Leeuwarden

Leeuwarden (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈleːʋ.ɑrdə(n)] , Frisian: Ljouwert [ˈʎɔːw(ə)t], Stadsfries: Liwwadden) is a city and municipality with a population of 108,249 in Friesland in the Netherlands. It is the provincial capital and seat of the States of Friesland.

The oldest remains of houses date back to the 2nd century AD. Leeuwarden has been permanently inhabited since the 10th century. It was granted city privileges in 1435. The city was liberated from German occupation in World War II by The Royal Canadian Dragoons in 1945. Part of the city centre was destroyed by fire in 2013.

Besides the city of Leeuwarden, population centres in the municipality with a population of 1,000 or more are Grou, Goutum,Wergea, Jirnsum, Reduzum, and Wirdum. The municipality is governed by mayor Ferd Crone and a coalition of the Labour Party,Christian Democratic Appeal, and PAL-GroenLinks.

The Elfstedentocht is a skating tour that starts and finishes in Leeuwarden.

Etymology

The name "Leeuwarden" (or older spelling variants) first came into use for Nijehove, the most important one of the three villages that later merged into one, namely Oldehove and Hoek in the early 9th century (Villa Lintarwrde c. 825). There is much uncertainty about the origin of the city's name. Historian and archivist Wopke Eekhoff summed up a total of over 200 different spelling variants, of which Leeuwarden (Dutch), Liwwadden (Stadsfries), and Ljouwert (West Frisian) are still in use.

The second syllable is easily explained. Warden, Frisian/Dutch for an artificial dwelling hill, is a designation of terps, reflecting the historical situation.

The first part of the name, leeuw, means lion in modern standard Dutch. This interpretation corresponds with the coat of armsadopted by the city, which features a heraldic lion. However, modern standard Dutch was not used in this region in the Middle Ages, when the city was called Lintarwrde. Some scholars argue that the name of the city is derived from leeu-, a corruption ofluw- (Dutch for sheltered from the wind, cf. the maritime term leeward) or from lee- (a Dutch word for waterway). The last one suits the watery province of Friesland.

History

The oldest remains of houses are dating back to the 2nd century AD and were discovered during a dig near the Oldehove.

The area has been permanently inhabited since the 10th century, and was mentioned as a city in German sources in 1285. The actual city privileges were granted in 1435. Situated along the Middelzee, it was an active trade centre, until the waterway silted up in the 15th century.In 1901 the city had a population of 32,203. During World War II, after extensive occupation by theGerman forces, on 15 April 1945, The Royal Canadian Dragoons, disobeying direct orders, charged into the heavily defended city and defeated the Germans, who were driven out by the next day. The Royal Canadian Dragoons still fly the flag of the city of Leeuwarden wherever they are stationed.

On Saturday 19 October 2013, a fire broke out in a clothes shop on a busy pedestrian street. The fire started late in the afternoon and destroyed over 15 shops and flats. Everyone on the street was evacuated as the blaze damaged dozens of properties. A 24-year-old man who was living in one of the flats died because the fire was not under control until Sunday morning. Due to this the fire burnt all through the night. The man called the fire brigade, before collapsing because the services could not reach him. The birthplace of Mata Hari was destroyed. The firemen took 4 and a half hours to put out the fire.

Heraldry

The coat of arms of Leeuwarden is the official symbol of the municipality of Leeuwarden. It consists of a blue escutcheon, a golden lionand a crown. The fact Leeuwarden carries a lion in its seal seems logical, considering that "Leeuw" is Dutch for "Lion". However, it is very plausible the oldest name of the city conceals an indication of water rather than an animal. Some sources tell the lion had been called into life after the name became official. It is also possible the coat of arms was a gift to the city from the powerful Minnema family.

Geography

Leeuwarden is located at 3°12′N 5°47′E in the center of the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands.

Population centres

Leeuwarden consists of 19 population centres as of 1 January 2014 when parts of the former municipality of Boarnsterhim were added to Leeuwarden.

Culture

Architecture

Well-known buildings in the city centre include the Kanselarij (the former chancellery), the Stadhouderlijk hof, former residence of the stadtholders of Friesland, the Waag (old trade centre of the city), the Saint Boniface church and the leaning tower Oldehove. The tallest building in the city is the 115 metre tall Achmeatoren (Achmea insurance tower).

Leeuwarden is also the site of the country's largest cattle market, and on Ascension Day, the largest flower market in the Netherlands is held here. The Froskepôlemolen is the last surviving windmill of over 130 known to have stood in Leeuwarden. The remains of theCammingha-Buurstermolen were demolished in 2000. The bases of two other windmills, Wielinga-Stam and De Haan also survive.

The Slauerhoffbrug is a fully automatic bascule bridge named after J. Slauerhoff.

Sport

Leeuwarden is the starting and finishing point for the celebrated Elfstedentocht, a 200 km-long speed skating race over the Frisian waterways that is held when winter conditions in the province allow. As of 2015, it last took place in January 1997, preceded by the races of 1986 and 1985. In 1986 the Dutch king Willem-Alexander participated in the Eleven cities tour, with the pseudonym W.A. van Buren, which is the pseudonym of the royal family of The Netherlands. The city's local football team, Cambuur Leeuwarden plays in the Eredivisie. In the season 2005/06, the club narrowly escaped bankruptcy. Its Cambuurstadion opened in 1995. The football team has proposed plans for a new stadium in the east side of the city, which will cost €35 million. The city's basketball team, Aris Leeuwarden plays in the Dutch Basketball League since 2004.

The Frisian Solar Challenge is a solar boat race that starts and finishes in Leeuwarden.

Cultural capital

On September 6, 2013 Leeuwarden was voted European Capital of Culture for the year 2018.

Politics

In the Netherlands, a municipality is governed by the college of mayor and aldermen and the municipal council. Ferd Crone of the Labour Partyhas been mayor of Leeuwarden since 2007. Since the 2014 municipal elections, the Labour Party (3 aldermen), Christian Democratic Appeal (2 aldermen), PAL GroenLinks (1 alderman) form a coalition. The municipal council of Leeuwarden has 39 seats.

As provincial capital, Leeuwarden is also the seat of the King's Commissioner John Jorritsma and the States of Friesland.

Sister cities

Oryol in the Oryol Oblast in Russia is a sister city of Leeuwarden.

Transport

The Leeuwarden railway station is the main railway station of Leeuwarden. There are local, regional, and national trains connecting the city to the surrounding area, the neighboring provinces of Groningen and Drenthe, and the rest of the Netherlands. The other stations in the municipality are Leeuwarden Achter de Hoven, Leeuwarden Camminghaburen, and Grou-Jirnsum. A fifth station Leeuwarden Werpsterhoek is planned to be opened in 2018.

In Leeuwarden, there are 40 local, regional, and national bus services provided by Arriva with destinations in the city, to other towns in Friesland, and to Alkmaar in North Holland. There are also six regional bus services provided by Qbuzz eastward to Oosterwolde and Drachten.

Education

Leeuwarden has a number of respected universities of applied science (HBO in Dutch), such as the Van Hall Instituut (agricultural and life sciences), the Stenden University of Applied Sciences (hotel management, economical and media management) and the NHL Hogeschool (economical, technical and arts).

Although the city has no scientific university, several dependencies are located here, including those of the Wageningen University,Universiteit Twente and the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. About 16,000 students, among them an increasing number of foreign students, study at technical schools. Besides higher education, the city is also home to three regional vocational schools (MBO): the Friese Poort,Friesland College, and Nordwin College.

Notable residents

• Eva and Abraham Beem (1932/1934–1944), Jewish Holocaust victims
• Cisca Dresselhuys (born 1943), journalist and magazine editor
• Dirk van Erp (1860–1933), artisan and metalsmith
• M. C. Escher (1898–1972), graphic artist
• Femme Gaastra (born 1945), historian
• Richard Hageman (1881–1966), conductor, pianist, composer, and actor
• Wijerd Jelckama (c. 1490–1523), military commander
• Willem van Haren (1710–1768), poet
• Mata Hari (1876–1917), exotic dancer and courtesan
• Havank (1904–1964), writer, journalist, and translator
• Johannes Henricus Gerardus Jansen (1868–1936), archbishop
• Hendrik Niehoff (1495–c. 1561), pipe organ maker
• William IV, Prince of Orange, stadtholder
• Piet Paaltjens (1835–1894), minister and writer
• Joachim van Plettenberg (1739–1793), colonial governor
• Tjitske Reidinga (born 1972), actress
• Folkert de Roos (1920–2000), economist
• J. Slauerhoff (1898–1936), poet and novelist
• Pieter Jelles Troelstra (1860–1930), politician
• Cornelis Adriaan Lobry van Troostenburg de Bruyn (1857–1904), chemist
• Saskia van Uylenburg (1612–1642), wife of the painter Rembrandt
• Lodewijk Caspar Valckenaer (1715–1785), classical scholar
• Hans Vredeman de Vries (1527–c. 1607), architect, painter, and engineer
• Harm Wiersma (born 1953), draughts player and politician