Although I still haven’t seen all noble estates in the province of Groningen, on Saturday I went cycling in the province of Friesland next door, where manors are not called “borg” like in Groningen, but “state”. As I wanted to visit the grave of my great-great-grandparents in Stiens, north of the capital city of Leeuwarden, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
