Wieringen
Encyclopedia
Wieringen is a municipality in the Netherlands
, in the province of North Holland
. It consists of a former island, also named Wieringen, and there are plans to make Wieringen an island again by widening the Amsteldiepkanaal into a lake called the Wieringerrandmeer.
, De Hoelm, Den Oever
, Hippolytushoef
, Hollebalg, Noordburen
, Oosterklief, Oosterland, Smerp, Stroe, Vatrop
, Westerklief and Westerland.
, which were formed during the Saale Ice Age
. The name Wieringen has nothing to do with "wier"(seaweed
in Dutch), but this connection was often made in former days. Probably the name came from Old Frisian
wîr = "height".
in a list of property owned by the monastery
at Fulda
, dated late 8th century or early 9th century AD. In that list, the entries that mention Wieringen are:-
treasure
was found in 1996 in a pasture at the hamlet of Westerklief, showing that Wieringen in the 9th century was for a short time an operating base of Viking
s. The treasure is approx. 1.7 kilograms of silver coins and jewels and small silver ingots. It now can be seen in the Rijksmuseum voor Oudheden in Leiden. Some years later were found smaller silver treasures from the same period which confirmed the picture. Wieringen became an island around 1200 as a result of successive storm floods.
The area was initially inhabited and controlled by Frisians
, until the Dutch count Floris V made the Wieringers subject in 1284. Afterwards the area was unquiet for a time, and since 1297 was directly under the county of Holland, for it fell under Westfriesland. Westfriesland fell for some time under Frisian rule. In 1299 the county of Holland retook Holland and Westfriesland, and Wieringen fell under the district of Westfriesland. In 1432 all the island of Wieringen officially became one township and received city rights
. But as more of Holland and Westfriesland developed and became more habitable, the importance of Wieringen decreased relatively.
In 1798, when the Batavian Republic
formed, the province of Holland and West Friesland
was divided differently: it fell under the département of Texel (from the Vlie
to the Rhine). In 1807 under Napoleon the province was differently subdivided and in two types of provinces; Amstelland and Maasland, but in 1814 came to that an end. In 1815 Holland with Westfriesland became a province of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. To reduce the dominance of the province of Holland, in 1840 under King Willem I it was split into the provinces of Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland. Since then Wieringen has been under the province of Noord-Holland.
In 1924 Wieringen stopped being an island, because on 31 July 1924 the Amsteldiep was closed by a short dam called the Amsteldiepdijk. In 1930 the Eastern Wieringermeerdijk was completed in the Zuiderzee, and with it the adjacent polder the Wieringermeer
. The closing of the Zuiderzee was completed in 1932 by the Afsluitdijk
, a large dike which links Wieringen with Friesland. This dike starts at Den Oever
.
Soon after these changes Wieringen became an exile refuge for the German crown prince Wilhelm. He with his father Wilhelm II
fled in November 1918 from Flanders to the Netherlands and got political asylum. On 22 November 1918 he arrived on the island, and he left 10 November 1923 to Germany. In the meantime at the blacksmithy in Hippolytushoef
he learned how to forge horseshoe
s.
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...
, in the province of North Holland
North Holland
North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...
. It consists of a former island, also named Wieringen, and there are plans to make Wieringen an island again by widening the Amsteldiepkanaal into a lake called the Wieringerrandmeer.
Population centres
The municipality of Wieringen consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Dam, De HaukesDe Haukes
De Haukes is a hamlet in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Wieringen, and lies about 14 km southeast of Den Helder. De Haukes is located on the west end of the former island. The harbour of Wieringen used to be here, until the island was connected to the...
, De Hoelm, Den Oever
Den Oever
Den Oever is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Wieringen, and lies about east of Den Helder...
, Hippolytushoef
Hippolytushoef
Hippolytushoef is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town of the municipality of Wieringen, and lies about 14 km east of Den Helder....
, Hollebalg, Noordburen
Noordburen
Noordburen is a hamlet in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Wieringen. Noordburen lies about 14 km southeast of Den Helder, and one km north of Hippolytushoef.Noordburen has a population of around 20....
, Oosterklief, Oosterland, Smerp, Stroe, Vatrop
Vatrop
Vatrop is a hamlet in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Wieringen, and lies about 17 km southeast of Den Helder. Vatrop is one of the oldest inhabited places of the former island....
, Westerklief and Westerland.
History
The landscape of Wieringen is not all flat: it is characterised by dam ramparts of boulder clayBoulder clay
Boulder clay, in geology, is a deposit of clay, often full of boulders, which is formed in and beneath glaciers and ice-sheets wherever they are found, but is in a special sense the typical deposit of the Glacial Period in northern Europe and North America...
, which were formed during the Saale Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. The name Wieringen has nothing to do with "wier"(seaweed
Seaweed
Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...
in Dutch), but this connection was often made in former days. Probably the name came from Old Frisian
Old Frisian
Old Frisian is a West Germanic language spoken between the 8th and 16th centuries in the area between the Rhine and Weser on the European North Sea coast. The Frisian settlers on the coast of South Jutland also spoke Old Frisian but no medieval texts of this area are known...
wîr = "height".
Earliest references
The first known references to Wieringen is as "Wiron" or "pagus Wirense" in LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
in a list of property owned by the monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
at Fulda
Fulda
Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...
, dated late 8th century or early 9th century AD. In that list, the entries that mention Wieringen are:-
- Ego Gebi tradidi ad monasterium sancti Bonifacii in pago Wirense curtilem unam cum omnibus que ad eam pertinent, terris et mancipiis, domibus et mancipiis. = "I, Gebi, have transferred to the monastery of St. BonifaciusBonifaciusComes Bonifacius was a Roman general and governor of the Diocese of Africa. Along with his rival, Flavius Aëtius, he is sometimes termed "the last of the Romans."...
in the area Wieringen one mansion with all that goes with it, land with the serfs and dwellings with the serfs.".
- Ego Gerwic de Fresia trado sancto Bonifacio ad Fuldense monasterium terram iuris mei iuxta fluvium Maresdeop et quicquid proprietatis habui sive in agris vel pratis, silvis, domibus vel mancipiis. = "I, Gerwic of FrieslandFrieslandFriesland 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...
, transfer to St. BonifaciusBonifaciusComes Bonifacius was a Roman general and governor of the Diocese of Africa. Along with his rival, Flavius Aëtius, he is sometimes termed "the last of the Romans."...
of the monasteryMonasteryMonastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of FuldaFuldaFulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...
the land that is under my jurisdiction near the river MarsdiepMarsdiepThe Marsdiep is a deep tide-race between Den Helder and Texel in the Netherlands, and running southwards between sandbanks. That gap connects the North Sea and the Waddenzee....
, and all I had in possession either fields or meadows, forests, houses or serfs.".
-
- It describes the MarsdiepMarsdiepThe Marsdiep is a deep tide-race between Den Helder and Texel in the Netherlands, and running southwards between sandbanks. That gap connects the North Sea and the Waddenzee....
as "fluvium Maresdeop": fluvium is LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for "river"; it seems that in that time TexelTexelTexel is a municipality and an island in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the biggest and most populated of the Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this archipelago, which extends to Denmark...
and Wieringen were much bigger and spread across what is now the western end of the Waddenzee and perhaps also other areas which are now sea or have been re-empoldered since. Wieringen and Texel may have met as opposite banks of the Maresdeop (which name may mean "morass deep"), which was then an ordinary river with banks of permanent land (but perhaps a large river, as it is called a "deep").
- It describes the Marsdiep
- Ego Geltrud tradidi ad monasterium sancti Bonifacii omnem proprietatem meam in agris, silvis et de pratis ad XX carradas feni, in loco nuncupato Wictulfingafurt in pago Wironi. = "I, Geltrud, have transferred to the monastery of St. BonifaciusBonifaciusComes Bonifacius was a Roman general and governor of the Diocese of Africa. Along with his rival, Flavius Aëtius, he is sometimes termed "the last of the Romans."...
all my property in fields, forests and from the meadows to [= "enough land to produce"?] 20 cart-loads of hayHayHay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
, in the place named Wictulfingafurt, in the area Wieringen ...". Wictulfingafurt means "the ford of the sons or people of a man called Wictulf".
- Ego in Dei nomine Isanbalt et uxor mea Sigibirn de Fresia tradimus ad sanctum Bonifacium in villa que dicitur Brochenlar, in pago Wirah, quicquid proprietatis habuimus, hoc est de terra arabili quantum XI modus conseri potest. = "In God's name I, Isanbalt and my wife Sigibirn from FrieslandFrieslandFriesland 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...
, transfer to St. Bonifacius in the manorManorialismManorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
which is named Brochenlar, in the area [named] Wieringen, all we had in property, that is of ploughPloughThe plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
land as much as can be sowed with 11 measures [of seed].".
-
- The places Wictulfingafurt and Brochenlar cannot now be found, and their sites are likeliest now under the sea, or under some polderPolderA polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...
which has been made since.
- The places Wictulfingafurt and Brochenlar cannot now be found, and their sites are likeliest now under the sea, or under some polder
- Ego Hunbertus tradidi ad sanctum Bonifacium quicquid mihi in regione Frésionum in pago Wirah mei reliquere parentes in hereditatem, cunctamque meam possessionem, hoc est in terris, agris, pratis, pascuis, silvis, aquis, domibus ac familiis. = "I, Hunbertus, have transferred to St. Bonifacius whatever in the region of the FrisiansFrisiansThe Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
in the area Wieringen my parents left me in inheritance, and my complete possessions, that it in fields, meadows, grassland, forests, waters, dwellings, and all the families [= "inhabitants of that estate"]".
-
- These gifts are all dated between 800AD and 820AD and include 5 manors.
- A possessions list of the St. Martin's church in UtrechtUtrecht (city)Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
, dated 948, lists a church domain with 12 farms at Alvitlo (= De Elft), and 72 [probably mostly small] farms at Strude (= StroeStroe (North Holland)Stroe is a hamlet in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Wieringen, and lies about southeast of Den Helder....
). Both these places still exist and are in Wieringen.
- The amount of property in land in these two lists, would need an area much bigger than the modern (up to the 1930's) island of Wieringen.
Later history
SilverSilver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
treasure
Treasure
Treasure is a concentration of riches, often one which is considered lost or forgotten until being rediscovered...
was found in 1996 in a pasture at the hamlet of Westerklief, showing that Wieringen in the 9th century was for a short time an operating base of Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s. The treasure is approx. 1.7 kilograms of silver coins and jewels and small silver ingots. It now can be seen in the Rijksmuseum voor Oudheden in Leiden. Some years later were found smaller silver treasures from the same period which confirmed the picture. Wieringen became an island around 1200 as a result of successive storm floods.
The area was initially inhabited and controlled by Frisians
Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
, until the Dutch count Floris V made the Wieringers subject in 1284. Afterwards the area was unquiet for a time, and since 1297 was directly under the county of Holland, for it fell under Westfriesland. Westfriesland fell for some time under Frisian rule. In 1299 the county of Holland retook Holland and Westfriesland, and Wieringen fell under the district of Westfriesland. In 1432 all the island of Wieringen officially became one township and received city rights
City rights in the Netherlands
City rights are a medieval phenomenon in the history of the Low Countries. A liegelord, usually a count, duke or similar member of high nobility, granted a settlement he owned certain town privileges that settlements without city rights did not have....
. But as more of Holland and Westfriesland developed and became more habitable, the importance of Wieringen decreased relatively.
In 1798, when the Batavian Republic
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland....
formed, the province of Holland and West Friesland
West Friesland (historical region)
West Friesland is a historical region in the northern part of the Netherlands. It was located in parts of what now is Noord-Holland and the Waddenzee. The region was bordered by the rivers Vlie and IJ...
was divided differently: it fell under the département of Texel (from the Vlie
Vlie
The Vlie or Vliestroom is the seaway between the Dutch islands of Vlieland, to its southwest, and Terschelling, to its northeast. The Vlie was the estuary of the river IJssel in medieval times...
to the Rhine). In 1807 under Napoleon the province was differently subdivided and in two types of provinces; Amstelland and Maasland, but in 1814 came to that an end. In 1815 Holland with Westfriesland became a province of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. To reduce the dominance of the province of Holland, in 1840 under King Willem I it was split into the provinces of Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland. Since then Wieringen has been under the province of Noord-Holland.
In 1924 Wieringen stopped being an island, because on 31 July 1924 the Amsteldiep was closed by a short dam called the Amsteldiepdijk. In 1930 the Eastern Wieringermeerdijk was completed in the Zuiderzee, and with it the adjacent polder the Wieringermeer
Wieringermeer
Wieringermeer is a municipality and a polder in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.- Population centres :The municipality of Wieringermeer consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Kreileroord, Middenmeer, Slootdorp, Wieringerwerf.- History :Around the year...
. The closing of the Zuiderzee was completed in 1932 by the Afsluitdijk
Afsluitdijk
The Afsluitdijk is a major causeway in the Netherlands, constructed between 1927 and 1933 and running from Den Oever on Wieringen in North Holland province, to the village of Zurich in Friesland province, over a length of and a width of 90 m, at an initial height of 7.25 m above sea-level.It is...
, a large dike which links Wieringen with Friesland. This dike starts at Den Oever
Den Oever
Den Oever is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Wieringen, and lies about east of Den Helder...
.
Soon after these changes Wieringen became an exile refuge for the German crown prince Wilhelm. He with his father Wilhelm II
William II, German Emperor
Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...
fled in November 1918 from Flanders to the Netherlands and got political asylum. On 22 November 1918 he arrived on the island, and he left 10 November 1923 to Germany. In the meantime at the blacksmithy in Hippolytushoef
Hippolytushoef
Hippolytushoef is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town of the municipality of Wieringen, and lies about 14 km east of Den Helder....
he learned how to forge horseshoe
Horseshoe
A horseshoe, is a fabricated product, normally made of metal, although sometimes made partially or wholly of modern synthetic materials, designed to protect a horse's hoof from wear and tear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall...
s.
Local government
The municipal council of Wieringen consists of 13 seats, which are divided as follows:- OW '91 – 5 seats
- VVDPeople's Party for Freedom and DemocracyThe People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
– 3 seats - PvdALabour Party (Netherlands)The Labour Party , is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Since the 2003 Dutch General Election, the PvdA has been the second largest political party in the Netherlands. The PvdA was a coalition member in the fourth Balkenende cabinet following 22 February 2007...
– 3 seats - CDAChristian Democratic AppealThe Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
– 2 seats