Ferwert () is a village in

Noardeast-Fryslân Noardeast-Fryslân () is a municipality of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It was established 1 January 2019 and consists of the former municipalities of Dongeradeel, Ferwerderadiel and Kollumerland en Nieuwkruisland, all three of which ...

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 1787 in January 2017. Before 2019, the village was part of the

Ferwerderadiel Ferwerderadiel () is a former Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. Its official name is West Frisian language, West Frisian, the Dutch name is Ferwerderadeel (). In 2019 it merged with the munici ...

municipality.

History

The village was first mentioned between 819 and 825 as "in Fatruwerde". The etymology is unclear. Ferwert 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 and ...

'' village with a radial structure which developed several centuries

Before Christ The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used when designating years in the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian and Julian calendar, Julian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord" but is often presented using "o ...

. In the 11th or 12th century a dike was built leading to Marrum and

Blije Blije () is a village in Noardeast-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 860 in January 2017. Before 2019, the village was part of the Ferwerderadiel municipality. History The village was first me ...

. The area to the south of the ''terp'' was property of the church and became a square known as Vrijhof (free court). Ferwert developed into the capital of the ''grietenij'' (predecessor of the municipality)

. The earliest church probably dated from the 9th century. The tower of the Dutch Reformed church was built in the 15th century, and the church was constructed shortly after and contains elements of its medieval predecessor. The clergy house was built in the 15th century, and served as clergy house from 1580 until 1723. In 1840, it became the town hall. Gemme van Burmania voor Philips II

The ''

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 ...

'' Herjuwsma State was first mentioned around 1500. It was owned by Gemme Herjuwsma who was decapitated in 1512 in

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

for conspiring with

Edzard I, Count of East Frisia Edzard I, also Edzard the Great (15 January 1462 in Greetsiel – 14 February 1528 in Emden) was List of Counts of East Frisia, count of County of East Frisia, East Frisia from 1491 until his death in 1528. Edzard succeeded his brother Enno ...

, and his estate was seized by troops of the

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...

. owned the estate in the mid-16th century. In 1555, he represented Friesland during the inauguration of

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

and refused to kneel to the king, saying "Wy Friezen knibbelje allinne foar God" (We Frisian only kneel for God) which could be considered the start of the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 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 Reformation, centralisation, exc ...

. Van Burmania was subsequently banned and had to flee to the

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. The estate was abandoned in 1805, and was demolished in 1816. In 1840, Ferwert was home to 1,463 people. A part of the ''terp'' was excavated around 1900. In 2019, Ferwerderadiel was merged into

Notable people

* Pieter Boeles (1795–1875), minister and linguist * (1523–1602), nobleman and resistance fighter *

Eeltsje Boates Folkertsma Eeltsje Boates Folkertsma (13 November 1893, Ferwert – 1 January 1968, Franeker) was a West Frisian language writer and a Protestant skilled as a translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text b ...

(1893–1968), writer and translator

Gallery

File:Nije Buorren17 Ferwerd.jpg, House in Ferwert File:Nije Buorren9 Ferwerd.jpg, House in Ferwert File:Vrijhof in Ferwerd. (actm) 07.jpg, Former clergy house File:Bushokje en leugenbank.JPG, Bus stop and liar's bench

References

External links

{{Authority control Noardeast-Fryslân Populated places in Friesland