Vakantietips voor degenen die nog niets geboekt hebben … Thüringen Oranje kenner Bearn Bilker neemt ons mee naar zijn geliefde Thüringen. Uit Thüringen stammen vele grote componisten, beeldende kunstenaars, denkers en wetenschappers die de Duitse zowel als de West-Europese cultuur, in hoge mate beïnvloed en zelfs gevormd hebben. Maar ook ons huidige vorstenhuis heeft vele […]
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Planning a trip to Leeuwarden, the Dutch city that will be one of the European Capitals of Culture in 2018? The event will be opened in presence of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands on Saturday evening 27 January 2018. There will be lots of activities this year, not only in Leeuwarden, but […]
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On Saturday 27 January 2018 King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands came to Leeuwarden, in the north of the Netherlands, to open the European Capital of Culture 2018. Not only Leeuwarden, but also the Province of Friesland and even the neighbourprovinces Drenthe and Groningen are part of a year of celebrations and activities. […]
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1795, Leeuwarden, Province of Friesland, in the north of the Netherlands. The Orange-Nassau family has fled the country, the French troops have reached Friesland in February 1795. With the French as an example the patriots finally wanted to get rid of the Orange-Nassaus and the nobility. Politics were more important than ever in this period. […]
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A long time ago when there were no dikes yet, settlements in the Dutch Province of Friesland were built on artificial dwellings up to 15 metres high to protect the settlement from the floods in times the sea level rose. These mounds in Friesland were called ‘terpen’. Around the year 1200 the people started to […]
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Which one was the first castle I ever visited? I wouldn’t know. But according to my photo album in the Summer of 1981, when I was almost 8 years old, my parents, my younger sister and I visited the Radboud Castle in Medemblik, The Netherlands. If not the first, it was at least one of […]
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Ha, ha, asked my uncle Wietse Leistra, who is a local historian, whether the royals had ever been in the area of Northwest Friesland, The Netherlands. He came up with this picture from the royal train at Sexbierum, not too far from Tzummarum, on 27 September 1905. I searched and it turns out the railway […]
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Photos copyrighted I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw my mailbox this afternoon: King and Queen tp pay regional visit to Northwest Friesland on Monday 13 June 2016. It is the area in the Netherlands my parents originally come from, where part of my roots are. But of course they wouldn’t … but […]
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How to open a year to commemorate one of the grandest women in Frisian history? As written earlier 2015 is the The Year of Maria Louise. The official opening of the year on 9 April 2015 took place exactly 250 years after her death in 1765. Maria Louise Princess of Orange and of Nassau, born […]
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Maria Louise? Yes, Maria Louise, still quite well-known, especially in the Province of Friesland, The Netherlands. This Princess of Orange-Nassau, a born Princess von Hessen-Kassel, died on 9 April 1765 in Leeuwarden, the capital of the Province of Friesland. She is even better known under her nickname “Marijke Meu” (Aunt Mary). Her 250th death anniversary […]
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On 19 July 2011 I met a royal I thought I would never meet. Not only did I see her, I also took some pictures and was allowed to be present when she was being interviewed, and asked her some questions myself. A remarkably young looking 92-year-old: Princess Woizlawa Feodora Reuss née Duchess von Mecklenburg-Schwerin. […]
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On 14 June 2013 King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands visited the Dutch provinces Friesland and Noord-Holland. It was the fourth day of the tour through the twelve provinces of the Netherlands.It is a tradition that a new King and Queen visit the Dutch provinces. A visit to the Caribean part of the […]
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