Boksum 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 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 ...

, 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 had a population of around 400 people in 2020 Before 2018, the village was part of the

Menameradiel Menameradiel (; nl, Menaldumadeel ) 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. Populat ...

municipality.

Overview

The village was first mentioned in the 13th century as Boxum, and means "settlement of Bokke or Bokse". Boksum was 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 ...

'' (artificial living hill) village with a radial structure which dates from

before Christ The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...

. It was built close to the

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 ...

. The Dutch Reformed church has elements from the 12th century, and enlarged several times. The tower collapsed in 1842, and was rebuilt in 1843 using the stones of the previous tower. On 17 January 1586, the last battle of the Dutch Revolt in Friesland was fought near Boksum. The Spanish won the battle, and an estimated 1,000 Dutch soldiers died, however the ice had started to melt and the easy passage to the capital

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 ...

over the ice was no longer an option. Boksum was home to 237 people in 1840. The ''terp'' was partially excavated in 1869. It has a bakery, a community center and two churches. The oldest of the two churches is still used as a church belonging to the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family a ...

. The elementary school in used to teach three language: Dutch, West Frisian and English, but closed in 2019 due the lack of students and moved in at the elementary school in Deinum, a village right beside Boksum

Gallery

File:Overzicht voorgevel en rechter zijgevel, boerderij - Boksum - 20346097 - RCE.jpg, Farm in Boksum File:Boksum Friesland.jpg, View on Boksum

References

External links

Website about Boksum
{{Authority control Waadhoeke Populated places in Friesland