Friesland

This article is about the Dutch province. For other uses, see Friesland (disambiguation) and Frisia (disambiguation).

Friesland Fryslân
Province of the Netherlands
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "De âlde Friezen" "The Old Frisians"
Location of Friesland in the Netherlands
Coordinates:
Country	Netherlands
Capital	Leeuwarden (Ljouwert)
Largest city	Leeuwarden (Ljouwert)
Government
• King's Commissioner	John Jorritsma (VVD)
Area
• Land	3,349 km2 (1,293 sq mi)
• Water	2,392 km2 (924 sq mi)
Area rank	3rd nationally
Population (2010)
• Land	646,305
• Rank	8th nationally
• Density	190/km2 (500/sq mi)
• Density rank	11th nationally
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
ISO 3166 code	NL-FY
Religion (2005)	Protestant 30% Roman Catholic 6% Muslim 2%
Website	www.fryslan.frl

Friesland (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈfrislɑnt]; West Frisian: Fryslân [ˈfrislɔ̃ːn]) or Frisia is a province in the northwest of the Netherlands. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of Flevoland, northeast of North Holland, and south of the North Sea. In 2010, the province had a population of 646,000 and a total area of 5,749 km² (2,220 sq mi).

The capital and seat of the provincial government is the city of Leeuwarden (West Frisian: Ljouwert), a city with 91,817 inhabitants. Since 2009, John Jorritsma is the King's Commissioner in the province. A coalition of the Labour Party, the Christian Democratic Appeal, and the Frisian National Party forms the executive branch. The province is divided into 24 municipalities.

The north-western area of the province was once part of the ancient, larger region of Frisia. The official languages of Friesland are West Lauwers Frisian and Dutch.

Name

In 1996 the States of Friesland resolved that the official name of the province should follow the Frisian spelling rather than the Dutch spelling, resulting in "Friesland" being replaced by "Fryslân". In 2004 the Dutch Government confirmed this resolution, putting in place a three-year scheme to oversee the name change and associated cultural programme.

The province of Friesland is occasionally referred to as "Frisia" by, amongst others, Hanno Brand, head of the history and literature department at the Fryske Akademy since 2009, however the English-language webpage of the Friesland Provincial Council refers to the province as "Fryslân".

History

A proto-Frisian culture slowly began to emerge around 400–200 BC known for its artificial dwelling hills as a defence against the sea. The Roman claim on Frisia began in 12 BC with the campaign of Nero Claudius Drusus in Germania. After a series of costly battles against the Frisians, the Romans were suddenly sworn fealty. The de facto independence they later enjoyed as a Roman vassal shows that this might have been a mostly diplomatic decision based on the temporary favourable bargaining position. Together with other Germanic tribes such as the Salians (later Franks) and the Batavii they managed to keep the region north of the Lower Rhine mostly free from Roman influence.

The early eighth-century AD is known for the Frisian kingdom, king Redbad and the missionary Saint Boniface who was killed near Dokkum, Westlauwers Friesland. At the start of the Middle Ages, the Frisian Kingdom reached its zenith, stretching from what is now the French/Belgian border to the River Weser in Germany, with in its center the flourishing trading post Dorestad. After incorporation into the Frankish empire, Friesland was divided into three parts. The westernmost part developed at the start of the second millennium into the County of Holland, while the remainder of Frisia had no feudal overlord, a situation known as the Frisian freedom.

That ended when Charles V added Frisia to the Habsburg Netherlands as Lordship of Frisia. Under Napoleon, the department was named Frise. After Napoleon was defeated in 1813, the department became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands as the province of Friesland.

Cities

The ancient cities of Friesland are shown below:

Dutch	West Frisian	Charter granted
Leeuwarden	Ljouwert	1285
Sneek	Snits	1456
IJlst	Drylts	1268
Sloten	Sleat	1426
Stavoren	Starum	1118
Hindeloopen	Hylpen	1285
Workum	Warkum	1399
Bolsward	Boalsert	1455
Harlingen	Harns	1234
Franeker	Frjentsjer	1374
Dokkum	Dokkum	1298

Geography

Satellite image of Friesland

Map of Friesland (2012)

View of the Wadden Sea to the north of Friesland

Friesland is situated at in the northwest of the Netherlands, west of the province of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of Flevoland, northeast of the IJsselmeer and North Holland, and south of the North Sea.

Friesland is the largest province of the Netherlands if one includes areas of water; in terms of land area only, it is the third largest province.

Most of Friesland is on the mainland, but it also includes a number of West Frisian Islands, including Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog, which are connected to the mainland by ferry. The province's highest point is at 45 metres (148 ft) above sea level, on the island of Vlieland.

There are four national parks: Schiermonnikoog, De Alde Feanen, Lauwersmeer (in Groningen and Friesland), and Drents-Friese Wold (in Drenthe and Friesland).

Urban areas

The ten urban areas in Friesland with the largest population are:

Dutch name	Frisian name	Population
Leeuwarden	Ljouwert	96,578
Drachten	Drachten	44,598
Sneek	Snits	33,401
Heerenveen	It Hearrenfean	28,497
Harlingen	Harns	15,729
Dokkum	Dokkum	13,145
Franeker	Frjentsjer	12,995
Joure	De Jouwer	12,902
Wolvega	Wolvegea	12,738
Lemmer	De Lemmer	10,220

Municipalities

The province is divided into 24 municipalities, each with local government.

Municipality	Population	Total Area		Population density		COROP group
		km2	sq mi	/km2	/sq mi
Achtkarspelen	27,938	103.98	40.15	273	710	North Friesland
Ameland	3,591	268.50	103.67	61	160	North Friesland
Dantumadiel	19,017	87.53	33.80	223	580	North Friesland
De Fryske Marren	51,229	559.93	216.19	142	370	South West Friesland
Dongeradeel	24,097	266.92	103.06	144	370	North Friesland
Ferwerderadiel	8,755	133.18	51.42	90	230	North Friesland
Franekeradeel	20,445	109.17	42.15	199	520	North Friesland
Harlingen	15,769	387.67	149.68	630	1,600	North Friesland
Heerenveen	49,528	187.76	72.49	274	710	South East Friesland
Het Bildt	10,657	116.48	44.97	115	300	North Friesland
Kollumerland c.a.	12,905	116.35	44.92	118	310	North Friesland
Leeuwarden	108,249	166.99	64.48	714	1,850	North Friesland
Leeuwarderadeel	10,264	41.46	16.01	251	650	North Friesland
Littenseradiel	10,900	132.64	51.21	83	210	North Friesland
Menaldumadeel	13,614	70.03	27.04	198	510	North Friesland
Ooststellingwerf	25,696	226.11	87.30	115	300	South East Friesland
Opsterland	29,883	227.64	87.89	133	340	South East Friesland
Schiermonnikoog	942	199.07	76.86	21	54	North Friesland
Smallingerland	55,505	126.17	48.71	469	1,210	South East Friesland
Súdwest-Fryslân	84,356	841.56	324.93	184	480	South West Friesland
Terschelling	4,721	673.99	260.23	55	140	North Friesland
Tytsjerksteradiel	31,940	161.41	62.32	214	550	North Friesland
Vlieland	1,113	315.80	121.93	31	80	North Friesland
Weststellingwerf	25,486	228.45	88.21	115	300	South East Friesland

Climate

The province of Friesland has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb).

Climate data for Leeuwarden
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	12.6 (54.7)	14.4 (57.9)	20.4 (68.7)	26.0 (78.8)	28.7 (83.7)	32.5 (90.5)	31.4 (88.5)	32.8 (91)	29.1 (84.4)	23.8 (74.8)	16.4 (61.5)	14.2 (57.6)	32.8 (91)
Average high °C (°F)	4.9 (40.8)	5.4 (41.7)	8.6 (47.5)	12.4 (54.3)	16.2 (61.2)	18.5 (65.3)	21.0 (69.8)	21.1 (70)	18.0 (64.4)	13.7 (56.7)	9.0 (48.2)	5.6 (42.1)	12.9 (55.2)
Daily mean °C (°F)	2.7 (36.9)	2.7 (36.9)	5.3 (41.5)	8.2 (46.8)	12.0 (53.6)	14.6 (58.3)	17.0 (62.6)	16.9 (62.4)	14.2 (57.6)	10.5 (50.9)	6.5 (43.7)	3.3 (37.9)	9.5 (49.1)
Average low °C (°F)	0.1 (32.2)	−0.2 (31.6)	1.9 (35.4)	3.8 (38.8)	7.4 (45.3)	10.2 (50.4)	12.6 (54.7)	12.5 (54.5)	10.2 (50.4)	7.1 (44.8)	3.6 (38.5)	0.6 (33.1)	5.8 (42.4)
Record low °C (°F)	−19.9 (−3.8)	−16.3 (2.7)	−16.3 (2.7)	−5.9 (21.4)	−1.7 (28.9)	1.3 (34.3)	5.7 (42.3)	5.4 (41.7)	2.0 (35.6)	−6. (21)	−14.2 (6.4)	−19.2 (−2.6)	−19.9 (−3.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	68.9 (2.713)	51.1 (2.012)	58.1 (2.287)	38.2 (1.504)	57.3 (2.256)	68.2 (2.685)	74.5 (2.933)	82.7 (3.256)	84.3 (3.319)	81.4 (3.205)	82.1 (3.232)	73.0 (2.874)	819.8 (32.276)
Source: Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute

Demography

In 2010, Friesland had a population of 646,305 and a population density of 190/km² (490/sq mi).

The years 1880–1900 show slower population growth due to a farm crisis in which 20,000 Frisians emigrated to the United States of America.

Historical population of Friesland

Year Population 1714 129,243 1748 135,195 1796 161,513 1811 175,366 1830 204,909 1840 227,859 1850 243,191 1860 269,701 1870 300,863 1880 329,877 1890 335,558 1900 340,263	Year Population 1910 363,625 1920 385,362 1930 402,051 1940 424,462 1950 465,267 1960 478,206 1970 521,820 1982 592,314 1990 599,151 1999 621,222 2010 646,305

Anthropometry

Since the late Middle Ages, Friesland has been renowned for the exceptional height of its inhabitants, who were deemed among the tallest groups of Indo-Europeans. Even early Renaissance poet Dante Alighieri refers to the height of Frisians in his Divine Comedy when, in the canticle about Hell, he talks about the magnitude of an infernal demon by stating that "not even three tall Frieslanders, were they set one upon the other, would have matched his height".

Economy

Friesian horse

Friesland is mainly an agricultural province. The black and white Frisian cattle, black and white Stabyhoun and the black Frisian horse originated here. Tourism is another important source of income: the principal tourist destinations include the lakes in the southwest of the province and the islands in the Wadden Sea to the north. There are 195 windmills in the province of Friesland, out of a total of about 1200 in the entire country.

Culture

Language

Friesland is the only one of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands to have its own language, West Frisian. This is also spoken in a small adjacent part of the province of Groningen, to the east. Closely related languages are spoken in nearby areas of Germany. They are East Frisian (Seeltersk, which is different from East Frisian (Ostfriesisch) and is spoken in the Saterland, and a collection of Low German dialects of East Frisia) and North Frisian, spoken in North Friesland. These languages are also closely related to English.

Sports

Finish of the Elfstedentocht in 1956

The province is famous for its speed skaters, with mass participation in cross-country ice skating when weather conditions permit. When winters are cold enough to allow the freshwater canals to freeze hard, the province holds its traditional Elfstedentocht (Eleven cities tour), a 200-kilometre (120 mi) ice skating tour. A traditional sport is Frisian handball. Another Frisian practice is fierljeppen, a sport with some similarities to pole vaulting. A jump consists of an intense sprint to the pole (polsstok), jumping and grabbing it, then climbing to the top while trying to control the pole's forward and lateral movements over a body of water and finishing with a graceful landing on a sand bed opposite to the starting point. Because of all the diverse skills required in fierljeppen, fierljeppers are considered to be very complete athletes with superbly developed strength and coordination. In the warmer months, many Frisians practice wadlopen, the traditional art of wading across designated sections of the Wadden Sea at low tide.

There are currently two top level football clubs playing in Friesland: SC Cambuur from Leeuwarden (home stadium Cambuur Stadion) and SC Heerenveen (home stadium Abe Lenstra Stadion).

Government

John Jorritsma is the King's Commissioner of Friesland

Seat of the provincial government in Leeuwarden

The King's Commissioner of Friesland is John Jorritsma, who is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). The States of Friesland have 43 seats. The largest parties after the 2011 provincial elections are the Labour Party (PvdA) with 11 seats, the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) with 8 seats, and People's Party for Freedom and Democracy with 6 seats. The Provincial Executive is a coalition of the Labour Party, the Christian Democratic Appeal, and the Frisian National Party (FNP).

2011 provincial elections

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Labour Party	70.337	23,66	11
	Christian Democratic Appeal	52.530	17,67	8
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	41.088	13,82	6
	Frisian National Party	27.288	9,18	4
	Party for Freedom	25.116	8,45	4
	Socialist Party	24.872	8,37	3
	ChristianUnion	18.901	6,36	3
	GreenLeft	15.556	5,23	2
	Democrats 66	12.659	4,26	2
	50PLUS	4.053	1,36	0
	Provinciaal Belang Fryslân	3.558	1,20	0
	Party for the North	1.036	0,35	0
	Verenigd Links-Feriene Lofts	313	0,11	0
Total		297,307	100%	43

Transport

Leeuwarden railway station is a national heritage site

The four motorways in the province are A6, A7 (E22), A31, and A32.

The main railway station of Friesland is Leeuwarden, which connects the railways Arnhem–Leeuwarden, Harlingen–Nieuweschans, and Leeuwarden–Stavoren which are all (partially) located in the province.

Trajectory	Railway stations in Friesland
Arnhem–Leeuwarden	Drenthe – Wolvega – Heerenveen IJsstadion – Heerenveen – Akkrum – Grou-Jirnsum – Leeuwarden
Harlingen–Nieuweschans	Harlingen Haven – Harlingen – Franeker – Dronrijp – Deinum – Leeuwarden – Leeuwarden Camminghaburen – Hurdegaryp – Veenwouden – Zwaagwesteinde – Buitenpost – Groningen
Leeuwarden–Stavoren	Leeuwarden – Mantgum – Sneek Noord – Sneek – IJlst – Workum – Hindeloopen – Koudum-Molkwerum – Stavoren

Ameland Airport near Ballum and Drachten Airfield near Drachten are the two general aviation airports in the province. The Royal Netherlands Air Force uses Vlieland Heliport and the Leeuwarden Air Base.

Media

Friesch Dagblad and Leeuwarder Courant are daily newspapers mainly written in Dutch. Omrop Fryslân is the public broadcaster with radio and TV programs mainly in Frisian.

External links

• Province of Fryslân, official government website
• Provincial Tourist Board
• Frisian Film Archive
•