Bredene

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BREDENE

Province : West-Vlaanderen

Official blazon

(1847) D'argent, à la croix de gueules, vidée et recercelée, accompagnée au premier, d'une canette de gueules, et au quatrième, d'une canette de sable.
(1993) In zilver een geledigd krulkruis van keel, vergezeld in de rechterbovenhoek van een eendje van hetzelfde en in de linkerbenedenhoek van een eendje van sabel.

Origin/meaning

The arms were granted on April 19, 1847 and again on March 1, 1993.

The arms show a cross, derived from the cross of the Knights Templar, and two finches. The finches are a canting symbol for the Vincx Ambacht (Vink=finch). The Vincx Ambacht was a part of the Vrije van Brugge, a large territory surrounding the city of Brugge, but not belonging to the city (Vrije van Brugge means Free-of-Brugge). The area was for a long time in the Middle Ages a possession of the Knights Templar.Several municipalities in the former Vincx Ambacht use similar arms, which differ only in the number of finches. The different arms were already mentioned on the map made of the Vrije van Brugge by Pourbus in 1562.

The other villages are Nieuwmunster, Klemskerke and Vlissegem.