Halen

Heraldry of the World Civic heraldry of Belgium - Belgische Gemeentewapens / Armorial de Belgique

HALEN

Province : Limburg
Additions : 1964 Loksbergen; 1977 Zelem

Official blazon

• (1869) D'argent à deux lions de sable affrontés.
• (1989) Gedeeld : I in zilver een halve adelaar van sabel 2. in goud twee dwarsbalken van sabel en een blokzoom van zilver en van keel.

Origin/meaning

The arms were first granted on March 18, 1869 and the new arms on June 6, 1989.

The original arms of Halen showed a double-headed eagle, as can be seen on the seals of the city from the 13th century until the early 17th century. Halen received city rights in 1209 by Duke Henry I. The origin of the double eagle may have been the Abbey of Sint-Truiden, as the village was a possession of the Abbey until around 1200. The double-headed eagle also appeared on the local coins struck by Duke Henry III in the 13th century.

In the early 17th century the arms were changed to two black lions on a silver field. Whether this was deliberate, or a misinterpretation of the double eagle on the seals is not known.
These arms appear in rolls of arms from the late 16th century, on a map from 1615 and on the seal of the city in 1650.

These arms were also granted as municipal arms in 1869, see below.

After the merger in 1964 the arms were not changed, as Loksbergen used the same shield. After the merger with Zelem, the arms were changed, even though it took 12 years for the change.

The new arms show the eagle from the oldest seal of Halen, combined with the main part of the arms of Zelem.

The arms in the Koffie Hag/Café Hag albums +/- 1930

Literature : Servais, 1955; Viaene-Awouters and Warlop, 2002; image of coins from A. de Witte, Histoire monetaire des Comtes de Louvain, Ducs de Brabant et Marquis du Saint Empire Romain, 1894.