Olen

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OLEN

Province : Antwerpen

Official blazon

(1819) Gevierendeeld, het 1e en 4e van lazuur, beladen met eene vijfpuntige ster van goud, het 2e en 3e mede van lazuur en beladen met drie banden van zilver.
(1838) Vier vakken waervan het eerste en het vierde van hemelsblaeuw koleur met eene gouden ster, het tweede en derde van hemelsblaeuw koleur met dry dwarsstreepen van wit koleur.
(modern version, not official) Gevierendeeld 1. en 4. in lazuur een vijfpuntige ster van goud, 2. en 3. in lazuur drie schuinbalken van zilver.

Origin/meaning

The arms were granted on October 6, 1819 and again on May 25, 1838.

The arms are based on an image or description send by the municipality to the Dutch College of Arms in the early 19th century. No information on the meaning of origin was added, and the arms were granted as such. After the Belgian independence the arms were confirmed.

The village and esttate (later county) of Olen became a possession of the De Merode family in 1417 and the family ruled the village until the late 18th century. The only known seal of the village, dating from 1780 shows the arms of Merode with St. Martin of Tours (the local patron saint) behind the shield.

In 1995 the Flemish Heraldic Council proposed to the municipality to change the arms to the more historical Merode arms, but the municipality refused.