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Gules, a fess argent. Proportions are 2:3.
The flag is an armorial banner of the arms.
Adopted on April 2, 1979.
The arms are gules a fess argent. The oldest known seals of the city (beginning of the 13th century until the middle of the 14th century) depict the romanic, later on gothic front of the Saint-Peters church. In 1358, something new appears on the seals: in the entrance of the church, a small shield with a fess is present. From the 15th century on, this shield is placed in front of Saint-Peter, the patron saint of the city.
So, from the 14th century on, the city of Leuven had arms with a fess, and younger sources learn that it is a fess argent on a red field. According to a popular story, the colours remind to the large defeat of the Normans near Leuven in 891 against Arnulf of Kärnthen. On that day, so much blood flowed into the river the Dijle, that only in the middle there was a small stripe of clear water: a fess argent between the red blood. [hw96]
Last modification: 1997-07-25
f.a.vanlaenen@ieee.org