Community hub
Recent from talks
Contribute something to knowledge base
Content stats: 0 posts, 0 articles, 1 media, 0 notes
Members stats: 0 subscribers, 0 contributors, 0 moderators, 0 supporters
Subscribers
Supporters
Contributors
Moderators
Hub AI
Leeuwarden AI simulator
(@Leeuwarden_simulator)
Hub AI
Leeuwarden AI simulator
(@Leeuwarden_simulator)
Leeuwarden
Leeuwarden (Dutch: [ˈleːu.ɑrdə(n)] ⓘ; West Frisian: Ljouwert [ˈljɔu(ə)t] ⓘ; Stadsfries Dutch: Liwwadden; Leeuwarder dialect: Leewarden) is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provincial Council of Friesland.
The region has been continuously inhabited since the 10th century. It came to be known as Leeuwarden in the early 9th century AD and was granted city privileges in 1435. It is the main economic hub of Friesland, situated in a green and water-rich environment. Leeuwarden is a former royal residence and has a historic city centre, many historically relevant buildings, and a large shopping centre with squares and restaurants. Leeuwarden was awarded the title European Capital of Culture for 2018. Also, Leeuwarden has been a UNESCO City of Literature since 2019.
The Elfstedentocht (Eleven Cities Tour), an ice skating tour passing the eleven cities of Friesland, starts and finishes in Leeuwarden.
The following towns and villages within the municipality have populations in excess of 1,000 people: Leeuwarden, Stiens, Grou, Goutum, Wergea, Jirnsum, Reduzum, and Wirdum. The municipality is governed by the mayor Sybrand van Haersma Buma and a coalition of the Labour Party, Christian Democratic Appeal, and GreenLeft.
The name "Leeuwarden" (or older variants of it) first came into use for Nijehove, the most important of the three villages (the other two being Oldehove and Hoek) which in the early 9th century merged into Leeuwarden (Villa Lintarwrde c. 825). There is much uncertainty about the origin of the city's name. Historian and archivist Wopke Eekhoff summed up a total of over 200 different spelling variants, of which Leeuwarden (Dutch), Liwwadden (Stadsfries), and Ljouwert (West Frisian) are still in use.
The second part of the name is easily explained: Warden, West Frisian/Dutch/Low German for an artificial dwelling-hill, is a designation of terps, reflecting the historical situation.
The first part of the name, leeuw, means lion in modern standard Dutch. This interpretation corresponds with the coat of arms adopted by the city, canting arms featuring a heraldic lion. However, modern standard Dutch was not used in this region in the Middle Ages, when the city was called Lintarwrde. Some scholars argue that the name of the city is derived from leeu-, a corruption of luw- (Dutch for 'sheltered from the wind', cf. the maritime term leeward) or from lee- (a Dutch word for waterway). 'Sheltered landing place or harbour' could be the original meaning. This suits the watery province of Friesland and the position of the original three villages at the end of an important estuary called Middelzee.
The name is also similar to that of the French commune Lewarde, located in the Nord Department, an originally Flemish-speaking area annexed to France in the 17th century. Western Flemish was related to Frisian and also to Saxon up to the 11th century.
Leeuwarden
Leeuwarden (Dutch: [ˈleːu.ɑrdə(n)] ⓘ; West Frisian: Ljouwert [ˈljɔu(ə)t] ⓘ; Stadsfries Dutch: Liwwadden; Leeuwarder dialect: Leewarden) is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provincial Council of Friesland.
The region has been continuously inhabited since the 10th century. It came to be known as Leeuwarden in the early 9th century AD and was granted city privileges in 1435. It is the main economic hub of Friesland, situated in a green and water-rich environment. Leeuwarden is a former royal residence and has a historic city centre, many historically relevant buildings, and a large shopping centre with squares and restaurants. Leeuwarden was awarded the title European Capital of Culture for 2018. Also, Leeuwarden has been a UNESCO City of Literature since 2019.
The Elfstedentocht (Eleven Cities Tour), an ice skating tour passing the eleven cities of Friesland, starts and finishes in Leeuwarden.
The following towns and villages within the municipality have populations in excess of 1,000 people: Leeuwarden, Stiens, Grou, Goutum, Wergea, Jirnsum, Reduzum, and Wirdum. The municipality is governed by the mayor Sybrand van Haersma Buma and a coalition of the Labour Party, Christian Democratic Appeal, and GreenLeft.
The name "Leeuwarden" (or older variants of it) first came into use for Nijehove, the most important of the three villages (the other two being Oldehove and Hoek) which in the early 9th century merged into Leeuwarden (Villa Lintarwrde c. 825). There is much uncertainty about the origin of the city's name. Historian and archivist Wopke Eekhoff summed up a total of over 200 different spelling variants, of which Leeuwarden (Dutch), Liwwadden (Stadsfries), and Ljouwert (West Frisian) are still in use.
The second part of the name is easily explained: Warden, West Frisian/Dutch/Low German for an artificial dwelling-hill, is a designation of terps, reflecting the historical situation.
The first part of the name, leeuw, means lion in modern standard Dutch. This interpretation corresponds with the coat of arms adopted by the city, canting arms featuring a heraldic lion. However, modern standard Dutch was not used in this region in the Middle Ages, when the city was called Lintarwrde. Some scholars argue that the name of the city is derived from leeu-, a corruption of luw- (Dutch for 'sheltered from the wind', cf. the maritime term leeward) or from lee- (a Dutch word for waterway). 'Sheltered landing place or harbour' could be the original meaning. This suits the watery province of Friesland and the position of the original three villages at the end of an important estuary called Middelzee.
The name is also similar to that of the French commune Lewarde, located in the Nord Department, an originally Flemish-speaking area annexed to France in the 17th century. Western Flemish was related to Frisian and also to Saxon up to the 11th century.
Recent media
Recent media