Where oh where Wednesday: Friesland

It has always been interesting to me to see how many places are called “land” in Dutch. It makes it quite easy to understand where things are. Germany is “Duitsland”, England is “Engeland” and one that most English speakers would recognize, New Zealand is “Nieuw Zeeland”. This last one was of course named after the Dutch area of Zeeland. The new one was found and named across the oceans. Australia was also originally called New Holland. 

So when I look at a map of the Netherlands, one of the more interesting areas is up in the north and is called “Friesland”. This is all the more interesting because the area was basically its own country before and its language is not the same as Dutch. The Friezen (those from Friesland) speak a language that can be understood by many Dutchmen, but is different. 

The people of this province are also extremely proud of their heritage. The Frisia - the germanic people who inhabited and conquered the area from Bremen (in present-day Germany) to Brughes (in present-day Belgium) are mentioned in the Roman histories in the 4th century BC. But the area experienced a political and climatological downturn of two centuries where flooding and political pressure meant that no one lived in the area in the north. 

These Frisians fought for their freedom against the vikings, the Dutch of Holland and later the Hapsburg empire until they became a part of the Dutch Republic in the 17th century. Today their heritage is shown in local customs, in the flags of local football teams and in the language which is still spoken. As a matter of fact, Frisian must be available to all those going to court in Friesland. 

The province is home to some amazing natural beauties, including the Waddenzee and its islands. The city of Leeuwarden is the capitol of the province which boasts a population of more than 600,000.