Franeker (; fry, Frjentsjer) is one of the eleven historical

cities 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 ...

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 ...

and capital of the municipality of

Waadhoeke Waadhoeke is a municipality of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It was established 1 January 2018 and consists of the former municipalities of Franekeradeel, het Bildt, Menameradiel and parts of Littenseradiel, all four of which were ...

. It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about 20 km west of

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of th ...

. As of 1 January 2014, it had 12,781 inhabitants. The Eise Eisinga Planetarium, established in 1781, is located in the city.

History

Atlas Schoemaker-FRIESLAND-DEEL3-3058-Friesland, Franeker

Franeker was founded around 800 as a

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...

stronghold. The name probably derives from ''Froon-acker'', meaning "land of the lord/king"; the oldest street in the city is still called Froonacker. Beginning around the 11th century, Franeker developed into the administrative center Westergoa. Franeker received

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

in 1374. In the 15th century, Albert, Duke of Saxony established himself in Franeker. The city appeared for a time to be growing into the primary city of Friesland, but was eventually overshadowed in this role by Leeuwarden. During the period of the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...

, the town sided early on with

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

. From 1585 to 1811, the city housed the

University of Franeker The University of Franeker (1585–1811) was a university in Franeker, Friesland, the Netherlands. It was the second oldest university of the Netherlands, founded shortly after Leiden University. History Also known as ''Academia Franekerensis ...

, which was the second Protestant university in the Netherlands. It was closed shortly after the incorporation of the

Kingdom of Holland The Kingdom of Holland ( nl, Holland (contemporary), (modern); french: Royaume de Hollande) was created by Napoleon Bonaparte, overthrowing the Batavian Republic in March 1806 in order to better control the Netherlands. Since becoming Empero ...

into the French Empire. A successor institution, the ''Rijksatheneum'', was founded in 1815, but in 1847 it, too, closed. Before 2018, the city was part of the Franekeradeel municipality and before 1984 the city was a municipality of its own.

Geography

Franeker is located in the municipality of

in the northwest of the province of

in the north of the

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 ...

. It is east of the city of Harlingen, north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about west of the provincial capital

Demographics

As of 1 January 2014, the city of Franeker had a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

of 12,781.

Culture

Museums

The Eise Eisinga Planetarium and the Museum Martena are museums located in the city. The Planetarium is an

orrery An orrery is a mechanical model of the Solar System that illustrates or predicts the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons, usually according to the heliocentric model. It may also represent the relative sizes of these bodies ...

built by a local wool carder to explain a

conjunction Conjunction may refer to: * Conjunction (grammar), a part of speech * Logical conjunction, a mathematical operator ** Conjunction introduction, a rule of inference of propositional logic * Conjunction (astronomy), in which two astronomical bodies ...

of the planets and to help mitigate local fears of what would happen during the planets' alignment. Built in Eisinga's own living room, it is one of the oldest operating orreries in the world. The Museum Martena, opened in 2006, is housed in a manor house built in 1498 and is devoted to the history of the city and the region.

Windmill

The windmill '' Arkens'' is a hollow post mill which has been restored. It originally stood in Arkens and was moved in 1972. It is the only windmill in the Netherlands equipped with ''Vlinderwieken'' ( en, Butterfly sails).

Sports

Since 1852 Franeker is the home of the . the most important tournament in Frisian handball. Franeker is a regular host of the Frisian draughts competitions. Being one of the Frisian cities, Franeker is also on the route of the '' Elfstedentocht'' (Eleven-cities Tour), an endurance skating event held at irregular intervals depending on weather conditions. In August 2014, Jeffrey Peereboom, a student from Franeker, introduced an idea of the speed limits for bicycles in order to make biking in the city safer.

Infrastructure

Franeker railway station Franeker is a railway station located in Franeker, Netherlands. The station was opened on 27 October 1863 and is located on the Harlingen–Nieuweschans railway between Harlingen and Leeuwarden. The train services are operated by Arriva. Train s ...

is a station on the NS line between

and Harlingen. It also had a station on the North Friesland Railway which was the terminus of a branch from Tzummarum. The line opened in October 1903 and closed in October 1933. The station building survives.

Notable people

Sebald Justinus Brugmans Sebald Justinus Brugmans (24 March 1763, Franeker – 22 July 1819, Leiden) was a Dutch botanist and physician. He was the son of naturalist Anton Brugmans (1732-1789). Brugmans studied philosophy, mathematics and physics at the Universitie ...

* Pia Dijkstra *

Eise Eisinga Eise Jeltes Eisinga (21 February 1744 – 27 August 1828) was a Frisian amateur astronomer who built the Eise Eisinga Planetarium in his house in Franeker, Dutch Republic. The orrery still exists and is the oldest functioning planetarium in the w ...

* François Hemsterhuis *

Ulrik Huber Ulrik Huber (13 March 1636 in Dokkum – 8 November 1694 in Franeker), also known as Ulrich Huber or Ulricus Huber, was a professor of law at the University of Franeker and a political philosopher. Huber studied in Franeker, Utrecht and Heidelber ...

* Jan Hendrik Oort *

Anna Maria van Schurman Anna Maria van Schurman (November 5, 1607 – May 4, 1678) was a Dutch painter, engraver, poet, and scholar, who is best known for her exceptional learning and her defence of female education. She was a highly educated woman, who excelled in ...

Johan Sems Johan Sems (1572 – January 1635), sometimes known as Johan Semp, was a Dutch cartographer, engineer and land surveyor. He specialized in land reclamation and the building of dikes and fortifications. Biography Sems was born in Franeker (Fr ...

* Dennis Wiersma

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Waadhoeke Cities in Friesland Cities in the Netherlands Populated places in Friesland Former municipalities of Friesland