De Blesse (or ''Blesse'') is a village in

Weststellingwerf Weststellingwerf (; Stellingwarfs: or ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It borders both Drenthe and Overijssel. It is one of the municipalities of Friesland where the s ...

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 ...

, 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 800 in 2017. Its windmill, ''De Mars'', was rebuilt in 1997. Before 1956, the village was called Blesse.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1439 as ter Blesse, and means "bare spot". The Blesbroggeschaans is a sconce built in 1583 along the main road of

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

. In 1672 and 1673, it was besieged by

Christoph Bernhard von Galen Christoph Bernhard Freiherr von Galen (12 October 1606, in Drensteinfurt – 19 September 1678) was Prince-bishop of Münster. He was born into a noble Westphalian family. Background, education and conversion to Roman Catholicism Christoph Be ...

, the

Prince-bishop of Münster A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some Secularity, secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to ''Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinals. Since 1951, the sol ...

, but did not get taken. The Dutch Reformed chapel dates from 1880. 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 grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

''De Mars'' was built in 1834. In the 1910s, an electro motor was installed and in 1958, the top of the windmill was demolished. In 1999, De Mars was restored and is frequently in commission. De Blesse was home to 160 people in 1840.

Gallery

File:De Blesse Hervormde Evangelisatie-002.JPG, Chapel in De Blesse File:Locatie, Lendevallei. Zicht op de Lende 04.jpg, Linde canal File:Locatie, Lendevallei. Trektocht door de vallei. (Blesbroggeschaans) 01.jpg, Blesbroggeschaans

References

Geography of Weststellingwerf Populated places in Friesland {{Friesland-geo-stub