Bitgum () is a village in

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 ...

municipality in the province of

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It had a population of around 792 in January 2017.

History

Before 2018, the village was part of the

Menameradiel Menameradiel (; ) is a former municipality in Friesland, Netherlands. On 1 January 2018 it merged with the municipalities of Franekeradeel, het Bildt and parts of Littenseradiel to form the new municipality Waadhoeke. Population centres Popul ...

municipality. Bitgum gained notoriety in 1895, when three brothers from the village (Keimpe, Wybren and Marten Hogerhuis) were arrested for their alleged and disputed involvement in a burglary in the village of

Britsum Britsum is a village in the municipality of Leeuwarden (province of Friesland), in the Netherlands. Britsum was built on an artificial bank (''terp'') running along the eastern side of the former ''Middelzee''. The church, built around 1300, is als ...

. The involvement of the Social Democrat Party's leader,

Pieter Jelles Troelstra Pieter Jelles Troelstra (; 20 April 186012 May 1930) was a Dutch lawyer, journalist and politician active in the socialist workers' movement. He is most remembered for his fight for universal suffrage and his failed call for revolution at the en ...

two years later, catapulted the village into the national headlines.De gevangenis in door klassenjustitie
- Historisch Nieuwsblad

Aircraft crash

On June 9, 2016, a demonstration fighter jet crashed in the lake next to 'De bodde', the pilot saved himself by ejecting from the aircraft.

Gallery

File:Beetgum, kerk foto2 2010-04-17 15.42.JPG, Church File:Hege Wier.jpg, Bitgum's "Hege Wier", remains of one of 5

stins A stins (Dutch, pl. ''stinsen''; from West Frisian ''stienhûs'' utch ''steenhuis''"stone house", shortened to ''stins'', pl. ''stinzen'') is a former stronghold or villa in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Many stinsen carry the name ...

, or medieval castles in Friesland

References

Waadhoeke Populated places in Friesland {{Friesland-geo-stub