Opsterland

Opsterland

*Opsterlân*
Opsterland Opsterlân
Municipality
	Former court in Beetsterzwaag
	Flag Coat of arms
	Location in Friesland
	Coordinates: 53°4′N 6°5′E / 53.067°N 6.083°E
Country	Netherlands
Province	Friesland
Government
• Body	Municipal council
• Mayor	Andries Bouwman (ChristenUnie)
Area
• Total	227.64 km2 (87.89 sq mi)
• Land	224.40 km2 (86.64 sq mi)
• Water	3.24 km2 (1.25 sq mi)
Elevation	3 m (10 ft)
Population (January 2021)
• Total	29,812
• Density	133/km2 (340/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postcode	8400–8409, 9240–9249
Area code	0512, 0513, 0516
Website	www.opsterland.nl

Opsterland (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɔpstərlɑnt] ^ⓘ; West Frisian: Opsterlân) is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands.

Population centres

Drachten-Azeven is an industrial zone of Drachten located in Opsterland.^[5]

Hamlets

The hamlets within the municipality are: Ald Beets, Allardsoog (partially), De Hanebuert, De Koaibosk, Easterein, Foarwurk, Haneburen, Heidehuizen, Hemrikerverlaat, Klein Groningen, Kortezwaag, Moskou (partially), Nieuwe Vaart, Petersburg (partially), Rolbrêge, Selmien, Sparjebird, Ulesprong, Ureterp aan de Vaart, Vosseburen, Welgelegen (partially), Wijngaarden and Wijnjeterpverlaat.

Topography

Map of the municipality of Opsterland, June 2015

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Opsterland is twinned with:

Ra'anana, Israel (since 1963) ^[6]^[7]
Beit Sahour, Palestine

The choice of twinning with both an Israeli city and a Palestinian one is Opsterland's modest contribution to trying to solve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. As well as bilateral contacts with both of their partners, the Dutch officials try to encourage trilateral meetings and induce greater contact between Ra'anana and Beit Sahour, which are located at a short geographical distance from each other but are separated by conflict and mutual mistrust. In 2012 Francisca Ravestein, Nahum Hofree, Hani Al-Hayik – the mayors, respectively, of Opsterland, Ra'anana and Beit Sahour – jointly inaugurated a photo exhibition at the municipal building in Opsterland.^[8]

Notable people

Tinco Martinus Lycklama à Nijeholt (1837 in Beetsterzwaag – 1900) a Frisian aristocrat, adventurer, writer, socialite and a Dutch orientalist
Sytze Wierda (1839 in Hemrik – 1911) an architect and engineer, worked on the architecture of the South African Republic
Tjeerd Bottema (1884 in Langezwaag – 1978) a painter, illustrator and book cover designer
Hein Vos (1903 in Tijnje – 1972) a politician and economist
Eduard Meine van Zinderen-Bakker (1907 in Opsterland – 2002) a Dutch-born South African palynologist
Gerard van Klaveren (born 1951 in Terneuzen) a Dutch politician

Sport

Riemer van der Velde (born 1940 in Bakkeveen) the former chairman of football club SC Heerenveen
Foppe de Haan (born 1943 in Lippenhuizen) a Dutch football coach with SC Heerenveen
Lieuwe de Boer (born 1951 in Ureterp) a former ice speed skater, bronze medallist at the 1980 Winter Olympics
Hilbert van der Duim (born 1957 in Beetsterzwaag) a Dutch former speed skater, participated in the 1980 and 1984 Winter Olympics

Gallery

Kerk Wijnjewoude
Koningsdiep at the Lippenhuisterbrug
De Horst
Wijnjeterpverlaat Opsterlandse Compagnonsvaart

References

Notes

^ "Burgemeester Andries Bouwman" (in Dutch). Gemeente Opsterland. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
^ "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2020" [Key figures for neighbourhoods 2020]. StatLine (in Dutch). CBS. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
^ "Postcodetool for 9244CR". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
^ "Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand" [Population growth; regions per month]. CBS Statline (in Dutch). CBS. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
^ "Opsterland". Plaatsengids (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 April 2022.
^ "Stedenband Opsterland-Ra'anana" [City Connection Opsterland-Ra'anana]. Stedenbanden.nl. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Vanaf 1960 onderhoudt de gemeente Opsterland contacten met de gemeente Ra'anana. Deze contacten zijn in 1963 officieel vastgelegd in een 'vriendschapsverdrag'. In maart 2000 is een delegatie naar Ra'anana gereisd om te praten over een meer themagerichte invulling van het verdrag.
^ "Ra'anana: Twin towns & Sister cities - Friends around the World". raanana.muni.il. Archived from the original on 28 February 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
^ *Ra'anana Municipality website Archived 2012-06-10 at the Wayback Machine