Frisia (
West Frisian:
Fryslân;
North Frisian:
Fraschlönj,
Freesklöön,
Freeskluin,
Fresklun, and
Friislön’;
Saterfrisian (East Frisian):
Fräislound;
East Frisian Low Saxon:
Freesland;
Gronings:
Fraislaand;
German and
Dutch:
Friesland;
Danish:
Frisland) is a coastal region along the southeastern corner of the
North Sea, for example the
German Bight. Frisia is the traditional
homeland of the
Frisians, a Germanic people who speak
Frisian, a language closely related to the
English language. Frisia extends from the northwestern
Netherlands across northwestern
Germany and into a little part of southwestern
Denmark (to the river
Vidå).
Divisions
Frisia is commonly divided into three sections:
- West Frisia in North Holland, Friesland and Groningen
- East Frisia in Lower Saxony
- North Frisia in Schleswig-Holstein
The three groups of the
Frisian Islands (the
West,
East and
North Frisian Islands) stretch more or less correspondingly along these three sections of the
German Bight coast.
West Frisia is corresponds roughly to the Dutch
province of
Friesland, the northern part of
North Holland province (the historical region of
West Friesland, the westernmost portion of the traditional region of
West Frisia), and also modern
Groningen province, though the Western Frisian language is only spoken in Friesland proper.
Dialects with strong Frisian
substrates, including (
Low German and
Low Franconian, are also spoken in West Frisia. In the northern province of Groningen, people speak
Gronings, a
Saxon dialect with a strong Frisian substrate.
East Frisia includes areas located in the northwest of the German state of
Lower Saxony, including the districts of
Aurich,
Leer,
Wittmund and
Friesland, as well as the urban districts of
Emden and
Wilhelmshaven, the
Saterland, the
Land Wursten a former Rüstringen (
Butjadingen).
East Frisia is also the name of a historical county in that area. The German name "Ostfriesland" distinguishes the former county from "Ost-Friesland", which means the whole eastern Frisian area.
The portions of
North Frisia within the German state of
Schleswig-Holstein are part of the district of
Nordfriesland and stretch along the coast, including the coastal islands from the
Eider River to the border of Denmark in the north. The
North Sea island of
Heligoland, while not part of Nordfriesland district, is also part of traditional North Frisia.
A half-million Frisians in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands speak
West Frisian. Several thousand people in Nordfriesland and Heligoland in Germany speak a collection of
North Frisian dialects that are often unintelligible to each other. A small number
Saterland Frisian language speakers live in four villages in
Lower Saxony, in the
Saterland region of
Cloppenburg county, just beyond the boundaries of traditional
East Frisia. Many Frisians speak
Low Saxon dialects, especially in East Frisia, but also in West and North Frisia.
History
Frisia has changed dramatically over time, both through floods and through a change in identity.
Roman times
The Frisians began settling in Frisia around 500 BC. According to Pliny the Younger, in Roman times, the Frisians (or, as it may be, their close neighbours, the Chauci) lived on
terps, man-made islands. According to other sources, the Frisians lived along a broader expanse of the North Sea (or "Frisian Sea") coast.
Frisia at this time comprised the present provinces of
Friesland and
North Holland.
Kingdom of Frisia
East Anglian sources called the inhabitants of 'Frisia'
Warnii instead of Frisians. In the 7th and 8th centuries, the
Frankish chronologies mention this area as the kingdom of the Frisians. However, these were probably not the Frisians of Roman times. This kingdom comprised the coastal provinces of
the Netherlands and the
German North Sea coast. During this time, the Frisian language was spoken along the entire southern North Sea coast and, today, this region is sometimes referred to as
Greater Frisia or
Frisia Magna. The 7th-century
Frisian realm (
650-
734) under the kings
Aldegisel and
Redbad, had its centre of power in the city
Utrecht. Its end came in 734 at the
Battle of the Boarn, when the Frisians were defeated by the
Franks, who then conquered the western part up to the
Lauwers. They conquered the area east of the Lauwers in
785, when
Charlemagne defeated
Widukind. This
Frisia Magna was partly occupied by Vikings in the 840s, until they were expelled between 885 and 920. It has also been suggested that the Vikings didn't conquer Frisia, but settled in certain parts (such as the island of Wieringen), where they built simple forts and cooperated and traded with the native Frisians. One of their leaders was
Rorik of Dorestad.
Loss of territory
Frisians made
polders in
West Friesland, which became more and more separated from
Friesland thanks to floods. The western part of Frisia became the county of
Holland in 1101, after a few centuries of a diverging history than the other parts. Frisia began to identify itself as a country with free folk in the
Middle Ages. The
bishopric of Utrecht didn't belong to this Frisia anymore. There were many floods in the 11th and 12th centuries, which led to the deaths of many and eventually formed the
Zuider Zee. The largest flood was in 1322.
Opstalboom League
The free Frisians (actually petty noblemen) and the city of
Groningen founded the Opstalboom League to counter feudalism. The league consisted of modern
Friesland,
Groningen,
East Frisia and the
German North Sea coast, and parts of the
Danish North Sea coast. But the Opstalboom league didn't consist only of Frisians, as the area of Zevenwouden and the city of
Groningen were Saxon. Some Frisians lived under the rule of the counts of
Holland in
West Friesland. The Opstalboom League was short-lived; it collapsed after a few years because of continual internal strife.
15th century
The 15th century saw the end of the free Frisians. The city of
Groningen started to dominate
Groningen. A petty nobleman in
East Frisia managed to defeat the other petty noblemen and became count of East Frisia. The
Archbishop of Bremen-Hamburg and the
king of Denmark conquered large areas of Frisia. Only
Friesland remained for the Frisian Freedom. Friesland was conquered in the 1490s by Duke
Albert of Saxony-Meissen. Later, the giant
Pier Gerlofs Donia (Grutte Pier) would fight for his country's freedom, wielding a 2,15 meter (7-foot) sword. He had many successes, but ultimately failed to secure Frisia's independence. He nonetheless bestowed himself the title
King of the Frisians. He died a poor farmer in 1520.
Frisian territories
West Friesland remained a part of Holland and became a part of North Holland around 1800. The current region of West Friesland is smaller than historical West Friesland and there's also an official constitutional region (samenwerkingsregio) of West Friesland for coast protection, the police, and agriculture.
Friesland got its independence back (with constitutionalized farmer representation) in 1581 and gave it up for good in 1795. It is now a Dutch province.
East Frisia became a part of the Kingdom of Prussia and was formerly a district of the federal state of Lower Saxony in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Groningen has been a province of the Netherlands since the 16th century.
North Frisia was a part of the Danish duchy of Schleswig (also: South Jutland) and belongs now to the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.
The Frisian islands off the coast of the Netherlands and Germany are the leftover dunes of flooded lands.
Flag
Although the Frisian regions have their own separate flags, Frisia didn't have a flag of its own until September 2006. The flag for united Frisia was made by the group of Auwerk, which supports a united Frisia as an official country.
The flag, similar to the Norse and Icelandic flags, is inspired by the Nordic Cross Flag. The four pompeblêden (water lily leaves) refer to the seven pompeblêden on the West-Frisian flag, but the number represents the four separate Frisian regions.
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