{"id":148267,"date":"1818-10-07T23:51:00","date_gmt":"1818-10-07T21:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oldaalten.nl\/aalten-achteruit\/the-lime-tree-the-coat-of-arms-of-aalten\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T00:04:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T22:04:25","slug":"the-lime-tree-the-coat-of-arms-of-aalten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oldaalten.nl\/en\/government\/administration-justice\/the-lime-tree-the-coat-of-arms-of-aalten\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lime Tree, the Coat of Arms of Aalten"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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For nearly two centuries, the municipality of Aalten bore a lime tree (lindeboom) in its official coat of arms. In 2005, Aalten merged with Dinxperlo, which meant a new municipal coat of arms had to be created. <\/strong>Nevertheless, the lime tree remains a central symbol in the local identity.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
The coat of arms of the municipality of Aalten (1818\u20132010)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The coat of arms for the municipality of Aalten was applied for on 3 October 1815 by the then mayor, Christiaan Casper Stumph<\/a>, and according to his accompanying note, it must have appeared on very old judicial documents. Before that time, the mayor had been obliged to make use of his own family coat of arms. The “very old judicial documents” turned out to be a stamp that Aalten had used as a municipality between 1795 and 1798, until it was incorporated into the Bailiwick (Ambt) of Bredevoort, which used a seal bearing the letters \u201cAB\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the establishment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the High Council of Nobility (Hoge Raad van Adel) drew up guidelines for the registration of municipal coats of arms in 1816. On 7 October 1818<\/strong>, the first official coat of arms was granted to the municipality of Aalten by Royal Decree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The description of Aalten’s first coat of arms reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Of silver charged with a green tree, standing on a ground of the same.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Origin and meaning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The origin of the tree coat of arms is unclear, although there appears to be a connection with surrounding towns. In ancient times, Bredevoort and Groenlo also bore a tree in their coats of arms, as does the nearby German city of Bocholt<\/a>, which still uses a tree in its emblem today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exact reason why the Aalten administration chose a lime tree at the beginning of the 19th century is not documented. It could have been a liberty tree, or it may have been derived from a freestanding lime tree on the Aalten Es near Berkenhove Cemetery<\/a>, which stood there as early as the 18th century, was replanted in the first half of the 19th century, and replanted once more after World War II. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
The Lime Tree near Berkenhove cemetery, at the junction of the Romienendiek and the Barloseweg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The choice of a lime tree aligns with a broad Western European tradition. Since the Middle Ages, the lime tree served in many villages as a court-tree (dingboom<\/em>) or justice-lime (gerechtslinde). Beneath this central tree, administrators and judges gathered to dispense public justice. The symbol thus referred directly to local jurisdiction and the self-governance of the place of origin. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The Municipal Reorganisation (2005)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"The\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
The current coat of arms of the municipality of Aalten (since 2010)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On 1 January 2005, the municipalities of Aalten and Dinxperlo merged to form the new municipality of Aalten. According to the guidelines of the High Council of Nobility, the heraldic elements of both former municipalities had to be combined into a new design. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 8 June 2010<\/strong>, the new, composite coat of arms was officially established by Royal Decree. The shield was divided horizontally: <\/p>\n\n\n\n