Netherlands Maiden

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The Netherlands Maiden or Maiden of Freedom was a National Personification symbol of the short-lived Batavian Republic, created in the Netherlands under the auspices of the victorious armies of the French Revolution.

The Maiden was depicted on the upper left corner of the Batavian Republic's flag. She was depicted with a lion at her feet. In one hand she bore a shield with the Roman fasces and in the other a lance crowned with the cap of liberty.

Louis Bonaparte, made king of Holland by his brother the Emperor Napoleon, tried to mollify his Dutch subjects by removing the Maiden from the flag and restoring the old Dutch Tricolour. Unlike other National Personifications the Netherlands Maiden, identified with a foreign rule, disappeared irrevocably after this time.

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