Hunsingo (Gronings: Hunzego or Hunzengo) is a region in the province ofGroningen,Netherlands, between theReitdiep andMaarvliet. Hunsingo was one of threeOmmelanden. It is bordered to the north by theWadden Sea, to the eastFivelingo, in the west to theWesterkwartier andFriesland and in the south,Gorecht. The region corresponds to the current municipalitiesDe Marne,Eemsmond, the majority of the municipalities ofBedum andWinsum and the former municipality ofMiddelstum.
The name means area (go orgau) of theHunze River. The Hunze no longer exists after the construction of the Reitdiep canal. Originally the Hunze followed a different course with its mouth atPieterburen on the Wadden Sea, and divided Hunsingo into two parts.[1]
Hunsingo was the first member of the Ommelander Union. The main town was Winsum where the Ommelanden for a short time held their own meetings. The area is largely similar to theHoogeland region although that is more a geographical indication, while Hunsingo was an administrative unit.
The three Wadden islands ofRottumerplaat,Rottumeroog andZuiderduintjes belong to this area.
Like Fivelingo, Hunsingo was originally aFrisian region.Ludger was assigned in 787 the mission areas including the regions of Hugmerthi (Humsterland), Hunusga and Fivilga. The monastery ofFulda received in the ninth century a donation in Middelstum "in pago Hunergewe in regione fresonum". In 1057 the region of "Hunsingo" is mentioned as part of a county donated by the Holy Roman EmperorHenry IV, under the regency of his mother, to the Archbishop of Hamburg,Adalbert. Before that, the Saxon noble house ofBrunonen had the fief of the county. In the eleventh century, coins were minted in Winsum, which suggests that Winsum was the capital of the region. In later timesOnderdendam became the central place of the region.
The population always spoke anEast Frisian, but, by uniting the city ofGroningen with the surrounding district, East Frisian has merged withLow Saxon (Platduuts) of the city, although the language of the surrounding countryside still retains a strong East Frisian substrate. In the 13th century laws were recorded in Latin or in the Hunsingoer dialect of East Frisian.[3][4]
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Hunsingo was the first member of the Ommelander Union. The most important place in Hunsingo, Winsum, was for a brief period where the Ommelanderjonkers held their meetings. Winsum was originally therefore a settlement with an urban character. The proximity of the city of Groningen, however, did not allow it the opportunity to become a real city.
The region was originally divided into two or three subdistricts, which coincided with the oldestseenddistricts (sees or mother parishes). Of these the parishes of Usquert and Leens were the oldest:
De Marne was originally part of the region Humsterland (Westerkwartier); however, the emergence of the Reitdiep and the exploitation of the underlyingpeat led to it becoming a separate seenddistrict. The district, Middag, is also recognized in Westerkwartier since the sixteenth century. The peat area of Innersdijk (around Bedum) was separated from the Oosterambt around the fourteenth century, while De Marne in the fifteenth century temporarily disintegrated into an eastern and a western part. The various districts were characterized by considerable autonomy, the joint representatives gathered in Onderdendam, that was exactly on the border of the main subdivisions.[5]
In 1659 a new classification was ordered by the States General:
Between 1830 and 1880, 5,900 people emigrated from Hunsingo, almost all going to the United States. This was two-thirds of all emigrations from the entire province of Groningen. Most of the emigrants from Hunsingo ended up inwestern Michigan, followed byChicago and a smaller group going toLafayette, Indiana.[6]
Hunsingo was also the name of the water authority in the area, charged with the management of water levels, canals, dykes and storm barriers. The Hunsingo water board existed from 1856 to 1994 when it was merged into theNoorderzijlvest water board.
In Hunsingo, manyborg (fortified great houses) were found. This does not imply that there was more nobility in Hunsingo than in the remainder of Groningen. Many of the borgs were destroyed, both by officials and by the dissatisfied people. A famous borg in Hunsingo is theMenkemaborg at Uithuizen. Another isVerhildersum at Leens.
Hunsingo is characterized by meadows,mounds and dikes. Hunsingo has expanded by reclaiming land that initially is filled in by the natural settlement of sedimentary clay by the sea near the dikes (endiking). This area above the old dikes is also known as the Groningen Hogeland (high land). When the new deposits had reached sufficient size, that area was then secured by the construction of a new dyke.[citation needed]
Today Hunsingo is one of the main economic arteries of Groningen. This is due to theEemshaven on the eastern point and theLauwersmeer National Park and shrimping village ofZoutkamp on the western point. The shrimp company Heiploeg is located in Zoutland. This is the largest shrimp supplier in Europe.
