an stunning waterfall which is the highest in Europe. The area contains Europe's rare animals like European brown bear, grey wolf, eagle, Eurasian lynx and European wildcat. Over an million visitors over the world comes to this Unesco heritage site every year. So let's take an look at the flag.

   
The flag has an white background with the light blue stripes and an coat of arms in the center. I didn't find the explanation of the colors and so we continue with the coat of arms. The flower is the Degenia velebitica an endemic species of the Velebit mountain range and is endangered. It is an symbol also of entire Croatia and you can see it on the 50 lipa coin. The tiny flower represented the delicate environment of Croatia. This flag is an good one with an calm looking coat of arms. 

Hoegaarden - Belgium

Hoegaarden is an village and municipality in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, the villages of Meldert and Outgaarden are part of it to. There are few hamlets scattered around and the population is 6886. Hoegaarden has an strong Roman history because in 1980 an amount of Roman villa's where dug up. Even in the early Middle Ages it was one point in time the center of the medieval county of Bruningerode which last from 7th/8th century till 987. Alpaïdis the last countess of Bruningerode gave her county and fortress to the Prince- Bishopric of Liège. The fortress was eventually replaced by the Saint Gorgonius church and Hoegaarden became an enclave, this lasted to 1795 after the Liège Revolution the prince-bishop ousted and the French took over. But as enclave surrounded by the Duchy of Brabant it was an small tax haven for quite some centuries. Nowadays Hoegaarden is famous of it's witbier and type of beer brewed with wheat and give the beer an cloudy yellow appearance and some thirst-quenching abilities. In 1966 Pierre Celis founded brewery De Kluis after couple of years when the last witbier brewer was stopped. Many people were happy that the beerstyle witbier returned and to this day many brewers in the world brewed an witbier inspired by the one from Hoegaarden. So let's take an look at the flag.

The flag has three vertical stripes, two blue and one yellow. The colors are derived from the coat of arms and let's continue with that one. The coat of arms are granted by the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1819, Belgium and the Netherlands were briefly one country from 1815 to 1830. The colors are so called Nassau colors from the Dutch royal house, there are Dutch and Belgian municipalities using this colors, the background of the coat of arms are always bleu with something yellow in the center. Hoegaarden have an arm with an bishop's staff and this symbol probably refers to the fact that in the Middle Ages Hoegaarden was owned by the Prince-Bishop of Liège. So we have an simple flag and an variation of the coat of arms on the beerlabel of Hoegaarden Wit.

Tholen - the Netherlands

Tholen is at first an small city, second it can be found on an island with the same name and at last it is also an municipality. The small city has an old historic center and an population of around 8 thousand. The name Tholen has to do with "levy toll"  and the name of the city has been corrupted over the years, in medieval times that was important moneymaker. The island Tholen is connected with bridges with the rest of the province Zeeland where it is part of and neighboring province of North Brabant in the east. The island of Tholen has an population of around 22 thousand. The municipality of Tholen comprise of the actual island of Tholen and the smaller peninsula of Sint Philipsland which is connected to North Brabant and with an bridge with Tholen. Sint Philipsland has an small population of around 2730 and together with Tholen the whole municipal population is around 25 thousand. The municipality is an result of an merger of the follow municipalities Tholen, Oud-Vossemeer, Poortvliet, Scherpenisse, Sint-Annaland, Sint-Maartensdijk en Stavenisse in 1971. Finally in 1995 Sint Philipsland joined Tholen. So let's take an look at the flag.

The flag has up and down stripes which looks the Dutch flag and the middle stripe is yellow. The flag is knew since the 17th century and nobody knows what the flag means. But the use of the red, white and blue which is older than the Dutch flag, an long time that one was orange, white and light blue. The yellow is from the coat of arms. Let's take an quick look at it. The black and white edge is from the Zealandic noble family Borssele, the lions are from John of Beaumont from the house Hainault and they ruled the counties of Holland and Zeeland in medieval times. The boat called an cog to defend the waters around Tholen and they were required to have such a boat. That's all folks an flag without an meaning, because it is historic otherwise an redesign is required.

Yerevan - Armenia

Yerevan is the capital of Armenia and was founded in 782 BC by king Arghisti I. He founded the fortress Erebuni on the Ararat plain on the most western point. This make Yerevan one of the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Yerevan is situated on an minimum height of 865 m (2,837.93 ft) and maximum height of 1,390 m (4,560.37 ft) above sea level. Surrounded by mountains and the most important one is Mount Ararat with an elevation of 5,137 m (16,854 ft), this is Armenia's national symbol only it is located in Turkey. The mountain is clearly visible from Yerevan and accepted by Christians as the resting place of Noah's Ark. The Turkish take the mountain shortly after Armenia's independence after World War I and other territory with big drama as result. The city with an long history has an population of around 1,5 million. So let's take an look at the flag.

The flag has an white background with an special looking shaped circle and the seal of Yerevan in the center. The white symbolizing clearness and simplicity. The circle are actually 12 triangles and symbolizing the 12 historical capitals of Armenia. The seal showed an winged lion with staff, shield and crown, they call it an Erebuni Lion. There is an lot of symbols, the lion represented strength, the staff represented power, the shield shows Mount Ararat which stands for eternity. The crown is also an tree of life and that symbolize knowledge, wisdom and self-understanding. At the bottom in Armenian letters it said Yerevan. Also the colors red, blue and yellow can be found on the flag of Armenia. Drop the letters and made the lion slightly bigger and flag is great.

Gelsenkirchen - Germany

Gelsenkirchen is one of the many cities in the German Ruhr, the largest urban area of Germany. The city is located in the centre of the Ruhr and is the 25th largest city in Germany with an population of around 262 thousand. But it is the 11th largest city of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. At last Gelsenkirchen is the 5th city of the Rhur behind Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg and Bochum. In 1840 Gelsenkirchen has an small population of 6000 and after the Industrial Revolution hits the Rhur with mining of coal,  the population skyrocketed in Gelsenkirchen and the rest of the Rhur. After 1900 Gelsenkirchen became the important coal mining city in Europe, the nickname of the city is "city of thousand fires". The then night sky was flared by the flames of the mines gases. Those coal days are over and after an long decline of the city and today it is the centre of solar technology. The most famous thing of Gelsenkirchen is an football/soccer club, Schalke'04 which plays in the Veltins-Arena with an capacity of 62,271. Not so successful lately but the club have 7 championships and was 10 time runners-up. 5 time winners of the German cup and 7 times finalist. In the season 1996-1997 they won the UEFA cup against Internazionale Milan. So let's take an look at the flag.

The flag has three horizontal stripes in the colours black, white and green. Like many German city flags they derived from the cosy of arms. Let continue with that,  it's quartered. The upper left there is an church on am black bsckground,  with open door which mean that everybody is welcome. The church represented Gelsenkirchen. The upper right an linden tree which represented the district of Buer. Buer was once an independent city before it was merged with Gelsenkirchen. The loser left is the arms of the noble family Von der Horst, they use an red lion and once owned Gelsenkirchen. Finally in the lower right part there is the hammer and pick, the heraldic symbol of mining. Places with an mining history use this symbol often in their coat of arms, Gelsenkirchen does the same. Typical German city flag with an coat of arms, it is okay for me. 

Greater London - United Kingdom

Greater London is an English ceremonial county and region and now it gets difficult. The City of London is part of the region but is not part of the ceremonial county of Greater London because it is an ceremonial county of it is own. Greater London is divided in 32 boroughs and the City of London acts as an borough, the entirety has an mayor. Greater London came in exist in 1965 and is created out of parts from the counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and ofcourse London itself and Middlesex was completly absorbed. The 32 boroughs are City of Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, Wandsworth, Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Islington, Camden, Brent, Ealing, Hounslow, Richmond, Kingston, Merton, Sutton, Croydon, Bromley, Lewisham, Greenwich, Bexley, Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge, Newham, Waltham Forest, Haringey, Enfield, Barnet, Harrow and Hillingdon. All this together Greater London has an population of 8,5 million and 5,1 million of them born in the United Kingdom itself. Greater London have many nationalities and the top 10 in the 2011 census are from: 
India 262,247
Poland 158,300
Republic of Ireland 129,807
Nigeria 114,718
Pakistan 112,457
Bangladesh 109,948
Jamaica 87,467
Sri Lanka 84,542
France 66,654
Somalia 65,333
So let's take an look at the flag.

The flag has two parts, 1/3 has an red background with an crown and 2/3 has white and blue wavy stripes. Don't find an explanation but i think the wavy pattern symbolize the river Thames that flows trough Greater London and other rivers and streams that flows to the Thames. The crown has something to do with Surrey, parts of the county are absorbed by Greater Londen. Since 1984 the flag has no special status but is still used. Ironically there is no information of this flag and Greater London is so populated. Make the flag official again, there is nothing wrong with it.

Nairobi - Kenya

Nairobi is the largest city and the capital of the African nation of Kenya, with an population of around 6,5 million that is all suburbs included. Before 1899 the area of Nairobi was mostly an swamp and there flows two main rivers the Athi and the Nairobi, and know we now the origin of the cities name. It actually means "cool waters" in the Masai language. But after the arrival the railroad they choose this place to build an traindepot, slowly Nairobi grew bigger even after some malaria outbreaks. The area attract early tourism around 1910 with big game hunters, it became the capital of the colony of British East Africa. This fast growth cause tensions with the native Masai which land was taken by the British, also the Kikuyu get angered about the loss of their land. All these friction leads after the Second World War to the Mau Mau rebellion from 1952 to 1960 and eventually to the independence in 1963 of Kenya. Nairobi didn't stop growing after the independence, it is still growing and now evolving slowly in an modern African city with help and funds of China. Still to this day there just outside of the city the big African animals roaming free. So let's take an look at the flag. 

The flag is 4 quarters in the colors yellow and green with an circle in the center with blue and white wavy stripes. The yellow stands for forward thinking and leadership, because Nairobi is the capital. The green stands for prosperity, enlightenment and people ready for an new day. The shield in the center stands for abundance, opportunities, justice and the good quality of life. Good flag with an good hope of the future.

Tucamán - Argentina

Tucamán is an Argentine province which is located in the northwest of the country. It is the most densely populated province where around 1,4 million people lives and the second-smallest of all Argentinian provinces. The capital is called San Miguel de Tucumán but shortened to Tucamán and that part has two meanings. The first explanation is from the Quechua word "place of origin of several rivers" and other one is "the end of things", nowadays Tucamán was the outer limits of the Inca empire. During Spanish colonization it located halfway between the Viceroyalty of Peru to Buenos Aires from for shipments of gold and silver. In the Tucamán area they produce textiles, wood and cattle to provide those convoys. In 1813 José de San Martín came to Tucamán to start an military school to train soldiers against the Spanish for independence of Argentina. After win some battles he moved into Peru and become an national Argentinian hero. After independence at take an long time that Tucamán get where it is now, the nickname of the province "the garden of the republic" an very productive agricultural area. Crops like sugarcane, lemons, strawberries, maize, beans and kiwifruits. So let's take an look at the flag.

The flag has three horizontal stripes and two of them are white and one skyblue, it is more an inverted Argentinian flag. The flag dates from the war of independence against Spain and was use in the Battle of Tucamán in 1812 and other battles in the direction of Upper-Peru, nowadays Bolivia. In Bolivia 70 years later they found this flag hidden for the Spanish Royalist and in 2010 Tucamán adopt this flag in honour of the Batlle of Tucamán which was an Argentinian victory. In those days the Argentinian independence movement are using the colors white and blue but they didn't decided or figured out which form or flag they gonna use. So this flag get an second chance in the province, simple and solid.

Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave- Mexico

Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave has an unusual long elongated shape on the Gulf of Mexico. The total length is from northwest to southeast is 650 km (403.9 mi) long and varied of wideness is 212 km (132 mi) to 36 km (22 mi). This shape is caused by the high mountain ranges in the west that acts as an border, mountains always good borders look at Chili. The highest mountain of Mexico can be found at the border of Veracruz with Puebla, the Pico de Orizaba with an elevation of 5,636 metres (18,491 ft). The rather long state name of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave is derived from the city Veracruz the largest city of the state, the capital is Xalapa. Ignacio de la Llave y Segura Zevallos (1818 - 1863)was an general, politician and governor of the state Veracruz from 1861 to 1862. This state has an important Olmec sites near San Lorenzo and Tres Zapotes, the Olmec civilization lived in nowadays Veracruz from from 1200 BC. up to 400 BC.The Spanish landed in 1519 with Hernán Cortez and founded the first Spanish city in Mexico named Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, this is nowadays the city of Veracruz. From here he started is conquest of the Aztec Empire. There is still an fairly strong presence of Native-Mexicans like Nahuas, Totonacs, Huastecs, Popolucs, Zapotecas, Chinantecas, Otomis, Mazatecas, Tepehuas, Mixtecas, Zoques, Mixes, Mayas and Tzotzils. One famous thing of the Totonac people is the Danza de los Voladores an ancient ceremony consists of dance and the climbing of a 30-meter pole from which four of the five participants then launch themselves tied with ropes to descend to the ground. The fifth remains on top of the pole, dancing and playing a flute and drum. This ritual was created to ask the gods to end a severe drought. So let's take an look at the flag.

Like many Mexican states the background is white with an coat of the arms in the center, Veracruz do the same. Only they use as extra an red and green edge, these are the same red and green of the national flag of Mexico. Back to the coat of arms. the green field has an yellow tower what symbolize power, greatness and the defense of the area against the Native-Mexicans. The blue part symbolize the sea and also the Pillars of Hercules with the motto "plus ultra" is showed. "Plus ultra" means "ever further" is the personal motto of the Habsburg emperor Charles V. The pillars symbolize must represent the Spanish power at sea and in the overseas discovered lands. The cross refers to the Holy Cross what is also where Veracruz is named after, "vera" means "holy" and "cruz" means "cross. The edge of the arms consists of a yellow inner edge and a pink outer edge with 13 blue stars, those stars represented the old 13 provinces of Veracruz. This coat of arms was granted by Charles V and so we have an old Spanish heraldic design. Maybe it is time to design some simpler flags for the Mexican states.

Montgomery - United States / Alabama

Montgomery is the capital of the American state of Alabama with an population around 373 thousand in the metro area. The city has an slavery past because the Alabama river was ideal for transport use, cotton was big in the first half of the 19th century. After several states declared independence in 1861 and Montgomery was briefly the first capital of the Confederated States of America until it moved to Richmond, Virginia. One of it's nicknames is ""Cradle of the Confederacy". Also an more better one is "Birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement” because after World War II the Afro-American community get tired of discrimination and demanded equal rights. This long struggle ended in 1965 when the passage of the Voting Rights Act in the U.S. congres that authorized federal supervision and enforcement of the rights of African Americans and other minorities to vote. So let's take an look at the flag.

Flag has two major colors grey and red, also there is white, blue and yellow. The big no of vexillologists is there, usage of letters and in this case "city of Montgomery. The grey color symbolize the uniforms of the soldiers of the Confederaty. The red is from the Alabama state flag, what is an white flag with an red saltire cross to represented Montgomery is in Alabama. The blue is from the soldiers of the Union aka the North with the gray to denotes the unity of the Confederacy and the Union today. The seven stars symbolize the 7 original states at the beginning of the Confederacy. The yellow laurel wreath symbolize glory and honor. If you don't know the meaning and drop the letters, it is an good designed city flag but in the end this flag is misplaced.

 

Lagos - Nigeria

Lagos is by far the most populous city on the continent of Africa and ofcourse the nation of Nigeria, there live 21 million people in the African megapolis. Situated in an lagoon it was inhabited by the AworI an subgroup of the Yoruba, but the area was conquered in the 16th century by the Benin Empire. Oba (warrior king) Orhogbua the ruler of the Benin Empire founded an camp with the name Èkó, which is still the name in Yoruba of modern day Lagos. In 1472 the Portugese arrived in the area and named it Lagos, maybe after the Algarve maritime town of Lagos or after the lagoon what looks like an bunch of lakes because "lagos" means "lakes" in Portugese. The Portugese mainly traded in spices, ivory and slaves until the British abolished the slave trade and took over Lagos in 1807 and made an protectorate out of it. Later in 1903 the Lagos British Protectorate was merged with the British colonies of Northern Nigeria and Southern Nigeria to form the Colony of Nigeria. Lagos became the capital of it and later after independence of Nigeria it remained capital until they replaced it in 1991 to Abuja. Lagos is spread out of the islands Lagos where it all started, Victoria Island one of the most exclusive and expensive areas to reside and Ikoyi an affluent neighborhood. On the mainland there is the neighborhood of Apapa where all port activities are, Iddo which is connected with large bridges and an hub of the railroads and from here if you not stuck in one of Lagos notorious traffic jams to neighborhoods like Surulere, Ajeromi-Ifelodun and Lagos Mainland. One thing is for sure, it is never dull in this bustling Nigerian metropolis and it is still growing larger. So let's take an look at the flag.

The flag is the same as the flag of Nigeria with the coat of arms of Lagos in the center. Let's go to the arms which is divided in three parts. First in the red part there is an wheel, this represented industry and Lagos is Nigeria's main industrial hub. The red stands for power generation, which local energy supplier NEPA nowadays miserably fail to do. In the yellow part there are 6 cowries (some kind of snail shells), this represented the past and was used in those days as currency and Lagos today is an financial hub. The yellow stands for foreshore sands which can be found in Lagos and the rest of Lagos State, this arms also used by Lagos State. In lower blue part there are 2 fisherman, this represented the traditional activities of the area and blue stands of the Lagoon of Lagos. On top of the arms there is an white cap called keresimesi, represented authority. The leaves under the keresimesi are called akoko, these are used at the installation and coronation of traditional rulers and to pray the gods for long life for the new ruler. The palm trees represented the agriculture activities in the area. The motto "justice and progress" stands for the obligation to give each citizen rights without fear, bias and favouritism and progress stands for an strong hope of an bright future. Much but good symbol explanation, but they redo this flag, the flag of Lagos State using also this coat of arms with an different background but that is an story for later.

San Bartolomé de Tirajana - Spain

San Bartolomé de Tirajana is an village and the largest municipality of Gran Canaria and also the largest of the entire region of the Canary Islands, which is an part of Spain. The area can be found in the southeast of Gran Canaria and the population around 53 thousand. The village of San Bartolomé de Tirajana is also called Tunte which is quite easier to pronounced. The mountain village is located 25 km (15.53 mi) from the coast on an altitude of about 900 m (2,953 ft) in an inactive caldera, the area is of mountainous volcanic origin and the climate is mostly dry. Agriculture is possible on certain places where the grown oranges, lemons, apricots, grapes, olives and flowers. On the south coast was before 1960 an unspoiled area with agriculture but the summer climate with an all day breeze turns this area one of the biggest holiday resort. Mainly visitors from Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Scandinavia come here to relax, sunbathing and partying in the beach towns of Maspalomas, Playa del Inglés and Sant Agustin. Maspalomas is the oldest beach town of Gran Canaria with an big lighthouse, it is all about tourism with beaches. The only official nudist beach can be found near the Maspalomas Dunes. Playa del Inglés for those don't want to do cultural things, there is not any only lot of hotels and bungalows. This place is all about beaches and nightlife, especially the LGBT community is welcome here despite Spain is an catholic country. San Agustin is also about hotels and beaches but in an more modest way. So let's take an look at the flag. 

The flag has an white background with an coat of arms in the center with some text above and below it. In the upper right we see an black lion which is the personal arms of Jean de Béthencourt and French noblemen who conquered Fuerteventura and Lanzarote for Spain but tried to do same with Gran Canaria. Upper left the personal arms of Fernando Guanarteme born as Tenesor Semidan was an Guanche (the original people of Gran Canaria) who converted to christianity and helped the Spanish to conquer the island. Lower left the is an Saint James's cross was granted to village of Santiago de Tunte, the first settlement of the municipality. Santiago is the Spanish form of James. The lower right there we see an tree and that is the personal arms of bishop Juan de Frías who was one of the leaders of the conquest of Gran Canaria, he did the religious part and became the first bishop of the Canary Islands. All these things happened end 15th century in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana. The coat of arms is granted by the Spanish king, that why is there the crown. On top of it is the text "Real de Ansite" and "real" means "royal" and "Ansite" is an rock formation in the municipality, don't get the reason of the usage of the words. And the lower text said the name of the municipality. The flag is quite bad, made at least coat of arms larger and drop the text. 

Brussels-Capital Region - Belgium

Brussels-Capital Region or called in Dutch Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest and in French Région de Bruxelles-Capitale with an population of around 1.2 million but if we include all suburbs outside Brussels-Capital Region then we have an population of around 2.1 million. After the federal reform of Belgium in 1989 when the Flemish (Dutch speaking) and Walloon (French speaking) get their own regions, Brussels due it's bilinguality (French 90%/Dutch 10%) also. Brussels-Capital Region comprise of 19 municipalities namely Anderlecht, Auderghem/Oudergem, Berchem-Sainte-Agathe/Sint-Agatha-Berchem, Bruxelles-Ville/Stad Brussel, Etterbeek, Evere, Forest/Vorst, Ganshoren, Ixelles/Elsene, Jette, Koekelberg, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean/Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Saint-Gilles/Sint-Gillis, 
Saint-Josse-ten-Noode/Sint-Joost-ten-Node, Schaerbeek/Schaarbeek, Uccle/Ukkel, Watermael-Boitsfort/Watermaal-Bosvoorde, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert/Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre/Sint-Pieters-Woluwe. The largest of them is Bruxelles-Ville/Stad Brussel and the smallest is Saint-Josse-ten-Noode/Sint-Joost-ten-Node. With the highest population and here they again Bruxelles-Ville/Stad Brussel and with the least population is Watermael-Boitsfort/Watermaal-Bosvoorde. But there are plans to merge all 19 municipalities to one big city under one mayor, like big cities as London or Paris, to reduce the many politicians and parties to something controllable. It is Belgian politics and that plan can take a long time to get trough. But everyone who lives in this region is called an Bruxellois/Bruxelloise (French) and Brusselaar/Brusselse (Dutch), so that issue is al sorted. So let's take an look at the flag.

The flag has an blue background with an flower/hart image with the colors yellow, white and grey in the center. The blue and yellow are from the flag of the European Union, which Brussels acts as de-facto capital of Europe. The yellow image is the yellow iris an swamp plant once very common in the Brussels area, because the city is build on an drenched swamp. The flower is an Brussels symbol because after an victory of the duke of Brabant who lured his enemy in the swamps covered with the yellow iris. He know if you follow the flowers on horseback nothing happened, if you don't follow it you stuck in the swamp. The grey heart symbolize that the Brussels-Capital Region is open to the world. And the whole design of the flag is in Art Nouveau style what is typical Brussels. Quite good symbolism but the flag looks silly to me.

Brussels - Belgium

Brussels is one of the 19 municipalities of

Brussels-Capital Region and act also aad the capital of Belgium. Brussels called in Dutch Brussel and in French Bruxelles and Luke the rest of the region is this an bilingual municipality. The historic centre with the famous Grand Placé  the tiny peeing statue of Manneken Pis and other monumental buildings and sights. Brussels-Capital Region has an population of around 1.2 million but the actual City of Brussels has much smaller population of around 179 thousand. The Royal Palace can be found in the municipality of Brussels and the Belgian parliament and don't forget all those European Union buildings. So let's take an look at the flag.

The flag had two vertical bands in the colours red and green with an yellow image in the centre, those colours are derived from the cot coat of arms. The image is an stylized version of Saint Michael the Archangel and can found through the City of Brussels. Saint Michael has defeated Satan with it's spear, usually he defeated an dragon. But the use of Satan has to do with the cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. Saint Michael is patron saint of Brussels and to attracted people in medieval times to your city relics are needed and of the Archangel are none relics available. But Saint Gudula who defied Satan and her relics taken to Brussels to solve that problem and combined the two saints, that attracted people to the city. That image of the flag can do better to make it great.  

Pyrénées-Orientales - France

Pyrénées-Orientales is an French department in the region of Occitanie in the southwest of France. Once this was part of Catalonia but after the war of 1635-1659 war with France the part north of the Pyrenees went to France. Still there is an minority that speak Catalan and the area is still known as Northern Catalonia. Like most of the French departments it's named after an natural feature like an rivet and in this case an mountainrange, the Pyrenees and with Orientales they mean it's located in the eastern part of it. Pyrénées-Orientales have an population of around 474 thousand and the capital or prefecture is Perpignan, city with an Mediterranean and ofcourse an Catalan feel. Pyrénées-Orientales obviously borders Spain in the south but also surrounding in Spanish enclave named Llivia, just separated 1.6 km (1.0 mile) from Spain. And so we have an French department where Catalonia meets France.  So let's take an look at the flag. 

With the 6 yellow and 5 red stripes make this is the Catalan flag named Senyera and Catalonia user it to. The Senyera means in the Catalan language flag and is usually the term refers to the Catalan flag or its pattern. But it's originated from the Kingdom of Aragon and the current region if attain use an singular flag. But other places with Catalan relations use an singular flag, like Balearic Islands, Valencian Community, Andorra and the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Dozens of municipalities belonging to these territories base their local flags on the Senyera as well. This is one of the oldest flags in Europe and it's originated from many legends and this one of them. Charles le Chauve, Emperor Charlemagne's grandson visited his vmvassal, Guiffré el Pilos in English Geoffrey the Hairy (born in Ria in 852), at death's door in his tent. Near the litter was a plain golden shield. Charles le Chauve dipped his fingers in the dying' wound and designed four bars of blood, giving therefore a coat of arms to the house of Aragon. Ancient historical flags always work, many other flag of this distinct can follow. 

North Holland - The Netherlands

North Holland is an province with contains the capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam. The actual capital of the province is the city of Haarlem. The province have an population of around 2,7 million and most of them live in the south, obviously in and around Amsterdam, Haarlem, Zaanstad and Hilversum. How northern you go how sparser it gets and mostly north of Alkmaar and Purmerend. In the northern tip is Den Helder with the largest Dutch naval base for the rest is it domain of cows who produced a lot of milk to made great Dutch cheese of it. Also with an ferry from Den Helder the island of Texel can be visited for an holiday. Big portion of North Holland was once water and in Dutch fashion major land reclamations were made. The largest and final land reclamation was the Haarlemmermeer on the part were many ships and boat sunk they build the national airport of Schiphol. The typical thoughts about the Dutch that wear wooden shoes and live in mills also originated from this part of the Netherlands, especially in the village of Volendam also good for an visit. So let's take an look at the flag.

The flag is an horizontal tri-color with the colors yellow, red and blue. The colors are from the coat of arms. Yellow and red are from the medieval county of Holland, the province use the same colors and use until 1986 the same flag minus blue which was red. Blue and yellow are from the region West Friesland. Because Holland is important than West Friesland red came first for blue. West Friesland is an region north of Alkmaar and borders the IJsselmeer. Solid and simple Dutch province flag.

Montgomery County - United States / Maryland

Montgomery County can be found in the state of Maryland, adjacent to Washington D.C. the capital of the United States. Due it's proximity this is the most populous county of Maryland, there live around 1 million people. The county is named after Major General Richard Montgomery who had served the American Revolutionary War for independence. He tried to invade Quebec but died in Quebec City and never set foot in the county that will be named after him. The county seat is the city of Rockville and other cities are Gaithersburg and Takoma Park, also towns namely Barnesville, Brookeville, Chevy Chase, Garrett Park, Glen Echo, Kensington, Laytonsville, Poolesville, Somerset and Washington Grove. Many U.S. institutions have there base in those places and some companies too. Brookeville is mention worth it was the U.S. capital for an day on August 26, 1814 when the British take over Washington D.C., when president James Madison fled to this town and stay when the British move on. So let's take an look at the flag.

Like the state flag of Maryland and like some counties and cities, it's looking European medieval-like. The flag is an stretched out version of the coat of arms and it's from the family of Richard Montgomery. The fleur-de-lis in two quarters of the flag comes from the arms of the Montgomery family and other quarters with the rings are from the family Eglinton. In 1368 Sir John Montgomery married Elizabeth of the Eglinton family.Their descendants combined the Montgomery fleurs-de-lis with the Eglinton rings in one quartered shield. The indented line which separates the upper and lower quarters of the flag represent the borders of local government. The colors of red and blue are identical to those on the American flag and the color yellow is identical of that color on the Maryland state flag. This flag could work in Europe and so why not in America, it's okay with me.

Dunkirk - France

Dunkirk an French city with an population of around 89 thousand, it's located in the French departement Nord. This is the most northwestern city of Metropolitan France. The city has an  population of around of 89 thousand.  In French it's called Dunkerque but the city has an Dutch speaking origin and in Dutch it's called Duinkerke. But in those three languages you can make out it means "church in the dunes". The place is if Flemish origin and they proud of it,  but French is the spoken language. In the Eighty Years War Dunkirk was base of notorious pirates who terrorized in the English Channel. Eventually the city came in hands of the English who sold it later to the French. But the pirates came back for a while,  but Dunkirk grow to an big important port slowly. In World War I the city expended bombardments of the Germans that destroys buildings and killed citizens. In World War Ii the city was the place of the famous British retreat with every floating thing after the Nazi Germany invasion of France. After the war the city and port were rebuilt and now the port is the third largest of France. Nowadays Dunkirk had an Flemish feel with nice beaches to visits. So let's take an look at the flag. 

The flag have three white and three blue horizontal stripes, and it is one of the oldest city flags of France. In that matter the meaning of the colours lost in time. But use of this colours in alternative Dunkirk was always present. So they used an white flag with an blue cross in the pirate days under Louis XVIII. Until 1817 there was an flag with 2 stripes lesser. Actually I like this flag,  simple and historical with an lost meaning. 

Plovdiv - Bulgaria

Plovdiv the second city of Bulgaria is one of the oldest continuously places in Europe dated 6000 BC. Stone Age people settled in a plain at the foot of the Rhodope Mountains and on the Maritsa river. Around 4000 BC Thracians founded an city and named it Eumolpia, this city was older than Athens or Rome. Phillip II the father of Alexander the Great conquered in 340 BC and named it after itself, namely Philippopel. The Thracians eventually get the city back and renamed it again and this time Pulpudeva. Next are the Romans and the renaming continues, now it is Trimontium and also made it the capital of the province of Thrace, although Philippopel remained populair. Around the 6th AD century the Bulgarians arrive and renamed it again to Puldin, until the Ottomans take over and yes another renaming to Filibe. Only in the 15th century did the name Plovdiv appear and in the 19th century they were finished with centuries of Turkish rule. Bulgaria became independent in 1878, but Plovdiv and the surrounding area only joined the Balkan country in 1885 until today. Plovdiv has around 670 thousand inhabitants with all that history it will be visit worth. So let's take an look at the flag.

The flag has blue, white, blue vertical bands with an motto and coat of arms in the center. Don't find any information of the colors but can have something to do with the sky, snow on the mountains and the river. The mural crown showed that Plovdiv is an city in the republic of Bulgaria. The 7 hills where Plovdiv build on and the blue waves are represented the Maritsa river. The lions are an riddle to me, so that is for something later or let me know in the comments. The motto is Bulgarian for "old and eternal" which is completely true. Drop the motto and the flag looks Guatemalan. So turn the blue to green or yellow and it suits more.

South Sinai - Egypt

South Sinai is an Egyptian governorate and it's name tells you where it is located, the southern part of the Sinai peninsula. Off all governorates it's the one with the least population, around 104 thousand people live there. For who is into religion can go to Mount Sinai 2,285 meter (7,497 ft) that also known as Mountain of Moses and according to the Abrahamic religions he received the Ten Commandments. Nearby there is the Saint Catherine's Monastery is Greek-Orthodox and one of the oldest operating monasteries in the world since the year AD 565. The present library is the oldest continuously operating library in the world. In the capital of South SInai, El Tor there is also an old Raithu monastery of Byzantine origin and was opened in the 6th century. But most people go to Sharm El Sheikh for an sunny holiday at the Red Sea, many international conferences and diplomatic meetings also attended there. Before 1967 there where only few fishers active here but when Israel occupied the region they start developing the area for tourism, which in 1982 Egypt continued after getting the Sinai back. So we get an holiday resort with good water sports and scuba diving things to do. 

The flag has an white background with emblem in the center, so continue with that. The sun with it's red and yellow rays symbolize the sunshine. Also looking well you see the shape of the Sinai peninsula with some parts of Egypt, Jordan, Israel and Saudi Arabia. The blue are the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba. The olive branches symbolizing peace what is very handy in this region. On top is the of governorate in Arabic and English. Drop the letters and this flag will work. 

Zealand - Denmark

Zealand is an Danish region and the name in Danish is Sjælland, this place not New Zealand named after that is the Dutch province of Zealand. Before 2007 Denmark uses counties (amter), there were 13 counties and 3 municipalities with county status like Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and the island of Bornholm. The abolished counties are replaced with 5 regions, also the Danish municipalities are reduced from 270 to 98. Zealand is formed out of the former counties of Roskilde, Storstrøm, and Vestsjælland and the municipalities are reduced to 17. The region is named after the largest Danish island of Zealand if we forget Greenland, it's shared with neighboring Capital Region or in Danish Hovedstaden. But the region Zealand also consists of the islands Lolland, Falster,  Møn and some tiny smaller islands. The entire region of Zealand has an population of around 835 thousand and almost 1.4 million lives in the Capitol Region. Zealand is connected with bridges to the rest of the region, the island of Funen and trough the Capitol Region with Sweden. In 2020 the start projected of digging an tunnel or construct an bridge to and from Germany that may open in 2028. So let's take an look at the flag.

This an logo flag like the other Danish regions, this one has an grey bluish background and white cirkels in different shapes. The grey bluish represented all the water around Zealand. The white cirkels represented for the islands in different shapes. Also the first letter of Zealand is an "S" from Sjælland. The shape of the region combined with Capitol District forms also an "S" if you look well on an map. Smart and modern design, but is an viking sword or boat not more historical exciting.

Cook Islands - New Zealand

The Cook Islands is an self-governing country in free association with New Zealand. That means New Zealand take care of foreign affairs and defense and the Cook Islands take care for itself the rest, although lately they do some foreign affairs by it self. Also every citizen of the Cook Islands is an citizen of New Zealand vice versa is that not the case. This self-governing country can be found in the South Pacific Ocean and there live around 17 thousand. The people live on 15 islands (some are uninhabitant) and all the islands are atolls, some are an combination of volcanic activity and coral growth. The islands are divided in two groups, the Northern Cook Islands and the Southern Cook Islands. The largest of the last group is Rarotonga with an population of around 14 thousands and that is almost 70% of Cook Islands population, the capital Avarua is located here. The other islands are Atiu, Mauke, Mitiaro, Takutea (uninhabited), Aitutaki, Mangaia, Manuae (uninhabited) and Palmerstone Island. The north has the follow islands Manihiki, Nassau, Penrhyn, Pukapuka, Rakahanga and Suwarrow (onbewoond). So let's take an look at the flag. 

This an Blue Ensign flag beside the United Kingdom it's also shown Cook Islands connection with New Zealand. But the origin of the Blue Ensign can be found in the British royal navy, used by ships which are commanded by an Royal navy officer or ships in public service. And where those ships operating at possible oversea British possessions the Blue Ensign will be used with an defaced emblem or badge, this matter an ring of stars. Whoever counts well see that there are 15 stars, those stands for the Cook Islands. The blue symbolize for the ocean and that covers the Cook Islands for 1,800,000 square kilometres (690,000 sq mi), merely the total land area is 240 square kilometres (92.7 sq mi). At the end this Blue Ensign is quite simple with an usual coat of arms.

Zulia - Venezuela

Zulia the most northwestern state of Venezuela and is the 1st state of population, around 3,7 million people live there. The state almost surrounded Lake Maracaibo only de state of Trujillo has also an small shoreline. The Lake Maracaibo is more an inlet or bay with an small connection with the Caribbean Sea, the entrance is only 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) wide at the northern end. Many rivers emptying in Lake Maracaibo and the biggest is Catatumbo, where the river empty an special atmospheric phenomenon. There is a lot of lightning around 140 to 160 days a year, it takes around 10 hours and 280 lightning flashes average per hour. Explorer Alonso de Ojeda discovered Lake Maracaibo on August, 1499 and saw stilt houses with boardwalks on stilts which reminds him of Venice. Therefore he named the area Venezuela and that means "Little Venezuela". Also on this voyage was explorer Amerigo Vespucci after him the America's named after. Long time this part of Venezuela was an backwater until they discovered oil in 1914 and canalized the entrance to Lake Maracaibo. this make Zulia one of the important state of Venezuela. So let's take an look at the flag. 

The flag has two vertical stripes in the color blue and black, with an sun that is overlaid with an thunderbolt. The color blue represented the waters in and around Zulia. The color black represented the oil wealth. The sun symbolize warmth, hospitality, agriculture and mining. The thunderbolt symbolize the creation of culture, art and intellect and to guide the citizens of Zulia. This flag like an superhero logo but it's works for me well.

Styria - Austria

Styria is an Austrian state and in German they called it Steiermark, also there is an traditional region of Styria in Slovenia what in Slovenian is Štajerska. The area was split after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire at the end of World War I. Styria has an population of around 1.2 million and there are three region's. East Styria (Oststeiermark) with capital Graz and in it's neighbourhood the world famous Arnold Schwarzenegger is born, also the Alps begin in the south. The river Mur act as an border with West Styria (Weststeiermark) and this region is sparsely populated,  with many hills. Upper Styria (Obersteiermark) and this is the party with the most nature, like mountains, hills, forests and those alpine lakes. So let's take an look at the flag.

The had two vertical stripes in the colours white and green, wich are derived from tbe coat of arms. There are two version the one without the arms, that one is for civilian usage. The other one with the arms can only use by the local government, so let's continue with that version. There is an mythical white panther with red horns and it's fire breathing. Styria use this heraldic panther since the 12th century and other nations use the animal for centuries. The early Christian writer Physiologus used the animal in his book about animals as the diffusion of the gospel, the panther diffused an sweet scent as symbol of good. All the animals follow this scent, only the dragon didn't his only enemy which is the symbol of evil. This is all about conversion to the Christian faith. Also the green colour is derived from the fir, this tree grows in abundance in Styria. The crown on top is from an duke, once Styria was duchy in the Austro-Hungarian empire. Nothing wrong with the flags,  simple and solid even with the arms. 

Indiana - United States

Indiana is an American state which can be found in the Great Lakes and Midwestern regions. Indiana has an population of around 6,6 million and the most people live in the area around the capital Indianapolis, in the north of the state and an portion in the southwest around Evansville. The rest is for agricultural activities like corn, grain and soybean growing. The northern parts bordered Lake Michigan is part of the industrialized Rust Belt, but Indiana is been less affected like neighboring states only the city of Gary suffered from an big decline. The north of Indiana is intertwined with the metropolis of Chicago and that city is part of the state of Illinois. The area here is mostly flat and dotted with lakes. If you look at the map of Indiana that all roads lead to the center of the state and there is the capital of Indianapolis, it's nickname is not for nothing "Crossroads of America". The southern part of Indiana is where flat terrain become hilly and there are more forests, the entire southern border is formed by the Ohio river. So let's take an look at the flag.

The flag has an blue background with golden stars and an torch, also the name of the state is there. Start with the torch that stands for liberty and enlightenment. The six thin stripes are the rays from the torch and those stands for the far reaching influence of the torch meaning earlier mentioned. The 19 stars has to that Indiana is 19th state that join the United States. The 13 stars in the outer loop are the 13 original Thirteen Colonies, the 5 inner stars are the 5 states that joined the United States after independence. Finally the largest star stands for Indiana itself. The blue background is taken from the blue of the flag of the United States, many other states use this blue too. Good flag, but drop the word Indiana and the flag is great.