Appelscha
Encyclopedia
Appelscha is a village in the municipality of Ooststellingwerf
in the province of Friesland
, the Netherlands
. It has just under 5000 inhabitants.
After 1827 the village extends with the advent of thousands Frisian workers for peat extraction, and the modern village was created. The Social conditions were however, very poor. By the time peat yielded much less than coal, a huge strike broke out (1888). Because of this large immigration of Frisian workers, Appelscha became a Frisian-speaking village,in a municipality where otherwise Stellingwarfs
was spoken, a dialect of Dutch.
transferred to Appelscha. Many thousands of patients spent years in the huge forest to try to cure their tuberculosis. Today only the X-ray department of the Sanatorium is left. This is the only tuberculosis museum in the world.
Ooststellingwerf
Ooststellingwerf is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands.It is one of the municipalities of Friesland, where the spoken language is not West Frisian; instead, Stellingwerfs, a dialect of Dutch Low Saxon, is spoken here....
in the province of Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. It has just under 5000 inhabitants.
History
Appelscha was first named in written documents in 1247. It consisted from a few farms surrounding the Boerestreek (what was called high-Appelscha) for centuries,the hamlets Aakinga, Terwisscha and De Bult close by. Appelscha remained a small village, tucked away between sand dunes and wet peat.Sand and Peat
Around 1450 dikes were constructed to ensure the acid leakwater from the peat returned to the fields. The old Appelscha suffered much of drifting sand from the dunes. In 1881 people therefore started with the construction of the forest.After 1827 the village extends with the advent of thousands Frisian workers for peat extraction, and the modern village was created. The Social conditions were however, very poor. By the time peat yielded much less than coal, a huge strike broke out (1888). Because of this large immigration of Frisian workers, Appelscha became a Frisian-speaking village,in a municipality where otherwise Stellingwarfs
Stellingwarfs
Stellingwarfs is the form of Dutch Low Saxon spoken in Ooststellingwerf and Weststellingwerf in the Dutch province of Friesland.By some observers included within Stellingwarfs is Veenkoloniaals, which is spoken in the village of Noordwolde in the Dutch province of Friesland.Stellingwarfs is easily...
was spoken, a dialect of Dutch.
Sanatorium Beatrixoord
In 1922, the Friesch Volkssanatorium from JoureJoure
Joure is a town in the Dutch province of Friesland. With 13,000 inhabitants, it is the largest town in the municipality of Skarsterlân.-History:...
transferred to Appelscha. Many thousands of patients spent years in the huge forest to try to cure their tuberculosis. Today only the X-ray department of the Sanatorium is left. This is the only tuberculosis museum in the world.
Tourism
The in 1888 landscaped forest and the sand dunes attracted many tourists to Appelscha, and became famous in the Netherlands for its natural beauty. Alongside the Boerestreek you'll find restaurants, regular markets during weekends and summer. Many other attractions at the Boerestreek appealed to tourists as well, like an amusement park. The amusement park moved to the edge of the village in 1997.Population
- 1954 - 3.331
- 1959 - 3.367
- 1964 - 3.113
- 1969 - 3.333
- 1974 - 3.547
- 2009 - 5.123