Harderwijk is located in the north-westen part of the
Province of
Gelderland and on the south-east corner of the Ijsselmeer (formerly the
Zuider Zee).
Gelderland
Gelderland is one of the oldest and largest Dutch Provinces. The oldest
arms
of a count of Gelre dates from 1190 and shows three red circles on a
golden shield. The circles were replaced before 1200 by three roses.
Early in the 13th century the arms were changed to a golden lion on a
blue field scattered with golden rectangles. These arms indicated the
military rank of the counts of Gelre. In 1339 the counts became dukes
and the rectangles were removed. At the same time the lion got two
tails and a crown. The arms were in the 14th century combined with the
arms of Gulik
(a county in
present day Germany). The counts of Gulik inherited the duchy of Gelre.
In the 15th and 16th century there were several wars of succession in
Gelderland. Finally in 1543 Charles V combined the lion of Gelderland
with the lion of Zutphen
(the dukes
were also counts of Zutphen). This was a red lion with golden crowm on
a silver shield. This combination was used until 1799. In 1802 the
present arms were used by the new province. In these arms the lion of
Zutphen is replaced by the older lion of Gulik.
Ref: http://www.ngw.nl/index.htm
