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Althing

The Alþingi, anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at Þingvellir ('thing fields' or 'assembly fields'), about 45 km east of what later became the country's capital, Reykjavík. After Iceland's union with Norway in 1262, the Althing lost its legislative power, which was not restored until 1903 when Iceland gained Home Rule from Denmark. For 641 years, the Althing did not serve as the parliament of Iceland, ultimately power rested with the Norwegian, and subsequently the Danish throne. Even after Iceland's union with Norway in 1262, the Althing still held its sessions at Þingvellir until 1800, when it was discontinued. It was restored in 1844 by royal decree and moved to Reykjavík. The restored unicameral legislature first came together in 1845 and after 1874 operated in two chambers with an additional third chamber taking on a greater role as the decades passed until 1991 when Althing became once again unicameral. The present parliament building, the Alþingishús, was built in 1881, made of hewn Icelandic stone. The unicameral parliament has 63 members, and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional representation. The current speaker of the Althing is Birgir Ármannsson.

The constitution of Iceland provides for six electoral constituencies with the possibility of an increase to seven. The constituency boundaries and the number of seats allocated to each constituency are fixed by legislation. No constituency can be represented by fewer than six seats. Furthermore, each party with more than 5% of the national vote is allocated seats based on its proportion of the national vote in order that the number of members in parliament for each political party should be more or less proportional to its overall electoral support. If the number of voters represented by each member of the Althing in one constituency would be less than half of the comparable ratio in another constituency, the Icelandic National Electoral Commission is tasked with altering the allocation of seats to reduce that difference.

Foundation: c. 930 – 1262

The Althing claims to be the longest-running parliament in the world. Its establishment as an outdoor assembly or thing held on the plains of Þingvellir ('Thing Fields' or 'Assembly Fields') from about 930, laid the foundation for an independent national existence in Iceland. To begin with, the Althing was a general assembly of the Icelandic Commonwealth, where the country's most powerful leaders (goðar) met to decide on legislation and dispense justice. All free men could attend the assemblies, which were usually the main social event of the year and drew large crowds of farmers and their families, parties involved in legal disputes, traders, craftsmen, storytellers, and travellers. Those attending the assembly lived in temporary camps (búðir) during the session. The centre of the gathering was the Lögberg, or Law Rock, a rocky outcrop on which the Lawspeaker (lögsögumaður) took his seat as the presiding official of the assembly. His responsibilities included reciting aloud the laws in effect at the time. It was his duty to proclaim the procedural law of the Althing to those attending the assembly each year.

The Gulathing Law was adopted in 930 at the first Althing, introduced by Úlfljótr who had spent three years in Norway studying their laws. The Icelandic laws conferred a privileged status on the Danes, Swedes and Norwegians.

According to Njáls saga, the Althing declared Christianity as the official religion in 1000. By the summer of 1000, the leaders of Iceland had agreed that prosecuting close relatives for blaspheming the old gods was obligatory. Iceland was in the midst of unrest from the spread of Christianity that was introduced by travelers and missionaries sent by the Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason. The outbreak of warfare in Denmark and Norway prompted Thorgeir Ljosvetningagodi, a pagan and chieftain of the Althing, to propose "one law and one religion" to rule over the whole of Iceland, making baptism and conversion to Christianity required by law.

Lögrétta
Public addresses on matters of importance were delivered at the Law Rock and there the assembly was called to order and dissolved. The Lögrétta, the legislative section of the assembly, was its most powerful institution. It comprised the 39 district Chieftains (pl. goðar) plus nine additional members and the Lawspeaker. As the legislative section of the Althing, the Lögrétta took a stand on legal conflicts, adopted new laws and granted exemptions to existing laws. The Althing of old also performed a judicial function and heard legal disputes in addition to the spring assemblies held in each district. After the country had been divided into four-quarters around 965, a court of 36 judges (fjórðungsdómur) was established for each of them at the Althing. Another court (fimmtardómur) was established early in the 11th century. It served as a supreme court of sorts, and assumed the function of hearing cases left unsettled by the other courts. It comprised 48 judges appointed by the goðar of Lögrétta.

Monarchy: 1262–1800
When the Icelanders submitted to the authority of the Norwegian king under the terms of the "Old Covenant" (Gamli sáttmáli) in 1262, the function of the Althing changed. The organization of the Commonwealth came to an end and the rule of the country by goðar ceased. Executive power now rested with the king and his officials, the Royal Commissioners (hirðstjórar) and District Commissioners (sýslumenn). As before, the Lögrétta, now comprising 36 members, continued to be its principal institution and shared formal legislative power with the king. Laws adopted by the Lögrétta were subject to royal assent and, conversely, if the king initiated legislation, the Althing had to give its consent. The Lawspeaker was replaced by two legal administrators, called lögmenn.

Towards the end of the 14th century, royal succession brought both Norway and Iceland under the control of the Danish monarchy. With the introduction of absolute monarchy in Denmark, the Icelanders relinquished their autonomy to the Crown, including the right to initiate and consent to legislation. After that, the Althing served almost exclusively as a court of law until the year 1800.

High Court: 1800–1845
The Althing was disbanded by royal decree in 1800. A new High Court, established by this same decree and located in Reykjavík, took over the functions of Lögrétta. The three appointed judges first convened in Hólavallarskóli on 10 August 1801. The High Court was to hold regular sessions and function as the court of highest instance in the country. It operated until 1920, when the Supreme Court of Iceland was established.

Consultative assembly: 1845–1874
A royal decree providing for the establishment of a new Althing was issued on 8 March 1843. Elections were held the following year and the assembly finally met on 1 July 1845 in Reykjavík. Some Icelandic nationalists (the Fjölnir group) did not want Reykjavík as the location for the newly established Althing due to the perception that the city was too influenced by Danes. Jón Sigurðsson claimed that the situating of the Althing in Reykjavík would help make the city Icelandic.

It comprised 26 members sitting in a single chamber. One member was elected in each of 20 electoral districts and six "royally nominated Members" were appointed by the king. Suffrage was, following the Danish model, limited to males of substantial means and at least 25 years of age, which to begin with meant only about 5% of the population. A regular session lasted four weeks and could be extended if necessary. During this period, the Althing acted merely as a consultative body for the Crown. It examined proposed legislation and individual members could raise questions for discussion. Draft legislation submitted by the government was given two readings, an introductory one and a final one. Proposals which were adopted were called petitions. The new Althing made a number of improvements to legislation and to the administration of the country.

Legislative assembly from 1874
The Constitution of 1874 granted to the Althing joint legislative power with the Crown in matters of exclusive Icelandic concern. At the same time, the National Treasury acquired powers of taxation and financial allocation. The king retained the right to veto legislation and often, on the advice of his ministers, refused to consent to legislation adopted by the Althing. The number of members of the Althing was increased to 36, 30 of them elected in general elections in eight single-member constituencies and 11 double-member constituencies, the other six appointed by the Crown as before. The Althing was now divided into an upper chamber, known as the Efri deild and a lower chamber, known as the Neðri deild. Six elected members and the six appointed ones sat in the upper chamber, which meant that the latter could prevent legislation from being passed by acting as a bloc. Twenty-four elected representatives sat in the lower chamber. From 1874 until 1915 ad hoc committees were appointed. After 1915 seven standing committees were elected by each of the chambers. Regular sessions of the Althing convened every other year. A supplementary session was first held in 1886, and these became more frequent in the 20th century. The Althing met from 1881 in the newly built Parliament House. The Governor-General (landshöfðingi) was the highest representative of the government in Iceland and was responsible to the Advisor for Iceland (Íslandsráðgjafi) in Copenhagen.

Home rule
A constitutional amendment, confirmed on 3 October 1903, granted the Icelanders home rule and parliamentary government. Hannes Hafstein was appointed as the Icelandic minister on 1 February 1904 who was answerable to parliament. The minister had to have the support of the majority of members of the Althing; in the case of a vote of no confidence, he would have to step down. Under the constitutional amendment of 1903, the number of members was increased by four, to a total of forty. Elections to the Althing had traditionally been public – voters declared aloud which of the candidates they supported. In 1908, the secret ballot was adopted, with ballot papers on which the names of the candidates were printed. A single election day for the entire country was at the same time made mandatory. When the Constitution was amended in 1915, the royally nominated members of the Althing were replaced by six national representatives elected by proportional representation for the entire country.

Personal union
The Act of Union (which took effect on 1 December 1918) made Iceland a state in personal union with the Kingdom of Denmark. It was set to expire after 25 years, when either state could choose to leave the union. The Althing was granted unrestricted legislative power. In 1920, the number of members of the Althing was increased to 42. Since 1945, the Althing has customarily assembled in the autumn. With the Constitutional Act of 1934, the number of members was increased by seven and the system of national representatives abolished in favour of one providing for eleven seats used to equalize discrepancies between the parties' popular vote and the number of seats they received in the Althing, raising the number of members of the Althing to 49. In 1934, the voting age was also lowered to 21. Further changes in 1942 provided for an additional three members and introduced proportional representation in the double-member constituencies. The constituencies were then 28 in number: 21 single-member constituencies; six double-member constituencies; and Reykjavík, which elected eight members. With the additional eleven equalization seats, the total number of members was thus 52.

Republic
When Denmark was occupied by Germany on 9 April 1940, the union with Iceland was effectively severed. On the following day, the Althing passed two resolutions, investing the Icelandic cabinet with the power of Head of State and declaring that Iceland would accept full responsibility for both foreign policy and coastal surveillance. A year later, the Althing adopted a law creating the position of Regent to represent the Crown. This position continued until the Act of Union was repealed, and the Republic of Iceland established, at a session of the Althing held at Þingvellir on 17 June 1944.

In 1959, the system of electoral districts was changed completely. The country was divided into eight constituencies with proportional representation in each, in addition to the previous eleven equalization seats. The total number of members elected was 60. In 1968, the Althing approved the lowering of the voting age to 20 years. A further amendment to the Constitution in 1984 increased the number of members to 63 and reduced the voting age to 18 years. Further major changes were introduced in the Althing in May 1991: the two chambers, by that point having identical election methods and identical membership, were merged into a single chamber, thus introducing unicameralism. By a constitutional amendment of June 1999, implemented in May 2003, the constituency system was again changed. The number of constituencies was cut from eight to six; constituency boundaries were to be fixed by law. There are currently twelve standing committees.

Recent elections
While elections may be held every four years, they can be held more frequently due to extenuating circumstances.
 * 2003 Icelandic parliamentary election
 * 2007 Icelandic parliamentary election
 * 2009 Icelandic parliamentary election
 * 2013 Icelandic parliamentary election
 * 2016 Icelandic parliamentary election
 * 2017 Icelandic parliamentary election
 * 2021 Icelandic parliamentary election

Members (1980s–present)

 * List of members of the parliament of Iceland, 1983–1987
 * List of members of the parliament of Iceland, 1987–1991
 * List of members of the parliament of Iceland, 1991–1995
 * List of members of the Althing, 1995–1999
 * List of members of the Althing, 1999–2003
 * List of members of the Althing, 2003–2007
 * List of members of the Althing, 2007–2009
 * List of members of the Althing, 2009–2013
 * List of members of the Althing, 2013–2016
 * List of members of the Althing, 2016–2017
 * List of members of the Althing, 2017–2021
 * List of members of the Althing, 2021–present

title: Althing


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Cyperus papyrus

Cyperus papyrus, better known by the common names papyrus, papyrus sedge, paper reed, Indian matting plant, or Nile grass, is a species of aquatic flowering plant belonging to the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is a tender herbaceous perennial, native to Africa, and forms tall stands of reed-like swamp vegetation in shallow water.

Papyrus sedge (and its close relatives) has a very long history of use by humans, notably by the Ancient Egyptians (as it is the source of papyrus paper, one of the first types of paper ever made). Parts of the plant can be eaten, and the highly buoyant stems can be made into boats. It is now often cultivated as an ornamental plant.

In nature, it grows in full sun, in flooded swamps, and on lake margins throughout Africa, Madagascar, and the Mediterranean countries. It has been introduced outside its range to tropical regions worldwide (such as the Indian subcontinent, South America, and the Caribbean).

Description
This tall, robust aquatic plant can grow 4 to 5 m high, but on the margins of high altitude lakes such as Lake Naivasha in Kenya and Lake Tana in Ethiopia, at altitudes around 6000 ft the papyrus culms can measure up to 29.5 ft in length, with an additional 18 in for the inflorescence (a spicate umbel; i.e. each of the up to one thousand rays of the umbel terminates in a spike of small flowers) for a total height of 31 ft. Each culm is a single internode —the longest known of any plant. At Lake Naivasha, the culms, triangular in cross-section, were as much as 7 in on a side in width. It forms a grass-like clump of triangular green stems that rise up from thick, woody rhizomes. Each stem is topped by a dense cluster of thin, bright green, thread-like rays around 10 to 30 cm in length, resembling a feather duster when the plant is young. Greenish-brown flower clusters eventually appear at the ends of the rays, giving way to brown, nut-like fruits.

Although no leaves are apparent above the soil line, the younger parts of the rhizome are covered by red-brown, papery, triangular scales, which also cover the base of the culms. Technically, these are reduced leaves, so strictly it is not quite correct to call this plant fully "leafless".

Papyrus in history
Egyptians used the plant (which they called aaru, or the subspecies C. p. papyrus, which came very close to extinction, but was rediscovered in 1968. ) for many purposes, including for making papyrus paper. Its name has an uncertain origin, but was rendered in Hellenistic Greek as πάπυρος.

In the Nile Delta, Cyperus papyrus was widely cultivated in ancient times. It is for example depicted on a restored stucco fragment from the palace of Amenhotep III near the present-day village of Malkata. Currently, only a small population remains in Egypt, in Wadi El Natrun. Theophrastus's History of Plants (Book iv. 10) states that it grew in Syria, and according to Pliny's Natural History, it was also a native plant of the Niger River and the Euphrates. Neither the explorer Peter Forsskål, an apostle of Carl Linnaeus, in the 18th century, nor the Napoleonic expedition saw it in the delta.

Aside from papyrus, several other members of the genus Cyperus may also have been involved in the multiple uses Egyptians found for the plant. Its flowering heads were linked to make garlands for the gods in gratitude. The pith of young shoots was eaten both cooked and raw. Its woody root made bowls and other utensils and was burned for fuel. From the stems were made reed boats (seen in bas-reliefs of the Fourth Dynasty showing men cutting papyrus to build a boat; similar boats are still made in southern Sudan), sails, mats, cloth, cordage, and sandals. Theophrastus states that King Antigonus made the rigging of his fleet of papyrus, an old practice illustrated by the ship's cable, wherewith the doors were fastened when Odysseus slew the suitors in his hall (Odyssey xxi. 390).

The "rush" or "reed" basket in which the Biblical figure Moses is supposed to have been placed may have been made from papyrus.

The adventurer Thor Heyerdahl had a boat built for him of papyrus, Ra, in an attempt to demonstrate that ancient African or Mediterranean people could have reached America. He was unsuccessful with this boat. Fishermen in the Okavango Delta use small sections of the stem as floats for their nets.

Ecology
Papyrus can be found in tropical rain forests, tolerating annual temperatures of 20 to 30 °C and a soil pH of 6.0 to 8.5. It flowers in late summer, and prefers full sun to partly shady conditions. Like most tropical plants, it is sensitive to frost. In the United States, it has become invasive in Florida and has escaped from cultivation in Louisiana, California, and Hawaii.

Papyrus sedge forms vast stands in swamps, shallow lakes, and along stream banks throughout the wetter parts of Africa, but it has become rare in the Nile Delta. In deeper waters, it is the chief constituent of the floating, tangled masses of vegetation known as sudd. It also occurs in Madagascar, and some Mediterranean areas such as Sicily and the Levant.

The "feather-duster" flowering heads make ideal nesting sites for many social species of birds. As in most sedges, pollination is by wind, not insects, and the mature fruits after release are distributed by water.

Papyrus is a C4 sedge that forms highly productive monotypic stands over large areas of wetland in Africa.

Cultivation
The papyrus plant is relatively easy to grow from seed, though in Egypt, it is more common to split the rootstock, and grows quite fast once established. Extremely moist soil or roots sunken in the water is preferred and the plant can flower all year long. Vegetative propagation is the suggested process of creating new plants. It is done by splitting the rhizomes into small groups and planting normally. It can reach heights of up to 16 feet tall. C. papyrus is considered to be hardy in USDA hardiness zones 9 and 10.

C. papyrus and the dwarf cultivar C. papyrus 'Nanus' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017).

Uses
In Ancient Egypt, papyrus was used for various of purposes such as baskets, sandals, blankets, medicine, incense, and boats. The woody root was used to make bowls and utensils, and was burned for fuel. The Papyrus Ebers refers to the use of soft papyrus tampons by Egyptian women in the 15th century BCE. Egyptians made efficient use of all parts of the plant. Papyrus was an important "gift of the Nile" which is still preserved and perpetuated in Egyptian culture.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Cyperus papyrus


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Achtkarspelen

Achtkarspelen is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, it had a population of 27,900.

History
The name Achtkarspelen, literally meaning "eight parishes", is derived from the original eight parishes within the grietenij, namely: Augustinusga, Buitenpost (the capital), Drogeham, De Kooten, Kortwoude, Lutkepost, Surhuizum and Twijzel. Achtkarspelen held a separate status within Friesland for many years. In the Middle Ages Achtkarspelen fell under the Bishopric of Münster, meanwhile the rest of Friesland was a part of the Bishopric of Utrecht.

The grietenij Achtkarspelen became a municipality in 1851 as a result of the Municipality Act of Minister of the Interior Johan Rudolph Thorbecke.

Population centres
The administrative centre in the municipality is Buitenpost.

Notable people

 * Derk Holman (1916 in Buitenpost – 1982 in Groningen) a Dutch sculptor and ceramist
 * Louw de Graaf (born 1930 in Kootstertille) a retired Dutch politician and trade union leader.
 * Gerriet Postma (1932 in Twijzelerheide – 2009) a Dutch painter
 * Johannes Lützen Bouma (born 1934 in Twijzelerheide) a Dutch economist and academic
 * David Porcelijn (born 1947 in Achtkarspelen) a Dutch composer and conductor
 * Joop Atsma (born 1956 in Surhuisterveen) a Dutch politician and sport administrator.
 * Meindert Talma (born 1968 in Surhuisterveen) a Dutch lo-fi singer and keyboardist
 * Oedo Kuipers (born 1989 in Stroobos) a Dutch singer and actor in musical theatre

title: Achtkarspelen


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Boarnsterhim

Boarnsterhim (Boornsterhem ) was a municipality in the northern Netherlands. On 1 January 2014, the municipality was dissolved and its territory was split between four other municipalities: De Friese Meren, which was established that day, Leeuwarden, Heerenveen and Súdwest-Fryslân.

Population centres
Akkrum, Aldeboarn (Oldeboorn), Dearsum (Deersum), Eagum (Aegum), Friens, Grou (Grouw), Idaerd (Idaard), Jirnsum (Irnsum), Nes, Poppenwier (Poppingawier), Raerd (Rauwerd), Reduzum (Roordahuizum), Sibrandabuorren (Sijbrandaburen), Terherne (Terhorne), Tersoal (Terzool), Warstiens, Warten (Wartena), Wergea (Warga).

(Dutch names)

Railway stations

 * Akkrum
 * Grou-Jirnsum

Attractions

 * Aquaverium

title: Boarnsterhim


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Bolsward

Bolsward (, West Frisian: Boalsert) is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of Sneek.

History
The town is founded on three artificial dwelling mounds, the first of which was built some time before Christ. During the Middle Ages, Bolsward was a trade center and port city connected to the North Sea via the Middle Sea. This connection was lost when the Middle Sea was reclaimed to form arable land. After this, a canal was dug to the Zuiderzee. The town is first mentioned in AD 725.

As a trading city, Bolsward was granted city rights by Philip the Good in 1455. Bolsward was made a member of the Hanseatic league in 1422. Before being merged into the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân, the town of Bolsward was an independent municipality.

Notable historical figures
Notable historical figures born here include:
 * Juw Juwinga or Jonghema (14th century), 11th potestate of Friesland
 * Petrus Thaborita (1450–1527), historian
 * Boetius Adamsz Bolswert (c.1580-1633), engraver
 * Schelderic Adamsz Bolswert (c.1586-1659), engraver
 * Gysbert Japiks (1603–1666), poet
 * Frederick Philipse (1626–1702), American progenitor and founder
 * Willem Muurling (1805–1882), theologian
 * Titus Brandsma (1881–1942), Carmelite philosopher

Events
Heamiel. A local festival of four days in June. This is an old traditional festival to celebrate that the farmers finished getting the hay from the fields. The name of the festival, Heamiel, is Frisian for 'Hay meal', and is derived from the traditional banquet.

Bolletongersdei. Bolletongersdei is Frisian for 'bulls Thursday'. Bolletongersdei includes a street market. Bolletongersdei is held on the first Thursday of October.

Simmerwike. A festival of four evenings with musical performances, held in August.

Elfstedentocht
Bolsward is one of the eleven Frisian cities in which the ice skating Elfstedentocht, an ice skating marathon, is held. Because the marathon depends on the thickness of the ice, it is not held on a regular schedule and is somewhat rare.

Bolsward is also the host city for the yearly Cycling Elfstedentocht, a road bicycle racing tour.

Notable buildings

 * Protestant church of Bolsward
 * Gysbert Japicx House, birth place and museum about Gysbert Japiks.
 * Broerekerk (burned 1980, repurposed 2006)Bolsward-Broerekerk-May-2018.jpg

title: Bolsward


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Dantumadiel

Dantumadiel is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. Dantumadiel is a rural municipality characterized by economic activity and agriculture.

History
The first time Dantumadiel is mentioned was in a document from 1242. At that time Dantumadiel, or Donthmadeil as it was then known, was a part of the Winninghe district, the northern part of Oostergo. The grietenij (municipality) Dantumadiel was led by a grietman (mayor) who was holding office in Rinsumageast and Dantumawâld. The Dutch Municipalities Act of 1851 (Dutch: Gemeentewet van 1851) abolished the grietenijen, which automatically became gemeenten (municipalities) headed by a mayor.

Population centres
The Dantumadiel municipality is composed of 11 towns with a total of 19,030 inhabitants in 2014; the towns and their 2014 populations are listed in the table.

Source: Website Dantumadiel municipality

* Including Feanwâldsterwâl

Main sights

 * Damwâld (Dantumawâld and Moarrewâld) and Rinsumageast, are home to medieval churches.
 * The villages Broeksterwâld (Grutte Mûne and De Broekmolen) Rinsumageast and Readtsjerk are home to mills.
 * The Skierstins a medieval fortified house in Feanwâlden.

Notable people

 * Maria Petronella Woesthoven (1760 in Dantumawoude – 1830) a Dutch poet
 * Tjeerd Pasma (1904 in Rinsumageast – 1944) a Dutch modern pentathlete, competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics
 * Piet Jongeling (1909 in Broeksterwâld – 1985) journalist, politician and children's books writer
 * Theun de Vries (1907 in Feanwâlden – 2005) writer and poet
 * Jannes van der Wal (1956 in Driezum – 1996) a Dutch/Frisian draughts player
 * Syb van der Ploeg (born 1966 in Dokkum) musician and composer
 * Theo Pijper (born 1980 in Dokkum) a Dutch motorcycle speedway rider in the UK

Politics
The Dantumadiel municipal government consists of a municipal council, board of aldermen and the mayor. Klaas Agricola, (Dutch Wiki) has been the mayor of Dantumadiel since December 2017.

title: Dantumadiel


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Dongeradeel

Dongeradeel (Dongeradiel ) is a former municipality in the northern Netherlands. In 2019 it merged with the municipalities of Ferwerderadiel and Kollumerland en Nieuwkruisland to form the new municipality Noardeast-Fryslân.

History
Dongeradeel was created in 1984 from the merging of the old municipalities Westdongeradeel, Oostdongeradeel, and Dokkum.

Population centres
Aalsum, Anjum, Bornwird, Brantgum, Dokkum, Ee, Engwierum, Foudgum, Hantum, Hantumeruitburen, Hantumhuizen, Hiaure, Holwerd, Jouswier, Lioessens, Metslawier, Moddergat, Morra, Nes, Niawier, Oosternijkerk, Oostmahorn, Oostrum, Paesens, Raard, Ternaard, Waaxens, Wetsens, Wierum.

Topography

Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Dongeradeel, June 2015.

Notable people

 * Ritske Jelmera (1383 in Ternaard - 1450) a Frisian chieftain who ruled the island of Ameland
 * Johannes Phocylides Holwarda (1618 in Holwerd — 1651) a Frisian astronomer, physician, philosopher and academic
 * Hans Willem van Aylva (ca.1633 in Holwerd - 1691) a Dutch soldier
 * Balthasar Bekker (1634 in Metslawier – 1698) a Dutch minister and author of philosophical and theological works opposing superstition
 * Nienke van Hichtum (1860 in Nes, Dongeradeel – 1939) a Frisian Dutch children's author
 * Willem van der Woude (1876 in Oosternijkerk – 1974) a Dutch mathematician and academic
 * Meindert DeJong (1906 in Wierum – 1991) a Dutch-born American writer of children's books
 * Lou Dijkstra (1909 in Paesens – 1964) a Dutch speed skater, competed in the 1936 Winter Olympics
 * Theo Hiddema (born 1944 in Holwerd) a Dutch lawyer, media personality and politician
 * Sybe I. Rispens (born 1969 in Dokkum) a Dutch writer, scientist and entrepreneur

title: Dongeradeel


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Ferwerderadiel

Ferwerderadiel is a former municipality of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. Its official name is West Frisian, the Dutch name is Ferwerderadeel. In 2019 it merged with the municipalities of Dongeradeel and Kollumerland en Nieuwkruisland to form the new municipality Noardeast-Fryslân.

Population centres
Bartlehiem, Blije, Burdaard, Ferwert, Ginnum, Hallum, Hegebeintum, Jannum, Jislum, Lichtaard, Marrum, Reitsum, Wânswert, Westernijtsjerk.

Topography

'Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Ferwerderadiel, June 2015

Notable people

 * Saint Frederick of Hallum (ca. 1113 – 1175) a Premonstratensian priest
 * Barthold Douma van Burmania (1695 in Hallum – 1766) a Dutch statesman and ambassador to the court of Vienna
 * Pieter Boeles (1795 in Ferwerd – 1875) a Dutch Minister and linguist
 * Gerardus Heymans (1857 in Ferwert – 1930) a Dutch philosopher, psychologist and academic
 * Watse Cuperus (1891 in Blije – 1966) a Dutch journalist and writer in the West Frisian language
 * Eeltsje Boates Folkertsma (1893 in Ferwert – 1968) a West Frisian language writer
 * Maria Sterk (born 1979 in Hallum) a Dutch marathon speed skater

title: Ferwerderadiel


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Franekeradeel

Franekeradeel is a former municipality in the northern Netherlands. It was created in 1984 by combining an earlier Franekeradeel municipality with the city of Franeker and parts of the former municipality of Barradeel. On 1 January 2018 it merged with the municipalities of het Bildt, Menameradiel and parts of Littenseradiel to form the new municipality Waadhoeke.

Population centres
Achlum, Boer, Dongjum, Firdgum, Franeker, Herbaijum, Hitzum, Klooster-Lidlum, Oosterbierum, Peins, Pietersbierum, Ried, Schalsum, Sexbierum, Tzum, Tzummarum, Zweins.

Topography

Dutch Topographic map of the former municipality of Franekeradeel, June 2015

title: Franekeradeel


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Gaasterlân-Sleat

Gaasterlân-Sleat is a former municipality in the northern Netherlands. Its official name is in West Frisian, the Dutch name being Gaasterland-Sloten. In 2014 it merged with the municipalities of Lemsterland and Skarsterlân to form the new municipality De Fryske Marren.

Population centres
Bakhuizen, Balk, Elahuizen, Harich, Kolderwolde, Mirns, Nijemirdum, Oudega, Oudemirdum, Rijs, Ruigahuizen, Sloten, Sondel and Wijckel.

Demographics
In 2010
 * Dutch: 94.3%
 * Black: 0.4%
 * European: 4.0%
 * Arabs: 0.2%
 * Other non Western: 1.1%:

title: Gaasterlân-Sleat


text:
Het Bildt

het Bildt ( or ) is a former municipality in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands; its capital was Sint Annaparochie. On 1 January 2018 it merged with the municipalities of Franekeradeel, Menameradiel and parts of Littenseradiel to form the new municipality Waadhoeke.

Het Bildt has 15.4 km of coastline. Its soil is very fertile and agriculture is a major part of its economy; crops grown include onions, potatoes, and a variety of fruits (mainly apples). Het Bildt was largely settled by Dutch inhabitants from South Holland; as a result, the language generally spoken there is "Bildts", a dialect that mixes Dutch (as spoken in South Holland) with West Frisian; Bildts is usually classified as a dialect of Dutch. All three languages - Bildts, Dutch, and West Frisian - are spoken in the area. Only in Minnertsga (which did not become a part of the municipality of Het Bildt until 1984) is West Frisian the predominant language. Signage in Het Bildt is generally bilingual, with names given in both Dutch and Bildts.

The name Het Bildt is formed out of the word opbilden which means the silting up of land.

Population centres
Number of inhabitants as of 1 January 2004: Source: CBS

History
The region now called Het Bildt was formed out of a sea called the Middelsee (or Bordine) and was at one time subject to serious floods. The Middlesee once separated the western lands from the rest of the Frisian mainland. The western part was called Westergoa and the city of Franeker was in its center. The eastern part was called Eastergoa. The city Leeuwarden was located along Eastergoa's western coast. The Middelsee stretched all the way from the north to the west of Bolsward. Earlier it extended still further, all the way to the Zuiderzee (now het IJsselmeer) and Westergoa was an Island only accessible by boat. Around 1300 the sea began to become less accessible to boats. Eventually a dike was raised between the villages Beetgumermolen and Britsum to stop the continuous overflooding. As a result, the area south of this dike was no longer subject to the effects of tides and the parts that weren't already dry became solid land. Westergo and Oostergo were connected. The Swette has been kept as a small river between Leeuwarden and Sneek. After the dike was raised, the northern part of the Middelsee also gradually silted. In 1398 the newly reclaimed dry lands were given by the Duke Albert I of Bavaria to Arnold I, Lord of Egmond, Lord of IJsselstein. In 1498, even more land became dry. This trend, caused by the Waddenzee's tide, has continued to the present.

The new dry land consisted of two regions, called "Het Grote Bildt" and "Het Kleine Bildt", and both came under the ownership of the Saxon duke Albert of Saxony-Meissen. He seriously considered converting the whole region into solid dry land but he was out of funds and died within a few years in 1504. The Saxon control of Friesland was by no means secure and was continually threatened by revolts in that province. Consequently, Albert's successor Heinrich of Saxony, who was of a rather inert disposition, relinquished his claims to the governorship, and in 1505 an agreement was made between Albert's two sons by which Friesland was transferred to Heinrich's brother, George of Saxony, while Heinrich received an annuity and the districts of Freiberg and Wolkenstein.

In June 1505, Duke George of Saxony signed an eleven-year farming-lease-agreement with the noble brothers from South Holland, Dirk van Wijngaarden, Floris van Wijngaarden, and Jakob Oem van Wijngaarden, and their brother in law Thomas Beukelaar. The brothers started the project in 1505 but in the years that followed the dykes they had laid could still not prevent the tides from flooding the land. After receiving money from George of Saxony and hiring the help of two nobles, misters Davelaer and Bontemantel, they accomplished the immense task of dyking the area properly. "Het Bildt" was diked by a 14 km dike which was fashioned purely by hand, spade, boats, and mud. This work was accomplished by many workmen from three Dutch provinces: South Holland, Zeeland, and Friesland. The area was mathematically planned and consists of straight, parallel roads pointing from south to north or east to west.

Along the main road three villages were formed. They are named Wijngaarden, Altoenae, and Kijfhoek, after the villages (Wijngaarden, Altoenae and Kijfhoek) in South Holland, the province from which most of the workers came. In time the villages formed Catholic parishes (parochie) and the names of these parishes eventually were used as the names for these villages. Since then the villages have been called Sint Jacobiparochie, Sint Annaparochie and Vrouwenparochie. George of Saxony was unable to suppress the revolts of the Schieringers and Gelderschen (who formed a pact) and in 1514 he was required to hand over the whole Bildt area to the Count of Holland and Zeeland, with the permission of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor.

When the "Republic of the Seven United Netherlands" fought and freed itself from Spain, Het Bildt became the 29th county of Friesland. Eventually, it was decided that the area north of the dike would also be diked; this was done in 1600. The new dike was called the "Nieuwe Bildtdijk" and the old 14-kilometer-long dike was called "Oude Bildtdijk". The area in between was called "Nij Bildt" and in 1637 was sold because the Frisian province was short on money. It is claimed that the Frisian farmhouses which can be seen throughout Friesland originated in Het Bildt. The former South Holland province inhabitants brought the design with them and it was later exploited for use all over the Frisian province (though the typical Bildts farmhouses do vary from Frisian farmhouses). In 1715 another western area was diked, named the "Wester Bildtpollen". On 12 March 1751 the rest of this area was also sold. In 1754 the eastern part, the "Ooster Bildtpollen" was diked.

Today the "Oude Bildtdijk" and the "Nieuwe Bildtdijk" are both covered with roads and houses; the road that runs across the old 14*kilometer long dike is the longest in the Netherlands.

title: Het Bildt


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Kollumerland en Nieuwkruisland

Kollumerland en Nieuwkruisland (en Nijkrúslân), officially abbreviated as Kollumerland c.a., is a municipality in the northern Netherlands, located in the province of Friesland. In 2019 it merged with the municipalities of Dongeradeel and Ferwerderadiel to form the new municipality Noardeast-Fryslân.

Population centres
Augsbuurt, Burum, Kollum, Kollumerpomp, Kollumerzwaag, Munnekezijl, Oudwoude, Triemen, Veenklooster, Warfstermolen, Westergeest and Zwagerbosch.

Kollumerland en Nieuwkruisland has a population of 12,775 (1 April 2016, source: CBS).

Topography

Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Kollumerland en Nieuwkruisland, June 2015.

Government
The Burum community houses the satellite ground station of the Nationale SIGINT Organisatie.

title: Kollumerland en Nieuwkruisland


text:
Leeuwarderadeel

Leeuwarderadeel (Ljouwerteradiel) is a former municipality in the northern Netherlands. Its capital was Stiens.

History
On 1 January 2018 it merged with the municipality of Leeuwarden.

Population centres

 * Bartlehiem
 * Britsum
 * Cornjum
 * Finkum
 * Hijum
 * Jelsum
 * Oude Leije
 * Stiens

Topography

Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Leeuwarderadeel, June 2015.

Bartlehiem
The hamlet of Bartlehiem is partially in Leeuwarderadeel partially in Ferwerderadiel and partially in Tytsjerksteradiel.

title: Leeuwarderadeel


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Lemsterland

Lemsterland (Lemsterlân) is a former municipality in the northern Netherlands. In 2014 it merged with the municipalities of Skarsterlân and Gaasterlân-Sleat to form the new municipality De Fryske Marren.

Population centres

 * Bantega
 * Delfstrahuizen
 * Echten
 * Echtenerbrug
 * Eesterga
 * Follega
 * Lemmer
 * Oosterzee
 * Oosterzee-Buren

title: Lemsterland


text:
Littenseradiel

Littenseradiel is a former municipality in the northern Netherlands, known in Dutch as Littenseradeel. The municipality was formed on 1 January 1984 by a merger of the former municipalities Baarderadeel and Hennaarderadeel. On 1 January 2018, the municipality was dissolved and its territory was split between three other municipalities: Waadhoeke, which was established that day, Leeuwarden and Súdwest-Fryslân.

Population centers
Baaium, Baard, Bears, Boazum, Britswert, Easterlittens, Easterwierrum, Hidaard, Hilaard, Hinnaard, Húns, Iens, Itens, Jellum, Jorwert, Kûbaard, Leons, Lytsewierrum, Mantgum, Reahûs, Rien, Spannum, Waaksens, Weidum, Winsum, Wiuwert, Wjelsryp, Wommels.

Topography

Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Littenseradiel, June 2015

title: Littenseradiel


text:
Menameradiel

Menameradiel (Menaldumadeel ) is a former municipality in Friesland, Netherlands. On 1 January 2018 it merged with the municipalities of Franekeradeel, het Bildt and parts of Littenseradiel to form the new municipality Waadhoeke.

Population centres
Population centres as of 1 January 2007:

 * Beetgum (754)
 * Beetgumermolen (944)
 * Berlikum (2,492)
 * Blessum (92)
 * Boksum (449)
 * Deinum (1,071)
 * Dronryp (3,427)
 * Engelum (415)
 * Kleaster-Anjum (50)
 * Marssum (1,156)
 * Menaam (2,612)
 * Schingen (108)
 * Slappeterp (80)
 * Wier (207).

Topography

Dutch Topographic map of the former municipality of Menaldumadeel, June 2015

title: Menameradiel


text:
Nijefurd

Nijefurd is a former municipality in the northern Netherlands, in the province of Friesland.

History
It was formed in 1984 from the old municipalities of Hindeloopen, Stavoren, and Workum, and part of Hemelumer Oldeferd.

In 2011, it formed together with the municipalities of Bolsward, Sneek, Wûnseradiel and Wymbritseradiel the new municipality Súdwest Fryslân.

Population centres

 * Hemelum
 * Hindeloopen
 * It Heidenskip
 * Koudum
 * Molkwerum
 * Nijhuizum
 * Stavoren
 * Warns
 * Workum.

title: Nijefurd


text:
Ooststellingwerf

Ooststellingwerf (Stellingwarfs: Ooststellingwarf) is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It is one of the municipalities of Friesland where Stellingwerfs, a dialect of Dutch Low Saxon, is spoken rather than West Frisian.

Population centres
• Appelscha

• Donkerbroek

• Elsloo

• Fochteloo

• Haule

• Haulerwijk

• Langedijke

• Makkinga

• Nijeberkoop

• Oldeberkoop

• Oosterwolde

• Ravenswoud

• Waskemeer

Hamlets
The hamlets within the municipality are: 't Hoogezand, Aekinga, Bekhof, Bentemaden, Boekhorst, Bovenveld, Bûterheideveld, Buttinga, Canada, De Bult, De Knolle, De Koelanden, De Monden (partially), De Riete, Deddingabuurt, Drie Tolhekken, Elleboog, Egypte, Frankrijk, Hoogeduurswoude, Janssenstichting, Jardinga, Konijnenbuurt, Koudenburg, Klazinga, Laagduurswoude, Medhuizen, Moskou (partially), Nanninga, Nieuwe Vaart, Oude Willem (partially), Petersburg (partially), Prandinga, Rolpaal, Schottelenburg, Schrappinga, Terwisscha, Tronde, Twijtel, Veneburen, Venekoten, Weper, Weperpolder, Willemstad, Zuid (partially) and Zuidhorn.

Topography
Map of the municipality of Ooststellingwerf, June 2015

Notable people

 * Anne Vondeling (1916 in Appelscha – 1979) a Dutch politician
 * Prof Dirk ter Haar FRSE FIP (1919 in Oosterwolde – 2002) an Anglo-Dutch physicist
 * Piet Bergveld (born 1940 in Oosterwolde) a Dutch emeritus professor of biosensors, invented ISFET

Sport

 * Joop Alberda (born 1952 in Oosterwolde) a retired volleyball coach
 * Halbe Zijlstra (born 1969 in Oosterwolde) a retired Dutch politician
 * Jan Kromkamp (born 1980 in Makkinga) a Dutch retired footballer with 316 club caps
 * Sjoerd Hamburger (born 1983 in Oldeberkoop) a rower who competes in the single scull, competed in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics
 * Marrit Steenbergen (born 2000 in Ooststellingwerf) a Dutch competitive swimmer, gold medallist at the 2015 European Games

title: Ooststellingwerf


text:
Opsterland

Opsterland is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands.

Population centres
• Bakkeveen

• Beetsterzwaag

• Drachten-Azeven

• Frieschepalen

• Gorredijk

• Hemrik

• Jonkerslân

• Langezwaag

• Lippenhuizen

• Luxwoude

• Nij Beets

• Olterterp

• Siegerswoude

• Terwispel

• Tijnje

• Ureterp

• Wijnjewoude

Drachten-Azeven is an industrial zone of Drachten located in Opsterland.

Hamlets
The hamlets within the municipality are: Ald Beets, Allardsoog (partially), De Hanebuert, De Koaibosk, Easterein, Foarwurk, Haneburen, Heidehuizen, Hemrikerverlaat, Klein Groningen, Kortezwaag, Moskou (partially), Nieuwe Vaart, Petersburg (partially), Rolbrêge, Selmien, Sparjebird, Ulesprong, Ureterp aan de Vaart, Vosseburen, Welgelegen (partially), Wijngaarden and Wijnjeterpverlaat.

Topography
Map of the municipality of Opsterland, June 2015

Twin towns — sister cities
Opsterland is twinned with:
 * 🇮🇱 Ra'anana, Israel (since 1963)
 * Beit Sahour, Palestine

The choice of twinning with both an Israeli city and a Palestinian one is Opsterland's modest contribution to trying to solve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. As well as bilateral contacts with both of their partners, the Dutch officials try to encourage trilateral meetings and induce greater contact between Ra'anana and Beit Sahour, which are located at a short geographical distance from each other but are separated by conflict and mutual mistrust. In 2012 Francisca Ravestein, Nahum Hofree, Hani Al-Hayik – the mayors, respectively, of Opsterland, Ra'anana and Beit Sahour – jointly inaugurated a photo exhibition at the municipal building in Opsterland.

Notable people

 * Tinco Martinus Lycklama à Nijeholt (1837 in Beetsterzwaag – 1900) a Frisian aristocrat, adventurer, writer, socialite and a Dutch orientalist
 * Sytze Wierda (1839 in Hemrik – 1911) an architect and engineer, worked on the architecture of the South African Republic
 * Tjeerd Bottema (1884 in Langezwaag – 1978) a painter, illustrator and book cover designer
 * Hein Vos (1903 in Tijnje – 1972) a politician and economist
 * Eduard Meine van Zinderen-Bakker (1907 in Opsterland – 2002) a Dutch-born South African palynologist
 * Gerard van Klaveren (born 1951 in Terneuzen) a Dutch politician

Sport

 * Riemer van der Velde (born 1940 in Bakkeveen) the former chairman of football club SC Heerenveen
 * Foppe de Haan (born 1943 in Lippenhuizen) a Dutch football coach with SC Heerenveen
 * Lieuwe de Boer (born 1951 in Ureterp) a former ice speed skater, bronze medallist at the 1980 Winter Olympics
 * Hilbert van der Duim (born 1957 in Beetsterzwaag) a Dutch former speed skater, participated in the 1980 and 1984 Winter Olympics

title: Opsterland


text:
Schiermonnikoog

Schiermonnikoog is an island, a municipality and national park in the Northern Netherlands. Schiermonnikoog is one of the West Frisian Islands, and is part of the province of Friesland. It is situated between the islands of Ameland and Rottumerplaat.

The island is 16 km long and 4 km wide and is the site of the Netherlands' first national park. The only village on the island is also called Schiermonnikoog. Around 943 people permanently reside on the island, making the municipality both the least populated and the least densely populated in the Netherlands. Because the island is small and flat, only 200 islanders have taken out the special licence allowing them to keep their own car, with the result that the few streets are virtually car-free.

Roughly 300,000 people visit the island every year, staying in the 5,500 beds available in holiday homes, apartments and hotels. Most visitors, however, are day trippers (about 4,000 a day in July and August alone), with the result that after the last ferry leaves at 7.30pm, calm returns to Langestreek, the village high street.

History
Thanks to the tidal current, the prevailing winds, and North Sea storms, the island is slowly moving to the south and the east. In the year 1250, it lay roughly 2 km to the north of its present position, and it then had a significantly different shape.

The earliest mention of Schiermonnikoog in writing dates from October 1440, in a document written for Philip the Good. The island's first known owners were the monks of Klaarkamp Abbey, a Cistercian monastery near Rinsumageest, on the mainland. "Monnik" means "monk", "schier" is an archaic word meaning "grey", referring to the colour of the monks' habits, and "oog" translates as "island". The name Schiermonnikoog can therefore be translated as Grey Monk Island.

During the Reformation, the monasteries in the northern Netherlands were dissolved. In 1580, Schiermonnikoog became the property of the States of Friesland. Around 1640, the States sold the island to the wealthy Stachouwer family, and for the next three centuries, Schiermonnikoog remained private property.

Around 1700, the population of Schiermonnikoog was divided among four villages or settlements. The largest of these was Westerburen, which had developed around the medieval buildings of the grey monks. In 1717 and 1720, storms flooded Westerburen, which had to be abandoned around 1725, because of drifting sand and the advancing sea. In 1756 a new town, named Oosterburen, was built to the east. Nowadays this second village is named Schiermonnikoog, after the island. Also in the 18th century the people of the island rebelled against Lady Catharina Maria Stachouwer, and the States of Friesland sent troops to protect her and to restore law and order.

In August 1799, during the Napoleonic Wars, a small squadron of Britain's Royal Navy under the command of Captain Adam Mackenzie of HMS Pylades attacked and captured the former Royal Navy gun-brig Crash, moored between Schiermonnikoog and Groningen. The boats of Mackenzie's squadron then attacked the six-gun Dutch schooner Vengeance and a battery on Schiermonnikoog. The British were able to burn the schooner and spike the guns of the battery.

In 1859, the Stachouwer family sold the island to from The Hague. Among other works Banck started planting the sand dunes with marram grass to stabilize them. There is now a monument to him on the top of the dike that he built.

In 1892 Banck sold the island to a German count, Berthold von Bernstorff. In 1940, Bechtold Eugen von Bernstorff, his grandson, inherited Schiermonnikoog That same year, during the Second World War, KLM briefly provided passenger and postal services to Schiermonnikoog and nearby Ameland, landing its Douglas DC-3s on the beach. In May the Germans invaded the Netherlands, and the Wehrmacht occupied the island, but Bernstorff ensured that the islanders were largely left in peace.

During the War, the German Army heavily fortified the island as part of the Atlantic Wall defence line, and the number of German troops came to equal the island's native population of 600. Towards the end of the war, hundreds of SS troops, along with members of the SD, fled to the island, reinforcing the German contingent already there.

After the German surrender, the Germans on the island failed to accept the surrender, but the Canadian forces responsible for the sector that included the island did not attack them to force their surrender. After several weeks of negotiations the German commander did agree to respect the surrender and the German soldiers were evacuated to Wilhelmshaven in Germany. On 11 June 1945 the island became the last part of the Netherlands to be liberated from Axis occupation by the Allies.

After the War, the Dutch government confiscated Schiermonnikoog from Bernstorff on the grounds that he was German and owned the island during the war, making it 'enemy property'. In 1949 the island became an independent municipality and part of the Province of Friesland. Bernstorff died in 1987 and is buried on Schiermonnikoog in the graveyard of its Reformed Church.

In 2006 the eastern border of the island was moved eastward, into the former territory of the municipality of Eemsmond in the province of Groningen, so that the municipal government of Schiermonnikoog would have the ability to respond from its own territory in the event of a calamity or disaster.

Tourism
The main source of income on Schiermonnikoog is tourism. The island houses a campground, a ferry pier, a tidal harbour for small vessels and approximately 15 hotels and hundreds of vacation houses and apartments. The eastern part of the island forms an important nature reserve, with access very restricted during the breeding season of the many birds that nest there. The island as a whole is Schiermonnikoog National Park, one of the Dutch national parks.

File:Het baken op de uitlopers van de Kobbeduinen van Schiermonnikoog.jpg

Travel
The only public transport to Schiermonnikoog is a ferry from the lock and harbour complex of Lauwersoog. Even during the winter months there are more than two connections per day.

Tourists are not allowed to bring their cars with them on the ferry. Buses connect the village with the ferry. The most common form of transport is by bicycle; a network of cycle paths criss-crosses the island and two bicycle rental companies provide roughly 5000 bicycles for tourists.

Due to environment and health concerns, since 2013 six Chinese electric buses BYD ebus (range of about 250 km) are the only buses on the island for at least the 15-year contract period (BYD won the contract, beating its European opponents).

Notable people

 * Bas Eenhoorn (born 1946), politician, former mayor of Schiermonnikoog (1976–1983)

title: Schiermonnikoog


text:
Skarsterlân

Skarsterlân (Scharsterland ) is a former municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. The municipality was created 1 January 1984 by merging the municipalities of Doniawerstal and Haskerland, the part of Utingeradeel consisting of the villages Akmarijp and Terkaple and the village Nieuwebrug that used to belong to Heerenveen. City hall was located in Joure. On 1 January 2014 it merged with the municipalities of Lemsterland and Gaasterlân-Sleat to form the new municipality De Fryske Marren.

At first, the Dutch name Scharsterland was chosen, but as of 1 March 1985, the West Frisian name Skarsterlân was adopted and the Dutch name became obsolete.

Population centres
Akmarijp, Boornzwaag, Broek, Dijken, Doniaga, Goingarijp, Haskerdijken, Haskerhorne, Idskenhuizen, Joure, Langweer, Legemeer, Nieuwebrug, Nijehaske, Oldeouwer, Oudehaske, Ouwster-Nijega, Ouwsterhaule, Rohel, Rotstergast, Rotsterhaule, Rottum, Scharsterbrug, Sint Nicolaasga, Sintjohannesga, Snikzwaag, Terkaple, Teroele, Tjerkgaast and Vegelinsoord.

title: Skarsterlân


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Smallingerland

Smallingerland is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands.

Population centres
Boornbergum, De Tike, De Veenhoop, De Wilgen, Drachten (main town), Drachtstercompagnie, Goëngahuizen, Houtigehage, Kortehemmen, Nijega, Opeinde, Oudega, Rottevalle and Smalle Ee.

History
The name "Smallingerland" is derived from the former hamlet Smalle Ee, which used to have a major monastery. In the 14th century the annual fair of Smalle Ee became equally important as the ones of Leeuwarden and Dokkum. The name Drachten is possibly a derivative from the old Frisian word Darch, meaning "peaty soil".

The central function of Drachten in the district goes back to 1641. A Holland businessman thought it would pay to exploit the peat. 800 workers were employed to dig the Drachtstervaart canal. The peat exploitation was a disappointment, but the construction of the Drachtstervaart canal triggered other activities, such as shipbuilding. The typical peat bog landscape can still be seen, particularly near Drachtstercompagnie. Since the 1950s Drachten developed rapidly. Right now, Drachten has an important function in the region. Smallingerland has thirteen smaller villages besides Drachten, the largest being Opeinde, with 1,731 residents, the smallest being Smalle Ee, with 57 villagers.

The 1998 publication Het Gezicht van Smallingerland ("The Face of Smallingerland") gives a clear and easy to read overview of the district's history. A few passages from this publication: Notary Public J. G. van Blom wrote those words of praise about his hometown in 1840. Most of the 3,000 residents from those days would have had no chance to enjoy the umbrageous scenery; people had to make a living and after work little spare time was left. Some 200 years earlier, in 1640, the hamlets of Drachten North and Drachten South were little more than a small church and some farm houses. Other villages in the region were older, bigger and more important, for example Smalle Ee with its monastery and subsequent activities such as an annual fair, which was always bracketed together with those of Leeuwarden en Dokkum. Or Oudega, where a stone church had been erected even before 1100. Peat exploitation brought a turnaround. Peat had become an important source of energy, not only for private households but also for the industry. The need in the rapidly growing province of Holland during the 17th century was higher than Friesland could supply. Most of the transport was over water, therefore often by track boat. Peat exploitation meant a welcome activity for many villages, although most of the income did not flow into the pockets of the struggling peat cutters.

In 1641 farmers in Drachten North and Drachten South entered into an agreement with financers from the province of Holland, the Drachten Associates. One of these moneylenders was businessman Passchier Hendriks Bolleman from The Hague. The agreement stipulated that the peat in Smallingerland was designated for the Holland industry. For transport by boat the Drachtster Compagnonsvaart canal and two side channels had to be constructed. During one year 800 workers had been digging every day. And where people spent their days, other developments followed, such as dwellings, places for storage, hostels, and businesses. Although the economic success of cutting peat was short-lived (it even led to Passchier Bolleman's financial ruin), it led to the foundation of Drachten. The Drachtstervaart brought in ships and the ships brought in not only return freight, but also their own service industry: rope-yards, carpenter's yards, and forges. In 1746 the first real shipyard was established on the Langewijk, initially only for the construction of timber flatboats, but after 1895 also for iron hull ships. In 1902 a second shipyard followed on the Drachtstervaart. Even today, skûtsjes from these shipyards take part in the major Frisian sailing event, the skûtsjesilen.

In the 17th century, the governor of Smallingerland—the predecessor of today's mayor—was located in Oudega, which had taken over the annual fairs from Smalle Ee. After completion of the Drachtstervaart, the economic activities, and therefore also the annual fairs, had moved to Drachten; it would only be a matter of time for the District Council to follow. This was the basis for the current structure of Smallingerland: Drachten with more than 44,000 residents and the thirteen surrounding villages totalling more than 10,000 residents. Along the "lush road-sides" from the notary public Van Blom-era residential areas have mushroomed and businesses, big and small, opened their doors. As far as employment opportunities are concerned, Smallingerland is the fourth-best district in the north of the Netherlands and ranks number two within the province of Friesland. Shopping centre, nightlife, education, and health care are focused on a catchment area of more than 150,000 people.

Notable people

 * Professor Pieter Klazes Pel (1852 in Smallingerland – 1919) a Dutch physician and professor of internal medicine
 * Pier Pander (1864 in Drachten – 1919) a Dutch sculptor and designer of medals
 * Herman Theodoor Colenbrander (1871 in Drachten – 1945) a Dutch historian and academic
 * S.H. de Roos (1877 in Drachten - 1962) a Dutch type designer, book cover designer and artist.
 * Fedde Schurer (1898 in Drachten – 1968) a Dutch schoolteacher, journalist, language activist and politician
 * Hendrik Kloosterman (1900 in Rottevalle – 1968) a Dutch mathematician, worked on number theory
 * Cisca Wijmenga (born 1964 in Drachten) a Dutch professor of Human Genetics
 * Zanger Rinus (born 1969 in Drachten) a Dutch singer
 * Erik Bosgraaf (born 1980 in Drachten) a Dutch recorder player and musicologist
 * Tim Douwsma (born 1987 in Drachten) a Dutch singer
 * Iris Kroes (born 1992 in Drachten) a Dutch singer-songwriter and harpist
 * Maurice de Jong (born 1973) a Dutch composer and musician

Sport

 * Jan Lammers (1926 in Drachten – 2011) a Dutch sprinter, competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics
 * Jeen van den Berg (1928 in De Veenhoop – 2014) a Dutch long track speed skater, competed at the 1956 and 1960 Winter Olympics
 * Alie Boorsma (born 1959 in Drachten) a retired speed skater, competed at the 1984 Winter Olympics

Twin towns – sister cities
Smallingerland is twinned with:
 * 🇳🇦 Gobabis, Namibia

Smallingerland also used to be twinned with Kiryat Ono, Israel.

title: Smallingerland


text:
Sneek

Sneek (Snits) is a city southwest of Leeuwarden and the seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. As of 2011 it is the seat of the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân (Southwest Friesland). The city had approximately 33,855 inhabitants in January 2017.

Sneek is situated in Southwest Friesland, close to the Sneekermeer, and is well known for its canals, the Waterpoort (Watergate, the symbol of the city), and watersports (hosting the annual Sneekweek, the largest sailing event on inland European waterways). Sneek is one of the Friese elf steden ("Eleven cities of Friesland"). The city is very important in the southwestern part of Friesland (called the Zuidwesthoek, or Southwest Corner).

History
Sneek was founded in the 10th century as Chud on a sandy peninsula at the crossing site of a dike with an important waterway (called the Magna Fossa in old documents). This waterway was dug when the former Middelzee silted up. The dike can still be traced in the current street pattern and street names like Hemdijk, Oude Dijk, and Oosterdijk.

Sneek received several city rights in the 13th century, which became official in 1456. Sneek then became one of the eleven Frisian cities. This was also the beginning of a period of blooming trade for the city that would last until about 1550. In 1492 construction of a moat and wall around the city began. In those days Sneek was the only walled city in Friesland. The Waterpoort and the Bolwerk remain today.

Before 2011, the city was an independent municipality.

Sister city Kurobe
Since September 10, 1970, Sneek and the Japanese city of Kurobe have been sister cities. In 1970, Mayor L. Rasterhoff of Sneek visited the city of Kurobe and was named an honorary citizen. Mayor H. Terade of Kurobe made a visit to Sneek in 1972. In 2000 delegations of both cities visited each other again. The Japanese showed the citizens of Sneek a "Sneekplein", which was built in Kurobe.

Language
Sneek has its own dialect (called Snekers) that dates back to the Dutch language before 1600. Snekers is part of the Stadsfries dialects.

Trade and industry
The clothing store C&A started in 1841 with a store in Sneek. The Candyfactory Leaf produces Peppermint under the name KING (mint) as well as chewing gum (Sportlife) and various other sweets. The name "KING" has nothing to do with the English word 'king'; it stands for Kwaliteit in niets geëvenaard ("Quality equaled by nothing"). Sneek also has steel, machinery and rope factories. Since 1964 there is a factory of Yoshida YKK from Kurobe. Besides that, the supermarket branch Poiesz, clothing brand Gaastra and Frisian gin called beerenburg from Weduwe Joustra are products that have their roots in Sneek.

Places of interest
Sneek is well known as the center of watersports with over 130 watersport companies and 13 Marinas. It also has a historic inner city replete with houses of old upper-class families.
 * Waterpoort (1613)
 * Sneek Town Hall (1550)
 * Grote of Martinikerk (Protestant, 1498), with a carillon of 50 bells
 * St. Martin's Church (Catholic, 1872)
 * Tonnema Candy Factory (1955)
 * Dúvelsrak and Krúsrak, wooden bridges across the A7 motorway.

Transport
By road, Sneek is connected to the A7 motorway and N354

Buses and trains in the town are operated by Arriva.

Sneek is connected to other cities by four main waterways: Houkesloot, leading to the Prinses Margrietkanaal; River de Geeuw, leading to IJlst; de Zwette, leading to Leeuwarden; Franekervaart, leading to Franeker.

Museums

 * Fries Scheepvaart Museum Frisian Maritime Museum
 * Nationaal Modelspoor Museum National Model Train Museum

Podia

 * Het Bolwerk, very first poppodium of Friesland, since 1975. Member of the Fries Popnet.

Cultural Quarter
In 2010 there will be a Cultural Quarter, The municipality has made plans to connect various Cultural areas into one big Cultural Quarter. The total costs of the plans are about €35,000,000 and include
 * The Noorderchurch will house a theatre and a Center of the Arts (CvdK - Centrum voor de Kunsten)
 * The Bolwerk will house another part of the CvdK
 * A new Theatre (Capacity of 600 people) at the location of the former postoffice-building
 * The connection between the Theatre and the Bolwerk with a walking bridge and a floating podium in the city canal. This part won't be constructed because of high costs.
 * The Public library and the Martinichurch will be linked to the Cultural Quarter

Silver Ball
The Culture Award of Sneek is called The Silver Ball and has been awarded 11 times. The award is given annually to a person that has done an improvement/good job on the areas of Music and Culture for Sneek and its surroundings. Some of the winners are:
 * Henk van der Veer, writer
 * 2005: Maaike Schuurmans, musical actress
 * 2006: Yede van Dijk, actor
 * 2007: Bennie Hoogstra, 25 years playing the Drum- & Showkorps Advendo

Events

 * Sneekweek, Sailevent on the Sneekermeer
 * Swinging Sneek, live-music in cafés and on street

Education
Sneek has eleven primary schools and three high schools.

Sports centres

 * Sportcentrum Schuttersveld
 * Sportpark Noorderhoek
 * Sportpark SWZ Sneek
 * Sportpark Leeuwarderweg
 * Swimming pool It Rak
 * Zuidersportpark

Sport Clubs

 * Sneek Wit Zwart(SWZ), football club
 * LSC 1890, one of the oldest football clubs in the Netherlands
 * ONS Sneek, football club
 * Black Boys, football club
 * Waterpoort boys, football club
 * Sneeker MHC, hockey club
 * VC Sneek, volleyball club
 * Neptunia'24, water polo club
 * L.T.C. NOMI, tennis club
 * White Cats Sneek, baseball and softball club
 * FC Gescheurde Knieband, football club

Sportevents

 * Elfstedentocht Eleven city ice skating race and tour
 * Fietselfstedentocht Eleven city cycling tour

Notable people

 * Rienck Bockema (ca. 1350–1436)
 * Pier Gerlofs Donia (ca. 1480–1520), Frisian freedom fighter, rebel and pirate 'Grutte Pier'
 * Joachim Hoppers (1523–1576), jurist and politician of the Habsburg Netherlands
 * Murk van Phelsum (1730–1799), physician
 * Nicolaas Molenaar (1850–1930), architect
 * Jakob van Schevichaven (1866–1935), detective writer
 * Geert Aeilco Wumkes (1869–1954), theologian and historian
 * Willem de Sitter (1872–1934), mathematician, physicist and astronomer
 * Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy (1885–1961), politician
 * Frits Wissel (1907–1999), pilot, discoverer of the Wissel Lakes in New-Guinea.
 * Klaas Dijkstra (1895–1969), advocate of pseudoscience (Flat Earth)
 * Kees Deenik (1915–1993), singer, TV producer
 * Dieuwkje Nauta (1930–2008), teacher, politician
 * Bart Tromp (1944–2007), sociologist
 * Wiebe Nijenhuis (1955–2016), strongest man of Friesland 1982–1984
 * Joke Tjalsma (1957), actress
 * Toon Gerbrands (1957), coach and manager
 * Pauline Krikke (1961), politician
 * Manon Thomas (1963), television presenter
 * Jan Posthuma (1963), international volleyball player
 * Ronald Zoodsma (1966), international volleyball player
 * Monique Sluyter (1967), model and television star
 * Olof van der Meulen (1968), volleyball player
 * Sherida Spitse (1990), soccer player
 * Nyck de Vries (1995), Racing Driver

Living
Sneek has around 14,000 houses. Half of those houses are rental houses. There are new projects in different neighbourhoods.

Extra Information
In 1519–1520, the Frisian warlord and freedom fighter Pier Gerlofs Donia spent his last days in Sneek. Donia died peacefully in bed at 12 on 18 October 1520. Pier is buried in Sneek in the 15th-century Groote Kerk (also called the Martinikerk). His tomb is located on the north side of the church.

The city has a shopping center that is walker- and biker-friendly. There are high-end clothing stores, restaurants, bars, music stores, cafes, coffee shops, and an old-fashioned candy store.

authors: Егор Затяжкин

title: Sneek


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Terschelling

Terschelling (Terschelling dialect: Schylge) is a municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands. It is situated between the islands of Vlieland and Ameland.

Wadden Islanders are known for their resourcefulness in using anything and everything that washes ashore. With few trees to use for timber, most of the farms and barns are built with masts recovered from shipwrecks. The islands are surrounded by shipwrecks, and even today many containers wash ashore that have blown off the decks of container ships in the North Sea.

The main source of income on Terschelling is tourism. There is some agriculture, but a large part of the island has become a nature reserve.

Terschelling is well known for the yearly Oerol Festival during which theatre performances are played throughout the island, making use of its landscape and nature.

Terschelling can be reached by ferry from the mainland Frisian town Harlingen and in summer from Vlieland by high-speed catamaran.

History
The island in its current shape formed in the Middle Ages from a sandy area called De Schelling in the west and the original island Wexalia in the east. The name Wexalia, Wuxalia, or Wecsile is the medieval name of eastern Terschelling. However, this name disappeared at the end of the Middle Ages. The last appearance of the name Wexalia is in a treaty between Folkerus Reijner Popma, then ruler of Terschelling, with king Edward IV of England in 1482.

The oldest traces of civilization on Terschelling date from around 850, when a small wooden church was built on a hill near Seeryp or Stryp (Striep). This hill was later used as a burial ground and is known as the "Strieperkerkhof".

Historically, tensions existed between the inhabitants of West-Terschelling, with its strong orientation towards the sea, and the more agriculturally oriented inhabitants of East-Terschelling. In 1612 this led to the division of the island into independent political entities, West-Terschelling and East-Terschelling. Only after the French occupation at the start of the 19th century was Terschelling again united as one entity.

The Dutch navigator Willem Barentsz was born on Terschelling around 1550.

In 1666 West-Terschelling was ransacked by the English. The English fleet had originally planned to attack the Dutch merchant fleet which was moored before the coast of Vlieland, the next island to the west. When the Dutch vessels retreated towards Terschelling, the English followed, destroyed 150 Dutch vessels, and landed in the harbour of West Terschelling. The town was burnt to the ground by the English on this occasion which would become known as "Holmes' Bonfire" after the English admiral Sir Robert Holmes. The Great Fire of London in the very same year was considered by some to have been God's retribution. The next year, in 1667, the Dutch under command of De Ruyter executed a retaliatory expedition, and dealt the English navy a heavy blow at the Raid on the Medway (also known as the Battle of Chatham), in effect ending the Second Anglo-Dutch War.

In 1799, HMS Lutine, a British frigate loaded with British gold, sank on the western Terschelling coast (was erroneously quoted in the lemma on Texel) in a storm. Her wreck shifted in the sands; despite several intensive, well-financed searches, only a few treasures have been found. A beaker made from a silver bar is displayed in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. Her bell was recovered and is now in the headquarters of Lloyd's of London, where it is tolled before announcing important news.

Until 1942 Terschelling, like Vlieland, was part of the province of North Holland.

Language
On the island of Terschelling both Dutch, the national language of the Netherlands, and Frisian are spoken. Historically, Frisian dialects have dominated on the western and eastern sides of the island while a Dutch dialect called Midslands has been the main language of Midsland and the surrounding area at the center of the island. However, the use of the three dialects is on the decline, and all three are slowly being replaced by the standard Dutch language.

Cranberries
The island is known for being one of only two Wadden islands where cranberries grow, the other being the island of Vlieland. In 1840, a barrel of cranberries, apparently packed by sailors as an antiscorbutic, washed ashore on the island's coast, and the islanders cultivated them for their own sailors.

The cranberries, finding the environment favorable, established themselves on the island. Nowadays, the cranberry fields cover 0.48 km2 or 48 ha. The cranberries are mainly sold to tourists and used by the island's restaurants and bakeries.

Population centres
Areas in Terschelling are the following: (Standard West Frisian names in brackets) • Baaiduinen (Baaidunen)

• Formerum (Formearum)

• Hee

• Hoorn (Hoarne)

• Kaard

• Kinnum (Kinum)

• Landerum

• Lies

• Midsland (Midslân)

• Midsland aan Zee (Midslân oan See)

• Midsland-Noord (Midslân-Noard)

• Oosterend (Easterein)

• Seerijp (Stryp)

• West aan Zee (West)

• West-Terschelling (seat) (West-Schylge)

Notable people

 * Bauck Poppema (died 1501), legendary Dutch heroine
 * Willem Barentsz (c. 1550 – 1597), Dutch navigator, cartographer and Arctic explorer; the Barents Sea was named after him.
 * Frank I. Kooyman (1880–1963), Dutch hymnwriter
 * Hessel van der Kooij (born 1955), Dutch singer
 * Joris Voest (born 1995), Dutch professional footballer

title: Terschelling


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Tytsjerksteradiel

Tytsjerksteradiel is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. It is named after the town of Tytsjerk, whose name is derived from a person named Tiete. Tiete was a daughter of Tryn, after whom the region (Trynwâlden) is named. The other villages in Trynwâlden are also named after Tryn's children: Oentsjerk (Oene), Gytsjerk (Giete), Readtsjerk (Reade), Aldtsjerk (Âlde), Ryptsjerk (Rype). A statue of Tryn and her children is placed in Oentsjerk next to the mainroad (Rengerswei). Tsjerk is the West Frisian word for Church. Until 1989 the official name of the municipality was Tietjerksteradeel, the Dutch name; the current official name is West Frisian. The largest village in the municipality is Burgum.

Population centers
The administrative centre and largest village in the municipality is Burgum.

Hamlets

 * Altenburch (Altenburg)
 * De Joere
 * Gytsjerksterhoeke (Giekerkerhoek)
 * Iniaheide
 * It Heechsân (Hoogzand)
 * It Wytfean (Witveen)
 * Kûkherne (Kuikhorne) ((partially))
 * Noardermar (Noordermeer)
 * Lytse Geast (Kleinegeest)
 * Quatrebras
 * Sânhuzen (Zevenhuizen)
 * Sigerswâld (Siegerswoude)
 * Skûlenboarch (Schuilenburg)
 * Sumarreheide (Suameerderheide)
 * Swarteweisein (Zwartewegsend)
 * Tergrêft (Tergraft) ((partially))

Main sights

 * Wyns, Aldtsjerk, Jistrum, Eastermar, Oentsjerk, Burgum and Gytsjerk are home to medieval churches
 * The villages Aldtsjerk, Earnewâld, Ryptsjerk, Sumar, Tytsjerk (De Lytse Geast and De Himriksmole) and Wyns are home to mills.
 * The Burgumer Lake
 * The Museum for Folklore in Earnewâld
 * The Skûtsje-Museum in Earnewâld
 * The Heimatmuseum with an Observatory in Burgum.

Notable people

 * Adriaen van Cronenburg (ca.1525 – 1604 in Bergum) a Northern Netherlandish painter of portraits
 * Rombertus van Uylenburgh (1554 in Burgum – 1624) academic and father-in-law of Rembrandt
 * Jurjentje Aukes Rauwerda (1812 in Oentsjerk – 1877) a Dutch prostitute and procurer. Ran the largest brothel in Amsterdam
 * Tsjibbe Gearts van der Meulen (1824 in Burgum – 1906) writer, poet, clock-maker, book seller, printer and publisher
 * Piet Bouman (1892 – 1980 in Tietjerksteradeel) a Dutch amateur football player who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics
 * Enneüs Heerma (1944 in Rijperkerk – 1999) a Dutch politician
 * Henk Stallinga (born 1962 in Tytsjerksteradiel) a Dutch multidisciplinary contemporary artist
 * Marjon Wijnsma (born 1965 in Giekerk) a retired Dutch heptathlete
 * Doutzen Kroes (born 1985 in Eastermar) a Dutch model, actress, activist and philanthropist

title: Tytsjerksteradiel


text:
Vlieland

Vlieland is a municipality and island in the northern Netherlands. The municipality of Vlieland is the second most sparsely populated municipality in the Netherlands, after Schiermonnikoog.

Vlieland is one of the West Frisian Islands, lying in the Wadden Sea. It is the second island from the west in the chain, lying between Texel and Terschelling. The island was permanently separated from the mainland in St. Lucia's flood in 1287. Vlieland was named after the Vlie, the seaway between it and Terschelling that was the estuary of the river IJssel in medieval times. Richel is a permanently dry sandbank, located about 1 kilometer east of the northernmost point of Vlieland and is administered by the municipality of Vlieland.

History
The northern part of the island of Texel, Eierland, once was the southwestern part of Vlieland. A storm surge in 1296 probably separated Eierland from Vlieland. Erosion further diminished the size of Vlieland from the west, leading in 1736 to the disappearance of a second village on Vlieland, West-Vlieland (Westeijnde), after the inhabitants had tried for decades to rebuild the town following numerous floods.

During the Second World War, Vlieland became part of the German Atlantic Wall. The occupying German forces built two anti-aircraft batteries and stationed more soldiers on the island than there were inhabitants. In 1942 the islands of Vlieland and Terschelling were transferred from the province of North Holland to Friesland and the situation was not reversed after the war. The mail station in the western part of the island is a reminder that in the past mail was delivered by ferry from Texel.

Because of this history, Vlieland natives do not speak Frisian. The original dialect, Vlielands, was related to the dialect of Texel and to other Dutch dialects in North Holland. The last native speaker, Petronella de Boer-Zeylemaker, died in 1993 at the age of 107.

Geography
The majority of the landscape of the island consists of sand dunes, but there are some wooded areas and small meadows. A large part of the island, the western part, consists mainly of sand. There is one village on the island, Oost-Vlieland (West Frisian: East-Flylân). A second village, West-Vlieland, was lost to the sea in 1736.

Transport
Vlieland can be reached by ferry from the Frisian town of Harlingen on the mainland. Ferries are operated by Doeksen and the journey takes 45 minutes to 1.5 hours to cross the Wadden Sea and part of the North Sea. Tourists are not allowed to bring cars with them on the ferry. A summer-only ferry service runs between De Cocksdorp on the neighboring island of Texel and the westernmost point of Vlieland. The most common form of transport on the island is the bicycle; a network of cycle paths criss-cross the island. A bus service runs from the ferry terminal to the village and campsites after the arrival of a ferry, and some time before departure. There is a very small heliport near the village, but it is only used for SAR flights.

Climate
Vlieland, being the outermost of the Frisian barrier islands, sees its climate the most moderated by the North- and Wadden Sea. As is the case with the other West Frisian islands, sunshine hours are among the highest in the Netherlands. Temperature extremes are rare; on average only 6 times a year does the daytime high exceed 25 degrees, and a high above 30 happens on average only once every three years. This also counts for extreme cold; only on five days a year does the temperature stay below zero for a whole 24-hour period, and nighttime frost happens on less than 40 nights a year. Nights below -10 Celsius only happen on average once every two years. Wind is abundant however, the average wind speed on Vlieland is almost 8 metres per second, or 28 kilometres per hour. Gale-force winds occur on average nine days per year.

Politics
Vlieland has a nine-member municipal council elected every four years. The results of the 2022 election are shown in the table below. Michiel Schrier (Socialist Party) has been mayor of Vlieland since 2021.

Economy
Tourism is the main source of income on Vlieland. There are approximately 15 hotels, and several hundred apartments and holiday homes. Vlieland has two campsites.

'Here Comes The Summer' and 'Into The Great Wide Open' are two music festivals, held respectively in late April and in late August.

Notable people

 * Willem de Vlamingh (1640 in Oost-Vlieland – 1698) a Dutch sea captain who explored the coast of Australia, then New Holland
 * Nicolaas Kruik (1678 in West-Vlieland – 1754) a Dutch land surveyor, cartographer, astronomer and weatherman; remembered for the Museum De Cruquius

title: Vlieland


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Weststellingwerf

Weststellingwerf (Stellingwarfs: Weststellingwarf or Stellingwarf-Westaende) is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It is one of the municipalities of Friesland, where the spoken language is not West Frisian; instead, Stellingwerfs, a dialect of Dutch Low Saxon, is spoken here.

Population centres
• Blesdijke

• Boijl

• De Blesse

• De Hoeve

• Langelille

• Munnekeburen

• Nijeholtpade

• Nijeholtwolde

• Nijelamer

• Nijetrijne

• Noordwolde

• Oldeholtpade

• Oldeholtwolde

• Oldelamer

• Oldetrijne

• Oosterstreek

• Peperga

• Scherpenzeel

• Slijkenburg

• Sonnega

• Spanga

• Steggerda

• Ter Idzard

• Vinkega

• Wolvega

• Zandhuizen

A small part of the village Willemsoord lays within Weststellingwerf and Noordwolde-Zuid is also mainly named as a village, but stated by municipality as a hamlet.

The other hamlets are: Boekelte, Gracht, Munnekezeel, Overburen, Rijsberkampen, Rode Dorp, Schoterzijl (partially) and Zuid (partially)

Topography

Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Weststellingwerf, 2013.

Wolvega

Wolvega is the capital city of Weststellingwerf.

Transportation
Railway Station: Wolvega

Notable people

 * Peter Stuyvesant (1592–1672) last governor of New Amsterdam
 * Johan Eilerts de Haan (1865-1910) Dutch explorer and soldier
 * Johan van Minnen (1932–2016) journalist and politician.
 * Johan Veenstra (born 1946) an author, poet and columnist
 * Sijtje van der Lende (born 1950) former speed skater, competed at the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics
 * Gerard van Klaveren (born 1951) politician, Mayor of Weststellingwerf 2005-2017
 * Monique Knol (born 1964) former racing cyclist, won gold and bronze medals in two consecutive Summer Olympics

title: Weststellingwerf


text:
Wymbritseradiel

Wymbritseradeel (official ) was a rural municipality (gemeenten) in the Dutch province of Friesland from 1984 until 2011. An earlier type of municipality (grietenij) of the same name existed from 1500 until 1984.

History
Wymbritseradeel was formed from the division of the medieval district of Waghenbrugghe. The grietenij of Wymbritseradeel was created in 1500 as Frisian cities became independent and several grietenij were split on the south side of the area. The boundaries of Wymbritseradeel remained unchanged until 1984. From 1625 until the introduction of the municipal law in 1851, the grietman of Wymbritseradeel lived in the stins of Epemastate in IJsbrechtum.

The modern municipality of Wymbritseradeel was formed as part of the municipal reorganization of Friesland in January 1984. The previous grietenij was merged with the grietenij of IJlst, parts of Doniawerstal, and the villages Greonterp, Koufurderrige, Smallebrugge, and Wonseradeel. The town of IJlst was the administrative seat.

In 2011, the municipality merged with the neighboring municipalities of Bolsward, Nijefurd, Sneek and Wûnseradiel to form Southwest Friesland.

Spelling
Since 1986, the official name of the municipality was the Frisian-language Wymbritseradiel. However, the Dutch name Wymbritseradeel is sometimes used as a distinction for the old municipality prior to 1984.

Towns and villages
The former municipality had 28 official districts (kernen): The municipality also contained the following hamlets:

title: Wymbritseradiel


text:
Talk:British comedy

Untitled
I think we should seperate radio and tv.

We have a problem here. Do we merge with British sitcom or distinguish between genres? In the latter case, Monty Python is not a sitcom, and most of the other titles listed here are sitcoms, so should only be on the subgenre page. -- Tarquin

 * I'm in favor of merging them because it might be difficult to keep them separate with non-duplicated content. It doesn't matter much to me though. --Mrwojo

It seems to me that British comedy could also apply to radio comedy, which could help add non-separate comedy. Atorpen 22:52 Feb 9, 2003 (UTC)

Good idea. Let's see.... comedy panel games, ISIHAC, Mornington Crescent, The Mary Whitehouse Experience and plenty of other tv shows that started on radio... -- Tarquin 23:01 Feb 9, 2003 (UTC) PS and HHGTTG of course

I should have read this first... Anyway, merging would be a good idea. 3 subgenres I can think of off the top of my head are,
 * Sketch type shows, eg, Fast Show, French & Saunders, Python
 * sitcoms
 * Game shows, eg, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, They Think Its all over, Have I got news for you

Cheers quercus robur 17:49 Mar 22, 2003 (UTC)

Personal Essay!?
As per my "multiple issues" tag, most of this article doesn't meet Wikipedia's standards. The whole Radio & Television sections are entirely unreferenced and overall it reads like WP:OR. Looking back at edit history it seems the original writer started out in this way and as it's grown the article has continued in the same way 95.145.203.57 (talk) 11:50, 15 July 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:British comedy


text:
Ambt Montfort

Ambt Montfort is a former municipality in the Dutch province of Limburg.

In 1991, the municipalities of Montfort, Posterholt, Reutje and Sint Odiliënberg merged. The original name of the merged municipality was "Posterholt", but it was changed in "Ambt Montfort" in 1994. On January 1, 2007, Ambt Montfort merged into the municipality of Roerdalen.

Ambt Montfort is the birthplace of Formula One driver Jos Verstappen.

title: Ambt Montfort


text:
Arcen en Velden

Arcen en Velden (Árse en Velde) is a former town and former municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, now part of the municipality and city of Venlo. It is situated in the province of Limburg.

Population centres

 * Arcen
 * Lomm
 * Velden

History
The villages which now form Arcen en Velden have been occupied or ruled by different countries over the centuries, including Spain during the Eighty Years' War, Prussia, Austria, and France during the reign of Napoleon. From 1830 until 1839, the villages together with most of Limburg were a part of the newly independent Belgium. Since 1839, it is part of the Netherlands. As of 1 January 2010, the (now former) municipality of Arcen en Velden, has become incorporated with the municipality and city of Venlo, situated to the south of the (now former) town.

title: Arcen en Velden


text:
Beesel

Beesel (Bezel ) is a municipality and a town in the province of Limburg in the southeastern Netherlands.

Population centres

 * Beesel
 * Offenbeek
 * Reuver

Topography

Topographic map of the municipality of Beesel, June 2015.

The town of Beesel
The town of Beesel lies about 10 km north of Roermond. Although the municipality is named after this village, it is not the largest town in the municipality, and neither is the municipal hall located in Beesel.

In 2001, Beesel had 7382 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.53 km², and contained 706 residences.

Transportation

 * Reuver railway station

Notable people

 * Mark Jansen (born 1978 in Reuver) a Dutch guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, worked with the symphonic metal band After Forever
 * Sander Gommans (born 1978 in Reuver) a Dutch musician with symphonic metal band After Forever

title: Beesel


text:
Brunssum

Brunssum (Broensem) is a municipality and a town in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands. The municipality of Brunssum has 0 residents as of.

Brunssum was a center of coal mining until 1973.

Population centres
• Brunssum

• Bouwberg

• De Kling

• Haansberg

• Kruisberg

• Langeberg

• Onder-Merkelbeek

• Rumpen

• Treebeek

History
There are indications that there was activity in the area around Brunssum going back to prehistory. This also applies to the neighboring municipalities of Heerlen and Landgraaf. Little is known about this habitation. Soil findings and medieval records indicate a continuous occupation of this area over the past 2,000 years.

In the Middle Ages, ground fortification were erected in the Schutterspark for protection.

The parish of Brunssum has been known since 1150, and together with Schinveld and Jabeek it formed a magistrate within the Land of Valkenburg. In 1557 the magistrate of Brunssum, consisting of Brunssum, Schinveld and Jabeek, was pledged by the Spanish government to the Hoen van Amstenrade family, and in 1609 sold to Arnold III Huyn van Geleen. In 1664 the fiefdom Brunssum was absorbed in the land of Geleen and Amstenrade. At the end of the Ancien Régime in 1794, Brunssum became an independent municipality.

In 1150 there was already a Saint Gregorius church in the city center and in 1579 it was elevated to a parish church. The Saint Gregorius church has been rebuilt 4 times. The current church was built in 1961, in part financed by the Dutch State Mines, as the third church was severely damaged by soil settling as a result of coal mining activities.

The Brunssum city-arms is composed of the weapon of the Huyn family and the parish saint.

NATO Joint Force Command Headquarters
Brunssum is the current home of Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFC Brunssum), an operational level NATO headquarters one level below military-strategic level SHAPE in the integrated military command structure. There are three operational levels NATO headquarters; the other two are Allied Joint Force Command, Naples and Allied Joint Force Command Norfolk. The headquarters was known as Headquarters, Allied Forces Central Europe (HQ AFCENT) from its inception in Fontainebleau, France and relocation to Brunssum in 1967. The name was changed to Regional Headquarters, Allied Forces Northern Europe (RHQ AFNORTH) when a restructuring in 2000 led to the closing of HQ AFNORTH in Kolsås, Norway. The current title was adopted in 2004 to add flexibility to the military command structure by removing regional restrictions. The main base area, Hendrik Camp, was built on a former coal mine called Hendrik Mine.

Brunssum is also the home of the AFNORTH International School, located just outside Hendrik Camp. AFNORTH International School is a K-12 school that mainly provides service to American, British, Canadian, and German dependents of military personnel assigned to JFC Brunssum, the US Army base in Brunssum, and NATO Air Base in Geilenkirchen, Germany; as well as the former Soesterberg Air Base, Netherlands.

Nature
The Brunssummerheide is a sloping natural landscape with many trails for hiking and running. It is bisected by a brook called Roode Beek (Red Brook). The Brunssumerheide is a protected nature preserve.

Sports
One of the local football teams is BSV Limburgia, formerly known as SV Limburgia, which competes at an amateur level. As SV Limburgia, the club competed in the Eredivisie (Honorary Division) at various times and finished first in 1950. Upon the introduction of professional football in the Netherlands in 1954, SV Limburgia had little success and was relegated to the lowest level of Dutch football, Tweede Divisie (Second Division).

The annual Parelloop ten kilometer road running race is held in Brunssum. Micah Kogo from Kenya won the race in 2009, breaking the world record for that distance.

People from Brunssum

 * Eugène Gerards (1940–2018) a Dutch-Greek footballer, manager and scout
 * Jan Dietz (born 1945) a Dutch Information systems researcher and academic
 * Toni Willé (born 1953) a Dutch country pop artist, former member of Pussycat
 * Pussycat a Dutch country and pop group (formed 1973) by the sisters Kowalczyk (Toni, Betty, Marianne)

Sport

 * Ferenc Kocsur (1930–1990) a French-Hungarian footballer with 270 club caps
 * Patrick Dybiona (born 1963) a former freestyle swimmer, competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics
 * Nadine Hanssen (born 1993) a Dutch professional footballer
 * Peter Hellenbrand (born 1985) a Dutch sport shooter, competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics
 * Kevin Hofland (born 1979) a Dutch professional footballer
 * Tom Daemen (born 1985) a Dutch professional footballer with 360 club caps
 * Bob Altena (born 1986) a Dutch decathlete

title: Brunssum


text:
Echt

Echt may refer to:

 * Echt, Aberdeenshire, a village in Scotland
 * Echt-Susteren, a municipality in the Netherlands
 * Echt, Netherlands, a city in the municipality
 * Echt railway station
 * Echt (band), a 1997–2002 German pop group
 * Echt (Martian crater)

title: Echt


text:
Eijsden

Eijsden (Èèsjde ) is a village situated in the very south of the European country the Netherlands. It is located in the southwestern part of the province of Limburg.

Until 1 January 2011, Eijsden was the main village in a municipality with the same name. On that date this municipality merged with the neighbouring one of Margraten, resulting in nowadays Eijsden-Margraten municipality, in which Eijsden again is the biggest place.

This village is one of the most southerly places in the Netherlands, for in its south it is extending up to the most southerly part of the border between the Netherlands and Belgium.

The Meuse river, coming from France and Belgium, here enters its third and final flowing country, the Netherlands. From here on its name in Dutch is Maas. Running northward to Eijsden's west it locally forms the westerly frontier of the last mentioned country with Belgium. Its Belgian border across the Meuse is Lanaye, a village of Liège Province in Wallonia, whereas its border to the south is the Voerstreek exclave of Limburg province in Flanders.

A smaller stream, the Voer, coming from Belgium, drains into the Meuse river in this place.

History
Eijsden is one of the older places in the country. Its name is supposed to be derived of the Germanic word for aspen forest. Excavations have revealed a Roman settlement. In the Middle Ages, this settlement developed to a village. After the (feudal) Middle Ages, in the seventeenth century Eijsden gained in economic strength because of its position near the Dutch-Belgian frontier on the Meuse river. Its function as a trading and shipping centre attracted settlement of well-to-do merchants from Holland. This period of prosperity ended in the Napoleonic era when, for a time, the area ceased to be a frontier.

Former municipality
The former Eijsden municipality was composed of several population centres, of which the one named Eijsden was the largest, with 7000 inhabitants. The other population centres (now all part of "Eijsden-Margraten") were:
 * Breust
 * Hoog- en Laag Caestert
 * Gronsveld
 * Mariadorp
 * Mesch
 * Oost-Maarland
 * Rijckholt
 * Withuis

Constituting quarters
Nowadays the administrative population centre of Eijsden in the municipality of Eijsden-Margraten is formed by several neighbourhoods of which most are more or less separately situated and have their own history:

 * Breust, the most northern part of the place, is a former municipality of its own, now forming one quarter with Eijsden itself and including several newbuilt neighbourhoods.
 * Eijsden itself.
 * Mariadorp, situated to the east of Eijsden itself.
 * Laag-Caestert, together with Hoog-Caestert and Withuis forming the southern part of the place.
 * Hoog-Caestert, situated to the east of Laag-Caestert.
 * Withuis, situated to the east of Hoog-Caestert. In fact this is only the northerly part of the relevant township; the other part is situated across the frontier in Belgium.

Economy
Apart from trading and shipping, the Eijsden economy traditionally has had an agricultural character, with a focus on fruit growing. At one time, in Eijsden the Netherlands' largest local fruit tree area was situated. In the second half of the 20th century, many orchards were replaced by housing, dairy farming and industry.

In 1870, a zinc white factory brought industrial activity to the municipality, along with jobs and air pollution. The number of jobs originally was about 700; by now some 300 are left.

As a result of the relatively vast housing projects in the northern part, Eijsden nowadays is largely residential.

Sights

 * The seventeenth century Renaissance style castle of Eijsden (according to the relevant Unesco-list) is one of the top hundred buildings in the country.
 * A stylish former monastery, nowadays housing Museum het Ursulinenconvent - International Museum for Family History.
 * The historical "Vroenhof" central square.
 * Four monumental water mills on the Voer river.
 * Two centuries old church buildings.

Music
In the municipality of Eijsden two military bands are based, 'the blue' and 'the red', of which the former in competition contests competes in the second highest international division and the latter in the highest.

In 2009 and 2013, the 'red', the Koninklijke Harmonie Sainte Cécile, was the winner in the World Concert Division of the four-yearly World Music Contest, a competition for professional, amateur and military bands, held in Kerkrade.

The 'blue', the "Koninklijke Oude Harmonie Sainte Cécile", finished second in the First Concert Division.

Famous natives of Eijsden

 * Jo Bonfrère, footballer
 * Eugène Dubois, anatomist/anthropologist
 * Jo Maas, former cyclist, stage winner and seventh in end-classification of 1978 Tour de France
 * Jacques Vriends, Dutch writer of children's books

title: Eijsden