Wieringen | |
|---|---|
Former municipality | |
 Aerial photograph ofOosterland | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
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| Coordinates:52°54′N4°58′E / 52.90°N 4.97°E /52.90; 4.97 | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | North Holland |
| Municipality | Hollands Kroon |
| Area (2006) | |
• Total | 212.50 km2 (82.05 sq mi) |
| • Land | 26.77 km2 (10.34 sq mi) |
| • Water | 185.73 km2 (71.71 sq mi) |
| Population (1 January 2007) | |
• Total | 8,705 |
| • Density | 325/km2 (840/sq mi) |
| Source:CBS,Statline. | |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Website | www.wieringen.nl |
Wieringen (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈʋiːrɪŋə(n)]ⓘ) is located in the province ofNorth Holland in theNetherlands. Now a part of the municipality ofHollands Kroon, it was a separate municipality before 2012. Its name first appeared in 8th and 9th century records. By 1200 it was an island, also named Wieringen, separated from the mainland during one of the severe storm floods in the late Middle Ages that changed the coastline. Through the usage of draining, dikes, and landfill from 1924 to 1932, the island was rejoined to the mainland.
In 2003 the provincial and local governments announced a project to restore Wieringen as an island by creating a recreational lake to be called theWieringerrandmeer. The project was cancelled in 2010 for financial reasons.
The former municipality of Wieringen consisted of the following villages and hamlets:Dam,De Elft,De Haukes,De Hoelm,Den Oever,Hippolytushoef,Hollebalg,Noordburen,Oosterklief,Oosterland,Smerp,Stroe,Vatrop,Westerklief andWesterland.
The landscape of Wieringen is not all flat: it is characterised byboulder clay mounds, formed during the SaaleIce Age. The name Wieringen probably comes fromOld Frisianwîr meaning "height". It was previously suggested incorrectly that the name came from "wier" (seaweed in Dutch).
The first known written references to Wieringen are "Wiron" or "pagus Wirense" inLatinlists of property owned by themonastery atFulda, dated late 8th century or early 9th century AD. In this list, theMarsdiep (the channel between Wieringen andTexel and the mainland) is referred to as "fluvium Maresdeop" (fluvium isLatin for "river" and Maresdeop is old Dutch for "morass deep"), and Wieringen and Texel may have met as opposite banks of this deep river. It appears that at that time Texel and Wieringen islands were much larger and spread across what is now the western end of theWaddenzee and perhaps also other areas which are now sea or inpolders.[1]
A possessions list of the St. Martin's church inUtrecht, dated 948, lists a church domain with 12 farms atAlvitlo (nowDe Elft), and 72 [probably mostly small] farms atStrude (nowStroe). Both these places are in Wieringen. The land in these lists comprises an area larger than the modern (up to 1924) island of Wieringen.[1]
Viking attacks and occupation of Frisian territory took place in the 9th century. This was confirmed in 1996 when ahoard containing 1.7 kilograms of silver coins, ingots and jewelry was found in a pasture at the hamlet of Westerklief. It was dated to the 9th century and is attributed to Vikings. It is now in theRijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden. Smaller hoards from the same period were later found in the same area.[2]
TheAll Saints' Flood (1170) created the islands of Wieringen and Texel fromNorth Holland.[3] The area was inhabited and controlled byFrisians, until the Dutch countFloris III made the Wieringers subject in 1184. After this the area became unsettled, withFloris V imposing his rule in 1284, and in 1299 it was included in the district of Westfriesland within theCounty of Holland.
In 1432 all the island of Wieringen was officially designated as one township and receivedcity rights. But as more of Holland and Westfriesland became habitable and were developed, the importance of Wieringen decreased.
In 1798 when theBatavian Republic formed, the province ofHolland andWest Friesland was divided, and Wieringen fell under thedépartement of Texel (from theVlie to theRhine). In 1807 underNapoleon, the province was subdivided into two separate provinces; Amstelland and Maasland, but this organization ended in 1814. In 1815 Wieringen became a part of the province of Holland, and the new province ofNorth Holland in 1840, where it remains.
In November 1918 the German crown princeWilhelm received political asylum in the Netherlands. He lived in Wieringen from November 1918, returning to Germany in November 1923.
On 31 July 1924 the Amsteldiep was closed by a short dam called the Amsteldiepdijk. In 1930 the Eastern Wieringermeerdijk was completed in the Zuiderzee, and with it the adjacent polder theWieringermeer. The closing of the Zuiderzee was completed in 1932 by theAfsluitdijk, a large dike that connects Wieringen with Friesland, making it part of the mainland again. This dike starts atDen Oever.
The former municipal council of Wieringen consisted of 13 seats, which at the finalelection in 2010 divided as follows:[4]
Elections were held in November 2011 for a council for the newly merged municipality of Hollands Kroon that included Wieringen, which commenced work in January 2012.[5]
Media related toWieringen at Wikimedia Commons
| West Frisian Islands (Netherlands) |
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| Heligoland Bight (Germany) | |||||||
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| Danish Wadden Sea Islands (Denmark) |
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