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Sneek (; fy, Snits) is a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
southwest of
Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Stadsfries dialects, Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Fri ...
and the seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of
Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
,
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. As of 2011 it is the seat of the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân (Southwest Friesland). The city had approximately 33,855 inhabitants in January 2017. Sneek is situated in Southwest Friesland, close to the Sneekermeer, and is well known for its canals, the Waterpoort (''Watergate'', the symbol of the city), and
watersports Water sports or aquatic sports are sport activities conducted on waterbodies, and can be categorized according to the degree of immersion by the participants. On the water * Boat racing, the use of powerboats to participate in races * Boatin ...
(hosting the annual Sneekweek, the largest sailing event on inland European waterways). Sneek is one of the '' Friese elf steden'' ("Eleven cities of Friesland"). The city is very important in the southwestern part of Friesland (called the Zuidwesthoek, or ''Southwest Corner'').


History


History

Sneek was founded in the 10th century as ''Chud'' on a sandy peninsula at the crossing site of a dike with an important waterway (called the ''Magna Fossa'' in old documents). This waterway was dug when the former
Middelzee The Middelzee (Dutch for "middle sea"; fry, Middelsee), also called Bordine, was the estuary mouth of the River Boorne (West Frisian: ''Boarn'') now in the Dutch province of Friesland. It ran from as far south as Sneek northward to the Wadden Se ...
silted up. The dike can still be traced in the current street pattern and street names like ''Hemdijk'', ''Oude Dijk'', and ''Oosterdijk''. Sneek received several city rights in the 13th century, which became official in 1456. Sneek then became one of the eleven Frisian cities. This was also the beginning of a period of blooming trade for the city that would last until about 1550. In 1492 construction of a moat and wall around the city began. In those days Sneek was the only walled city in Friesland. The Waterpoort and the Bolwerk remain today. Before 2011, the city was an independent municipality.


Sister city Kurobe

Since September 10, 1970, Sneek and the Japanese city of Kurobe have been
sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...
. In 1970, Mayor L. Rasterhoff of Sneek visited the city of Kurobe and was named an honorary citizen. Mayor H. Terade of Kurobe made a visit to Sneek in 1972. In 2000 delegations of both cities visited each other again. The Japanese showed the citizens of Sneek a "Sneekplein", which was built in Kurobe.


Language

Sneek has its own
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
(called ''Snekers'') that dates back to the
Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...
before 1600. Snekers is part of the
Stadsfries dialects Stadsfries () or Town Frisian ( fy, Stedsk, link=no, ) is a set of dialects spoken in certain cities in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands, namely Leeuwarden, Sneek, Bolsward, Franeker, Dokkum, Harlingen, Stavoren, and to so ...
.


Trade and industry

The clothing store C&A started in 1841 with a store in Sneek. The Candyfactory Leaf produces Peppermint under the name as well as chewing gum (Sportlife) and various other sweets. The name "KING" has nothing to do with the English word 'king'; it stands for ("Quality equaled by nothing"). Sneek also has steel, machinery and rope factories. Since 1964 there is a factory of Yoshida YKK from Kurobe. Besides that, the supermarket branch Poiesz, clothing brand Gaastra and Frisian gin called beerenburg from Weduwe Joustra are products that have their roots in Sneek.


Places of interest

Sneek is well known as the center of watersports with over 130 watersport companies and 13 Marinas. It also has a historic inner city replete with houses of old upper-class families. * Waterpoort (1613) * Sneek Town Hall (1550) * Grote of Martinikerk (
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
, 1498), with a carillon of 50 bells * St. Martin's Church (Catholic, 1872)
Tonnema Candy Factory
(1955) * Dúvelsrak and Krúsrak, wooden bridges across the A7 motorway.


Transport

By road, Sneek is connected to the A7 motorway and N354 Buses and trains in the town are operated by
Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Houkesloot, leading to the Prinses Margrietkanaal; River de Geeuw, leading to IJlst; de Zwette, leading to Leeuwarden; Franekervaart, leading to Franeker.


Art and Culture


Museums

* Fries Scheepvaart Museum Frisian Maritime Museum * Nationaal Modelspoor Museum National Model Train Museum


Podia

* Het Bolwerk, very first poppodium of Friesland, since 1975. Member of the Fries Popnet.


Cultural Quarter

In 2010 there will be a Cultural Quarter, The municipality has made plans to connect various Cultural areas into one big Cultural Quarter. The total costs of the plans are about €35,000,000 and include * The Noorderchurch will house a theatre and a Center of the Arts (CvdK - Centrum voor de Kunsten) * The Bolwerk will house another part of the CvdK * A new Theatre (Capacity of 600 people) at the location of the former postoffice-building * The connection between the Theatre and the Bolwerk with a walking bridge and a floating podium in the city canal. This part won't be constructed because of high costs. * The Public library and the Martinichurch will be linked to the Cultural Quarter


Silver Ball

The Culture Award of Sneek is called The Silver Ball and has been awarded 11 times. The award is given annually to a person that has done an improvement/good job on the areas of Music and Culture for Sneek and its surroundings. Some of the winners are: * Henk van der Veer, writer * 2005: Maaike Schuurmans, musical actress * 2006: Yede van Dijk, actor * 2007: Bennie Hoogstra, 25 years playing the Drum- & Showkorps Advendo


Events

* Sneekweek, Sailevent on the Sneekermeer * Swinging Sneek, live-music in cafés and on street


Education

Sneek has eleven primary schools and three high schools.


Sport


Sports centres

* Sportcentrum Schuttersveld * Sportpark Noorderhoek * Sportpark SWZ Sneek * Sportpark Leeuwarderweg * Swimming pool It Rak * Zuidersportpark


Sport Clubs

* Sneek Wit Zwart(SWZ), football club * LSC 1890, one of the oldest football clubs in the Netherlands * ONS Sneek, football club * Black Boys, football club * Waterpoort boys, football club * Sneeker MHC, hockey club * VC Sneek, volleyball club * Neptunia'24, water polo club * L.T.C. NOMI, tennis club * White Cats Sneek, baseball and softball club * FC Gescheurde Knieband, football club


Sportevents

*
Elfstedentocht The ''Elfstedentocht'' (; West Frisian: ''Alvestêdetocht'' , English: ''Eleven cities tour'') is a long-distance tour skating event on natural ice, almost long, which is held both as a speed skating competition (with 300 contestants) and a lei ...
Eleven city ice skating race and tour * Fietselfstedentocht Eleven city cycling tour


Notable people

* Rienck Bockema (ca. 1350-1436) * Pier Gerlofs Donia, (ca. 1480 - 1529), Frisian freedom fighter, rebel and pirate 'Grutte Pier' * Murk van Phelsum (1730–1799), physician * Nicolaas Molenaar (1850–1930), architect * Jakob van Schevichaven (1866–1935), detective writer * Geert Aeilco Wumkes (1869–1954), theologian and historian * Willem de Sitter (1872–1934), mathematician, physicist and astronomer *
Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy (born Pieter Gerbrandij; 13 April 1885 – 7 September 1961) was a Dutch politician and jurist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 3 September 1940 until 25 June 1945. He oversaw the government-in-exile ...
(1885–1961), politician * Frits Wissel (1907–1999), pilot, discoverer of the Wissel Lakes in New-Guinea. * Klaas Dijkstra (1895 - 1969), advocate of pseudoscience (
Flat Earth The flat-Earth model is an archaic and scientifically disproven conception of Earth's shape as a plane or disk. Many ancient cultures subscribed to a flat-Earth cosmography, including Greece until the classical period (5th century BC), t ...
) * Kees Deenik (1915–1993), singer, TV producer * Dieuwkje Nauta (1930–2008), teacher, politician * Bart Tromp (1944–2007), sociologist * Joke Tjalsma (1957), actress * Toon Gerbrands (1957), coach and manager * Pauline Krikke (1961), politician * Manon Thomas (1963),
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
presenter * Jan Posthuma (1963), international volleyball player * Ronald Zoodsma (1966), international volleyball player * Monique Sluyter (1967), model and television star * Olof van der Meulen (1968), volleyball player * Sherida Spitse (1990), soccer player * Wiebe Nijenhuis (died 2016), strongest man of Friesland 1982-1984 * Ida Hoekema Ietje Hinje (1967), Tourist & Venidera in Bergondo (Galiza) *
Nyck De Vries Hendrik Johannes Nicasius "Nyck" de Vries (; born 6 February 1995) is a Dutch racing driver who is currently serving as the reserve driver for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. He is confirmed to be driving full-time in Formula 1 at Scuderia A ...
(1995), Racing Driver


Living

Sneek has around 14,000 houses. Half of those houses are rental houses. There are new projects in different neighbourhoods.


Extra Information

In 1519–1520, the Frisian warlord and freedom fighter Pier Gerlofs Donia spent his last days in Sneek. Donia died peacefully in bed at 12Fries Scheepvaart Museum, Object number 1992-257 on 18 October 1520. Pier is buried in Sneek in the 15th-century Groote Kerk (also called the Martinikerk).Geldersche Volks-Almanak Published 1853 His tomb is located on the north side of the church. This quaint little city has a shopping center that is walker and biker friendly. There are high-end clothing stores, restaurants, bars, music stores, cafes, coffee shops, and an old-fashioned candy store.


References


External links

*
Tourism Sneek

Official website of the Sneekweek sailing event
{{Authority control Súdwest-Fryslân Former municipalities of Friesland Populated places in Friesland Cities in Friesland Cities in the Netherlands Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2011