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Symbols of the Netherlands are items or symbols that have symbolic meaning to, or represent, the Netherlands.There symbols are seen in official capacities, such as flags, coats of arms, postage stamps, and currency, and in URLs. They appear less formally as recurring themes in literature, art and folk art, heraldry, monuments, clothing, personal decoration, and as the names of parks, bridges, streets, and clubs. The less formal manifestations may be classified as national emblems.
One of the symbols with which the Dutch associate themselves, is with a Lion called the Dutch Lion. The symbol is especially widely used with football.
The colour orange has long been associated with the Netherlands due to Willem van Orange.
Other things commonly associated with the Netherlands include tulips, clogs, Gouda cheese and windmills.
The Kingdom of Holland was the successor state of the Batavian Republic. It was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in March 1806 in order to better control the Netherlands. Since becoming Emperor in 1804, Napoleon sought to extirpate republican tendencies in territories France controlled, and placed his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, on the throne of the puppet kingdom. The name of the leading province, Holland, now designated the whole country. In 1807, East Frisia and Jever were added to the kingdom.
The House of Orange-Nassau is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, particularly since William the Silent organised the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule, which after the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) led to an independent Dutch state. William III of Orange led the resistance of the Netherlands and Europe to Louis XIV of France, and orchestrated the Glorious Revolution in England that established parliamentary rule. Similarly, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands was instrumental in the Dutch resistance during World War II.
The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William, is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is named after St. William of Gellone (755–814), the first Prince of Orange. Its motto is Voor Moed, Beleid en Trouw. The chivalric order was established on 30 April 1815 by King William I and was presented for feats of excellent bravery on the battlefield and as a meritorious decoration to senior military officers. Comparable with the French Légion d’Honneur but far less often awarded, it is open to everyone regardless of rank or nobility—not only to Dutch military, but also to foreigners. To date, membership in the Order is extremely rarely awarded, and only for exceptional bravery in battle.
The Order of Orange-Nassau is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands.
The coat of arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was originally adopted in 1815 and later modified in 1907. The arms are a composite of the arms of the former Dutch Republic and the arms of the House of Nassau, it features a checkered shield with a lion grasping a sword in one hand and a bundle of arrows in the other and is the heraldic symbol of the monarch and the country. The monarch uses a version of the arms with a mantle while the government of the Netherlands uses a smaller version without the mantle (cloak) or the pavilion, sometimes only the shield and crown are used. The components of the coats of arms were regulated by Queen Wilhelmina in a royal decree of 10 July 1907, affirmed by Queen Juliana in a royal decree of 23 April 1980.
The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands is a Dutch order of chivalry founded by King William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815.
The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With the fall of the Hohenstaufen in the first half of the 13th century royal power within Franconia evaporated and the former stem duchy fragmented into separate independent states. Nassau emerged as one of those independent states as part of the Holy Roman Empire. The lords of Nassau were originally titled "Count of Nassau", subject only to the Emperor, and then elevated to the princely class as "Princely Counts". Early on they divided into two main branches: the elder (Walramian) branch, that gave rise to the German king Adolf, and the younger (Ottonian) branch, that gave rise to the Princes of Orange and the monarchs of the Netherlands.
The Leo Belgicus was used in both heraldry and map design to symbolize the former Low Countries with the shape of a lion.
Dutch garden refers firstly to gardens in the Netherlands, but also, mainly in the English-speaking countries, to various types of gardens traditionally considered to be in a Dutch style, a presumption that has been much disputed by garden historians in recent decades. Historically gardens in the Netherlands have generally followed trends from neighbouring countries, but from the Early Modern period, Dutch gardens were distinctive for the wider range of plants available over the rest of Europe north of the Alps, and an emphasis on individual specimen plants, often sparsely planted in a bed. In the 17th century and into the 18th, the Dutch dominated the publishing of botanical books, and established the very strong position in the breeding and growing of garden plants, which they still retain. They were perhaps also distinguished by their efficient use of space, and in large examples, the use of topiary and small "canals", long thin, rectangular artificial stretches of water. When a distinctively "Dutch" style is claimed, it generally relates to formal styles in large gardens in the latter part of the 17th century, stretching on for a few decades.
The Lion's Mound is a large conical artificial hill in the municipality of Braine-l'Alleud, Walloon Brabant, Belgium. King William I of the Netherlands ordered its construction in 1820, and it was completed in 1826. It commemorates the location on the battlefield of Waterloo where a musket ball hit the shoulder of King William II of the Netherlands and knocked him from his horse during the battle. It is also a memorial of the Battle of Quatre Bras, which had been fought two days earlier, on 16 June 1815.
Leeuwenhosen are orange-colored, lion-tailed overalls distributed by the Bavaria Brewery, a popular Dutch beer brewery, during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The concept was realized by Peer Swinkels, the chairman of Bavaria. The leeuwenhosen refers to the lion as the Dutch national symbol, as is the 2006 FIFA World Cup mascot Goleo VI. The word "leeuwenhosen" is a mix of the Dutch word for "lions" and the German word for "trousers", in the same style as the German article of clothing called lederhosen.
The flag of the Orange Free State was officially used from 1857 to 1902. It was superseded by the flag of the Orange River Colony.
The Dutch Maiden is a national personification of the Netherlands. She is typically depicted wearing a Roman garment and with a lion, the Leo Belgicus, by her side. In addition to the symbol of a national maiden, there were also symbolic provincial maidens and town maidens.
In the Dutch honours system, most orders are the responsibility of ministers of the Netherlands Government. The house orders, however, are awarded at the discretion of the Dutch monarch alone.
The Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau is a chivalric order shared by the two branches of the House of Nassau.
The arms of the Flemish Community are: Or, a lion rampant sable, armed and langued gules. Although the lion has been in use for almost nine hundred years as the arms of the Count of Flanders, it only became the official symbol of the Flemish Community in 1973. At present its form and use is subject to the Decree of 7 November 1990.
The Monarchy of Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands. Consequently, a large portion of it is devoted to the monarch. Roughly a third of the document explains the succession, mechanisms of accession and abdication to the throne and the roles and duties of the monarch. This includes the formalities of communication between the States-General and the monarch's role in creating laws.
The coat of arms of the Orange Free State was the official heraldic symbol of the Orange Free State as a republic from 1857 to 1902, and later, from 1937 to 1994, as a province of South Africa. It is now obsolete.
The Prince's Flag is a Dutch flag, first used in the Dutch Revolt during the late 16th century.
The Dutch Republic Lion was the badge of the Union of Utrecht, the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, and a precursor of the current coat of arms of the Kingdom the Netherlands.