Molkwerum ( ) is a village in

Súdwest-Fryslân Southwest Friesland ( ) is a municipality in the northern Netherlands, located in the province of Friesland. It had a population of 89,999 in January 2021. Sneek is the municipal seat. With a total area of 841.56 km2, Southwest-Friesland is ...

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 ...

, 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 390 in January 2017. Molkwerum used to be called Friese Doolhof (Frisian Maze), because it is built on numerous little islands dissected by canals in a random fashion. The village used to contain 27 bridges.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1398 as Molkenhuzen. The etymology is unclear. Molkwerum used to be located to the north of the former

Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee''), historically called Lake Almere and Lake Flevo, was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands. It extended about 100 km (60 miles) inla ...

and to the south of the former Staverse Meer which was ''

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...

ed'' in the 17th century. The village was populated by sea traders who sailed to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

, and had its own office in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. The current Dutch Reformed church was built in 1850 and has a tower from 1799. The maritime past lasted until the 16th/17th century, and Molkwerum turned into a fishing village. Molkwerum was home to 301 people in 1840. In 1885, a shared

Koudum-Molkwerum railway station Koudum-Molkwerum is a railway station located near Molkwerum and Koudum, Netherlands. The station was opened on 28 November 1885 and is on the Leeuwarden - Stavoren railway line. The train service is operated by Arriva. The station was closed betw ...

with Koudum opened. In the 1960s, the harbour was filled up, and the sluice was demolished. In 2000, an

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

museum opened in the village, and contains authentic clothes worn by the King and an autographed guitar. Before 2011, the village was part of the

Nijefurd Nijefurd (, ) is a former municipality in the northern Netherlands, in the province of Friesland. History It was formed in 1984 from the old municipalities of Hindeloopen, Stavoren, and Workum, and part of Hemelumer Oldeferd. In 2011, it formed ...

municipality and before 1984 it belonged to Hemelumer Oldeferd municipality.

Gallery

File:8722 Molkwerum, Netherlands - panoramio.jpg, View on Molkwerum File:C.F. Bendorp - Sight of Molkwerum, 1790.jpg, Drawing of Molkwerum (1790) File:Elvis Presley Museum Molkwerum 3.JPG, Elvis Presley museum File:HUA-150480-Gezicht op de perronzijde van het besneeuwde N.S.-station Koudum-Molkwerum bij Molkwerum.jpg,

References

External links

{{Authority control Súdwest-Fryslân Populated places in Friesland