Sexbierum ( fry, Seisbierrum) is a village in 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 ...

, in the central north of the Netherlands. Sexbierum is located 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 ...

and located about 7 kilometres (4 mi) north-east of Harlingen, about 7 kilometres (4 mi) north-west of

Franeker Franeker (; fry, Frjentsjer) is one of the eleven historical cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Waadhoeke. It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about 20 km west of Leeuwarden. As of 1 January 2014, it had 12 ...

. The distance to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

is about 100 kilometres (60 mi). The village consists of approximately 600 houses, with 1,744 inhabitants in January 2014.

History

In history the village is first mentioned in the 13th century as Sixtisberen. The name means "houses of Sixtus" and is a reference to

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Sixtus II Pope Sixtus II ( el, Πάπας Σίξτος Β΄), also written as Pope Xystus II, was bishop of Rome from 31 August 257 until his death on 6 August 258. He was martyred along with seven deacons, including Lawrence of Rome, during the persecutio ...

. The name can be read in Dutch as sex, beer, rum, and therefore, the place name signs get occasionally stolen. Sexbierum is a ''

terp A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides an ...

'' (artificial living hill) village from the 8th century. It was originally separated from

Pietersbierum Pietersbierum ( fry, Pitersbierrum) is a village in Waadhoeke municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 140 in January 2014. History The village was first mentioned in 1398 as Peters berim, and means ...

by a

trench A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from ero ...

of the Wadden Sea. The Dutch Reformed church dates from the 13th century. The Liauckema State was a '' stins'' from the 13th century which was demolished in 1824, however the gate house was remained. The

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

De Korenaar was built in 1868 as a replacement of an earlier wind mill which burnt down. It is currently used as a conference and party centre. Sexbierum was home to 934 people in 1840. There was a station on the

North Friesland Railway The Noord-Friesche Locaalspoorweg-Maatschappij (North Friesland Railway) was a railway serving the sparsely populated north of the Dutch province of Friesland. It was operated by the North Friesland Local Railway Company (Dutch: ''Noord-Friesche Lo ...

which opened in 1903 and closed to passengers in May 1935. In the late sixties of the 20th century, Sexbierum and the adjoining village of Pietersbierum merged into a single urban area, however they remain separate villages. Up to 2018, the village was part of the

Franekeradeel Franekeradeel (; fry, Frentsjerteradiel) is a former municipality in the northern Netherlands. It was created in 1984 by combining an earlier Franekeradeel municipality with the city of Franeker and parts of the former municipality of Barradeel. ...

municipality and up to 1984 it was part of the

Barradeel Barradeel is a former municipality in the Dutch province of Friesland. It was located north of Harlingen and Franeker, and is now largely a part of Franekeradeel. The municipality existed until 1984. The municipality included the villages of Fi ...

municipality.

Culture

West Frisian is the main language in Sexbierum, but the Dutch language has an increasing influence. Circa 1972 the

primary schools A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

in Sexbierum switched to Dutch as the main teaching language, instead of West Frisian. Before 1972 the only lessons taught in Dutch were the Dutch language lessons.

Notable people

Seventeenth century admiral

Tjerk Hiddes de Vries Tjerk Hiddes de Vries (Sexbierum, 6 August 1622 - Flushing, 6 August 1666) was a naval hero and Dutch admiral from the seventeenth century. The French, who could not pronounce his name, called him Kiërkides. His name was also given as ''Tsjerk' ...

was born in the village.

Gallery

File:2011-07 Sexbierum 04.jpg, Reformed church File:6794 Sexbierum.JPG, Windmill: De Korenaar File:2011-07 Sexbierum 06.jpg, Automobile repair shop File:Walburgastate 2007.jpg, Walburga State File:2011-07 Sexbierum 03.jpg, Street view File:Sexbierum opvaart.jpg, Canal view

References

External links

* {{Authority control Waadhoeke Populated places in Friesland