This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2018) |
Appelscha | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 52°57′57″N6°25′15″E / 52.96583°N 6.42083°E | |
Country | Netherlands |
Province | Friesland |
Municipality | Ooststellingwerf |
Area | |
• Total | 39.54 km2 (15.27 sq mi) |
Elevation | 9 m (30 ft) |
Population (1 January 2021) [1] | |
• Total | 4,775 |
• Density | 120/km2 (310/sq mi) |
Postal code | 8426 [1] |
Dialing code | 0516 |
Appelscha (West Frisian : Appelskea; Stellingwarfs: Appelsche) is a village in the municipality of Ooststellingwerf in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. It has just under 4,800 inhabitants. [3]
Appelscha is a village of about 490 hectares in size of which 8 hectares consists of water, it was first named in written documents in 1247 as Appels, which is a Dutch word meaning apples. The last part of the name Appelscha has its origin due to the woods around the village. ‘Sche’ or ‘scha’ means woods and was therefore added to the name of the village. It consisted from a few farms surrounding the Boerestreek (what was called high-Appelscha) for centuries, the hamlets Aakinga, Terwisscha and De Built close by. Appelscha remained a small village, tucked away between sand dunes and wet peat. In 2007, Oude Willem, a small natural area in between Appelscha and Zorgvlied was even chosen as "most beautiful place in the Netherlands" by readers of HP/De Tijd which is a magazine in the Netherlands. [4]
Around 1450 dikes were constructed to ensure the acid leakwater from the peat returned to the fields. The old Appelscha suffered much of drifting sand from the dunes. In 1881 people therefore started with the construction of the forest. After 1827 the village extends with the advent of thousands Frisian workers for peat extraction, and the modern village was created. The Social conditions were however, very poor. By the time peat yielded much less than coal, a huge strike broke out (1888). Because of this large immigration of Frisian workers in the nineteenth century, Appelscha became a Frisian-speaking village, in a municipality where otherwise Stellingwarfs was spoken, a dialect of Dutch.
In 1922, the Friesch Volkssanatorium from Joure transferred to Appelscha. Many thousands of patients spent years in the huge forest to try to cure their tuberculosis. Today only the X-ray department of the Sanatorium is left. This is the only tuberculosis museum in the world.
Appelscha is located at the northern edge of the 61-square-kilometre Drents-Friese Wold National Park, which is one of the biggest nature reserves in the Netherlands, located on the boundary of the provinces Friesland and Drenthe. The forest and the sand dunes around the village attract tourists to Appelscha, and have become known in the Netherlands for their natural environment.[ citation needed ] There are restaurants and weekend markets during the summer in the Boerestreek, which used to be the tourist center of the village.[ citation needed ] Many other attractions at the Boerestreek also attracted tourists in the past, including an amusement park ‘Duinenzathe’ and a miniature park. The amusement park moved to the edge of the village in 1997 after the municipality planned to redevelop the Boerestreek. The miniature park closed in October 2002 after decreasing numbers of visitors following the redevelopment. [5]
Due to its history as a peat producing village, Appelscha is located along the Opsterlandse Compagnonsvaart, the canal that flows through the village and connects it to surrounding villages. Nowadays this canal is a popular tourist route for boaters, attracting a large number of visitors to Appelscha every year. In 2012, 11 per cent of short domestic holidays, and 13 per cent of long domestic holidays by the Dutch people were spent in the area on the Groningse, Friese, and Drentse sand dunes, of which Appelscha is part (CBS, tourism and recreation in 2012). As well as boating, Appelscha has a couple of campgrounds, of which RCN De Roggeberg is the largest. Customers of this campground in the summer month have free use of the ‘Bosbad Appelscha’, a large open-air swimming pool next to the campground, surrounded by the woods.
Since 2007 the village has had a nine-hole golf course with 1,944 metres of fairways at the Golf Resort De Hildenberg. [6] The resort also has 129 villas for rent, which are near the Bosbad Appelscha. [7]
For more adventurous visitors,[ tone ] Appelscha has an adventure park called ‘Klimbos Appelscha’. At this park in a forest near the Boerestreek, there are climbing trails from tree to tree at heights from four to 14 meters (13 to 45 feet).[ citation needed ] Starting from the central platform adventurers are able to choose from trails requiring different skill levels. [8]
In the last days of World War Two, the area was the site of a sharp battle between German forces and the Free French, combined with the Canadian forces, as part of Operation Amherst.
Appelscha’s inhabitants consists about 50% men and 50% women. The largest group representing 32% of the population is in the age of 45–64. The smallest age group is in the age of 15–24 years which makes its population age quite old on average. 47% of its inhabitants are married while only 7% is divorced. Another 7% is widowed. [9]
Population
Friesland, historically and traditionally known as Frisia, named after the Frisians, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of Flevoland, northeast of North Holland, and south of the Wadden Sea. As of January 2020, the province had a population of 649,944 and a total area of 5,749 km2 (2,220 sq mi).
Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of November 2019, Drenthe had a population of 493,449 and a total area of 2,680 km2 (1,030 sq mi).
Assen is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital of the province of Drenthe. It received city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the motorcycle racing circuit, where on the last Sunday in June the Dutch TT is run; and also for the annual Assen Dance Festival.
Ameland is a municipality and one of the West Frisian Islands off the north coast of the Netherlands. It consists mostly of sand dunes and is the third major island of the West Frisians. It neighbours islands Terschelling to the west and Schiermonnikoog to the east. This includes the small Engelsmanplaat and Rif sandbanks to the east.
Ooststellingwerf 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.
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.
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.
Weststellingwerf 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.
Joure is a town in the north of the Netherlands. It is the administrative center of De Fryske Marren, Friesland. With 13,090 inhabitants, it is also the most populous town in the municipality.
Stellingwarfs is a Westphalian and Friso-Saxon dialect spoken in Ooststellingwerf and Weststellingwerf in the Dutch province of Friesland, and also in Steenwijkerland and Westerveld in the Dutch province of Overijssel and Drenthe.
Diever is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Westerveld, and lies about 18 km northwest of Hoogeveen.
Boelenslaan is a village in Achtkarspelen municipality in Friesland province in the northern Netherlands.
De Wilp is a village in the Netherlands south of the town of Marum. It is largely located in the municipality of Westerkwartier in the province of Groningen, but a few houses of the village are in the municipality of Opsterland in the province of Friesland.
Wâlterswâld is a village in Dantumadiel municipality, Friesland, the Netherlands. The village had a population of approximately 920 in 2017.
De Falom is a village in the Dantumadiel municipality of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of 235 in 2017.
Rinsumageast is a village in the Dantumadiel municipality of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 965 in 2017.
De Westereen is a village in the Dantumadiel municipality of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 5,000 in 2017.
A grietenij was a municipal district, a forerunner to the gemeente or municipality in Frisia, particularly in Friesland, and also in the city Groningen which are now a part of the Netherlands. After the Saxon occupation, from about 1498 until 1851, there were a total of 30 grietenijen in Friesland and 11 cities.
The Drents-Friese Wold National Park is a national park in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Drenthe, covering more than 61 km2 (24 sq mi), founded in 2000. It consists of forests, heath lands and drift-sands.
Aekinga is a hamlet in the Dutch municipality of Ooststellingwerf in the province of Friesland. The hamlet consists of approximately 15 houses with 40 residents.