West Friesland (Dutch : West-Friesland) is a contemporary region in the Northwest of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.
West Friesland (Dutch : West-Friesland) is a contemporary region in the Northwest of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.
The River Vlie (also called Fli), is an extension of the IJssel branch of the Rhine River. The river divides the northern Netherlands into two parts, the western and the eastern part. In the eleventh century, heavy rainfall caused the river to flood over large parts of the land. The Zuiderzee bay (previously a lake called Lacus Flevo by Roman authors) was formed, separating West Friesland from the contemporary Province of Friesland. [1] In the Middle Ages, the Westflinge area of West Friesland became an island, bordered on the north by the Medem and Zijpe inlets, and to the south by various interconnecting lakes (now polder land) that were connected with the Zuiderzee. Because of this, the toponym "West Friesland" was applied more to the Westflinge area than to the original West Friesland.
For approximately 300 years, West Friesland operated as an autonomous area as the West Frisians did not wish to be vassals of lords from Holland. Floris V, Count of Holland, attempted to unite Holland and West Friesland during his reign and he succeeded in annexing West Frisia. [2] It was his successor, John I, who achieved ultimate victory over the West Frisians in 1297. West Friesland formed a united province with Holland in the Dutch Republic, though it was recognized an autonomous region, and the parliament of said province, commonly known as Holland, was formally known as the States of Holland and West Friesland. During the time of the United Provinces, West Friesland had its own independent Admiralty of the Northern Quarter. Any admiral serving within this admiralty or the two other Hollandic admiralties (Amsterdam and the Admiralty of de Maze) had the title of Admiral of Holland and West Frisia.
The first inhabitants of Alkmaar, Oudorp, and St Pancras likely settled along the high beach ridges of the Vroonermeer in the 9th century AD. Better known as Vroonen, this settlement subsequently grew into a village. In the late 13th century, when the Dutch conquered West Frisians, the victors crossed the village and set it on fire. The few surviving inhabitants fled the region. After a long time, people returned to Vroonen and a chapel was built. The village of St Pancras was founded around this church [1484]. Vroonermeer was drained in 1561.
The reclamation of the North Holland lakes was a purely private business affair intended for the establishment of new tracts of fertile land. Investors financed the operation and leased their new land to farmers.
The exact location of West Friesland is not clearly defined, but it has been suggested that it comprised the area north of an imaginary line through Hoorn and Alkmaar. [3] Within this historical region is the contemporary region of West Friesland, a smaller area based on a dyke system on the Westfriese Omringdijk that lay in West Friesian district ( gouw ) of Westflinge .
The area between the rivers Vlie and IJ consists of the present-day municipalities of Alkmaar, Amsterdam (Landelijk Noord), Beemster, Bergen, Castricum, Den Helder, Drechterland, Edam-Volendam, Enkhuizen, Heerhugowaard, Heiloo, Hollands Kroon, Hoorn, Koggenland, Landsmeer, Langedijk, Medemblik, Purmerend, Oostzaan, Opmeer, Schagen, Stede Broec, Texel, Uitgeest, Vlieland, Waterland, Wognum, Wormerland, and Zaanstad.
The region covers an area of about 800 km2 (309 sq mi), delineated by the Westfriese Omringdijk. It consists of the following municipalities:
| Dutch name | West Frisian Name |
| Alkmaar | Alkmar |
| Beverwijk | Beverwyk |
| Den Helder | Dan Haldar |
| Dijk en Waard | Doik en Weerd |
| Drechterland | Drechterland |
| Edam-Volendam | Edam Volendam |
| Enkhuizen | Henkhúze |
| Hollands Kroon | Hollands Kroon |
| Hoorn | Hoorn |
| Koggenland | Koggeland |
| Medemblik | Memeloik |
| Opmeer | Obmar or Opmar |
| Purmerend | Purmerend |
| Schagen | Skagen |
| Stede Broec | Stee Broek |
| Uitgeest | Uitgeezd |
| Velsen | Velzen |
| Wormerland | Wormerland |
| Zaanstad | Zaanzdat |
Major cities include Hoorn (which was the capital of West-Friesland) and Alkmaar.
The traditional dialect of the region is the West Frisian dialect of Hollandic Dutch. The contemporary region is similar in size and location to the historical district ( gouw ) of Westflinge which itself was a part of a much larger historical region of West Friesland.
The West Frisian language has disappeared from the region [1] and the later West Frisian dialects are now slowly disappearing. Although these dialects are subdialects of Hollandic Dutch, they were strongly influenced in vocabulary and grammar by a West Frisian substratum.
The Frisian languages are a closely related group of West Germanic languages, spoken by about 500,000 Frisian people, who live on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. The Frisian languages are the closest living language group to the Anglic languages; the two groups make up the Anglo-Frisian languages group and together with the Low German dialects these form the North Sea Germanic languages. However, modern English and Frisian are not mutually intelligible, nor are Frisian languages intelligible among themselves, owing to independent linguistic innovations and foreign influences.
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).
The Frisians are an ethnic group indigenous to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia. The name is probably derived from frisselje. The Frisian languages are spoken by more than 500,000 people; West Frisian is officially recognised in the Netherlands, and North Frisian and Saterland Frisian are recognised as regional languages in Germany.
Holland is a geographical region and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th century, Holland proper was a unified political region within the Holy Roman Empire as a county ruled by the counts of Holland. By the 17th century, the province of Holland had risen to become a maritime and economic power, dominating the other provinces of the newly independent Dutch Republic.
The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km inland and at most 50 km wide, with an overall depth of about 4 to 5 metres (13–16 feet) and a coastline of about 300 km. It covered 5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi). Its name is Dutch for "southern sea", indicating that the name originates in Friesland, to the north of the Zuiderzee. In the 20th century the majority of the Zuiderzee was closed off from the North Sea by the construction of the Afsluitdijk, leaving the mouth of the inlet to become part of the Wadden Sea. The salt water inlet changed into a fresh water lake now called the IJsselmeer after the river that drains into it, and by means of drainage and polders, an area of some 1,500 km2 (580 sq mi) was reclaimed as land. This land eventually became the province of Flevoland, with a population of nearly 400,000 (2011).
Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Germanic ethnic group.
Hoorn is a city and municipality in the northwest of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the largest town and the traditional capital of the region of West Friesland. Hoorn is located on the Markermeer, 20 kilometers (12 mi) east of Alkmaar and 35 kilometers (22 mi) north of Amsterdam. The municipality has just over 73,000 inhabitants and a land area of 20.38 km2 (7.87 sq mi), making it the third most densely populated municipality in North Holland after Haarlem and Amsterdam. Apart from the city of Hoorn, the municipality includes the villages of Blokker and Zwaag, as well as parts of the hamlets De Bangert, De Hulk and Munnickaij.
Stede Broec is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. The name Stede Broec derives from stede and broec.
Wieringen is part of the municipality of Hollands Kroon, established in 2012 in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It is a former municipality in this province, with its name appearing in records of the late 9th and early 10th century. From 1200 it was known as an island, also named Wieringen, which was separated by water from the mainland during one of the disastrous storm floods towards the end of the late Middle Ages that changed the coastline. By draining, dikes and landfill from 1924 to 1932, the island was rejoined to the mainland.
East Frisia or East Friesland is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the west of Landkreis Friesland.
Old Frisian was a West Germanic language spoken between the 8th and 16th centuries along the North Sea coast, roughly between the mouths of the Rhine and Weser rivers. The Frisian settlers on the coast of South Jutland also spoke Old Frisian, but there are no known medieval texts from this area. The language of the earlier inhabitants of the region between the Zuiderzee and Ems River is attested in only a few personal names and place-names. Old Frisian evolved into Middle Frisian, spoken from the 16th to the 19th century.
West Frisian, or simply Frisian, is a West Germanic language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands, mostly by those of Frisian ancestry. It is the most widely spoken of the Frisian languages.
Pier Gerlofs Donia was a Frisian farmer, rebel leader, and pirate. He is best known by his West Frisian nickname Grutte Pier, or by the Dutch translation Grote Pier, which referred to his legendary size, strength, and bravery.
The County of Holland was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and from 1433 part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading province of the Dutch Republic, of which it remained a part until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. The territory of the County of Holland corresponds roughly with the current provinces of North Holland and South Holland in the Netherlands.
A terp, also known as a wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt or værft, is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides and sea or river flooding. The various terms used reflect the regional dialects of the North European region.
St. Lucia's flood (Sint-Luciavloed) was a storm tide that affected the Netherlands and Northern Germany on 13/14 December 1287 (OS), St. Lucia Day and the day after, killing approximately 50,000 to 80,000 people in one of the largest floods in recorded history.
West Frisia is a term that, when used in an international context, refers to the traditionally Frisian areas that are located west of the Dollart. Along with East Frisia and North Frisia, it is one of the most commonly used subdivisions of Frisia. In its narrowest sense, the term is synonymous with the province of Friesland. Within the Netherlands, however, it is mostly used to refer to the region of West Friesland, located west of Friesland.
The Westfriese Omringdijk is a dyke system that protected the region of Westflinge, part of the historical region of West-Frisia. Westflinge is now commonly referred to as West-Frisia as the rest of historical West-Frisia assimilated with The Netherlands.
The Frisian Kingdom, also known as Magna Frisia, is a modern name for the post-Roman Frisian realm in Western Europe in the period when it was at its largest (650–734). This dominion was ruled by kings and emerged in the mid-7th century and probably ended with the Battle of the Boarn in 734 when the Frisians were defeated by the Frankish Empire. It lay mainly in what is now the Netherlands and – according to some 19th century authors – extended from the Zwin near Bruges in Belgium to the Weser in Germany. The center of power was the city of Utrecht.