(; ) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and island in the northern

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 ...

. The municipality of Vlieland is the second most sparsely populated municipality in the Netherlands, after Schiermonnikoog. Vlieland is one of the

West Frisian Islands The West Frisian Islands (, ; ) are a chain of islands in the North Sea off the Dutch coast, along the edge of the Wadden Sea. They continue further east as the German East Frisian Islands and are part of the Frisian Islands. From west to eas ...

, lying in the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( ; ; or ; ; ; ) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tida ...

. It is the second island from the west in the chain, lying between Texel and

Terschelling Terschelling (; ; Terschelling dialect: ''Schylge'') is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands. It is situated between the islands of Vlieland and Ameland. ...

. The island was permanently separated from the mainland in St. Lucia's flood in 1287. Vlieland was named after the Vlie, the seaway between it and Terschelling that was the estuary of the river

IJssel The IJssel (; ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour. It more immediatel ...

in medieval times. Richel is a permanently dry sandbank, located about east of the northernmost point of Vlieland and is administered by the municipality of Vlieland.

History

The northern part of the island of Texel, Eierland, once was the southwestern part of Vlieland. A storm surge in 1296 probably separated Eierland from Vlieland. Erosion further diminished the size of Vlieland from the west, leading in 1736 to the disappearance of a second village on Vlieland, West-Vlieland (), after the inhabitants had tried for decades to rebuild the town following numerous floods. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Vlieland became part of the German

Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall () was an extensive system of coastal defence and fortification, coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defense (military), d ...

. The occupying German forces built two anti-aircraft batteries and stationed more soldiers on the island than there were inhabitants. In 1942 the islands of Vlieland and Terschelling were transferred from the province of

North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...

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 ...

and the situation was not reversed after the war. The mail station in the western part of the island is a reminder that in the past mail was delivered by ferry from Texel. Because of this history, Vlieland natives do not speak Frisian. The original dialect, ''Vlielands'', was related to the dialect of Texel and to other Dutch dialects in North Holland. The last native speaker, Petronella de Boer-Zeylemaker, died in 1993 at the age of 107.

Geography

The majority of the landscape of the island consists of sand

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s, but there are some wooded areas and small meadows. A large part of the island, the western part, consists mainly of sand. There is one village on the island, Oost-Vlieland (). A second village, West-Vlieland, was lost to the sea in 1736.

Transport

Vlieland can be reached by ferry from the Frisian town of Harlingen on the mainland. Ferries are operated by Doeksen and the journey takes 45 minutes to 1.5 hours to cross the

and part of the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

. Tourists are not allowed to bring cars with them on the ferry. A summer-only ferry service runs between De Cocksdorp on the neighboring island of Texel and the westernmost point of Vlieland. The most common form of transport on the island is the bicycle; a network of cycle paths criss-cross the island. A bus service runs from the ferry terminal to the village and campsites after the arrival of a ferry, and some time before departure. There is a very small heliport near the village, but it is only used for SAR flights. Vlieland 4

Climate

Vlieland, being the outermost of the Frisian barrier islands, sees its climate the most moderated by the North- and

. As is the case with the other West Frisian islands, sunshine hours are among the highest in the Netherlands. Temperature extremes are rare; on average only 6 times a year does the daytime high exceed , and a high above happens on average only once every three years. This also counts for extreme cold; only on five days a year does the temperature stay below for a whole 24-hour period, and nighttime frost happens on less than 40 nights a year. Nights below only happen on average once every two years. Wind is abundant however, the average wind speed on Vlieland is almost . Gale-force winds occur on average nine days per year.

Politics

Vlieland has a nine-member

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

elected every four years. The results of the 2022 election are shown in the table below. Michiel Schrier (

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

) has been mayor of Vlieland since 2021.

Economy

Tourism is the main source of income on Vlieland. There are approximately 15 hotels, and several hundred apartments and holiday homes. Vlieland has two

campsite Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...

s. ''Here Comes The Summer'' and ''Into The Great Wide Open'' are two music festivals, held respectively in late April and in late August.Into The Great Wide Open Facebook - ''Into The Great Wide Open''
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Notable people

* Willem de Vlamingh (1640 in Oost-Vlieland – 1698) a Dutch sea captain who explored the coast of Australia, then New Holland *

Nicolaas Kruik Nicolaas Samuelszoon Kruik (; 2 December 1678 West-Vlieland – 5 February 1754 Spaarndam), also known as Nicolaes Krukius, was a Dutch surveyor, cartographer, astronomer and weather observer. Cruquius took temperature measurements in Fahrenheit ...

(1678 in West-Vlieland – 1754) a Dutch land surveyor, cartographer, astronomer and weatherman; remembered for the Museum De Cruquius

Gallery

References

External links

*
Tourist office website
{{Frisian Islands Municipalities of Friesland Former municipalities of North Holland Islands of Friesland West Frisian Islands Ramsar sites in the Netherlands Car-free islands of Europe