Open rijtuig met koningin Wilhelmina en koningin-moeder Emma en escorte bij de inhuldiging in Amsterdam 1898 - 1899

Barend Groote captured this photograph of Queen Wilhelmina's inauguration procession in Amsterdam. Prominently displayed are the large heraldic shields adorning the city, each bearing Amsterdam's emblem of three Saint Andrew's Crosses beneath a crown, emblems which function as civic and national identity. The cross, ubiquitous throughout history, finds echoes in religious and secular realms alike. From ancient protective symbols to Christian iconography, the symbol has been used to represent various ideas, carrying a charge of meaning that resonates within the collective memory of a culture. Here, the addition of the crown above the crosses suggests authority, but the crosses themselves, while still tied to St. Andrew, have become inextricably bound with Amsterdam's identity. The emblem is not static; instead, it is a cultural artifact that accumulates significance. Such symbols and iconography are a visual manifestation of cultural memory—a persistent attempt to tie the present to the past, while simultaneously imbuing it with new significance. This is how the past continues to inform the present, resurfacing in new forms, retaining traces of what once was.