Achlum () is a village in the

Waadhoeke Waadhoeke is a municipality of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It was established 1 January 2018 and consists of the former municipalities of Franekeradeel, het Bildt, Menameradiel and parts of Littenseradiel, all four of which were ...

municipality of

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It is approximately 7 km southwest of the city of

Franeker Franeker (; ) is one of the eleven historical City rights in the Low Countries, cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Waadhoeke. It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about west of Leeuwarden. As of 2023, it had 13,0 ...

. Achlum had about 629 inhabitants in January 2014.Aantal inwoners per buurt/dorp
- Franekeradeel

History

Before 2018, the village was part of the

Franekeradeel Franekeradeel (; ) is a former municipality in the northern Netherlands. It was created in 1984 by combining an earlier Franekeradeel municipality with the city of Franeker and parts of the former municipality of Barradeel. On 1 January 2018 it m ...

municipality. The village has a church which dates from the 12th century and is placed atop a so-called

terp A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides and ...

mound. Around the year 1260 there was a priory of

Augustinian nuns Augustinian nuns are the most ancient and continuous segment of the Augustinian religious order. Named after Augustine of Hippo, there are several Catholic religious communities of women living according to a guide to religious life known as the ...

, a part of the Lúntsjerk monastery which was destroyed in 1530. At that time the prior in Achlum was rebuilt but in 1572 the

Geuzen ''Geuzen'' (; ; ) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called ''Watergeuzen'' (; ; ). In the Eigh ...

destroyed it again. In Achlum used to be a butter factory which processed the milk of local farmers to butter. In 1811 a farmer from Achlum called Ulbe Piers Draisma established a mutual fire insurance. The insurance society was called ''Onderlinge Waarborgmaatschappij Achlum''. De Achlumer Molen is a

smock mill The smock mill is a type of windmill that consists of a sloping, horizontally weatherboarded, thatched, or shingled tower, usually with six or eight sides. It is topped with a roof or cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. This t ...

in Achlum which has been restored to working order. The mill is listed as a

Rijksmonument A (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands had 61,822 l ...

, number 15821. (Click on "Technische Gegevens" to view.) File:Achlum - Achlumer Molen.jpg, De Achlumer Molen

Community

Population

* 2009 - 635 * 2008 - 652 * 2005 - 663 * 2004 - 666 * 2003 - 664 * 2002 - 674 * 2001 - 679 * 2000 - 668 * 1999 - 652 * 1973 - 738 * 1969 - 796 * 1964 - 824 * 1959 - 881 * 1954 - 889

Notable residents

* (1785–1830)), founder of insurance company Achmea

Gallery

File:Achlum met een monumentale boerderij.jpg, Farm in Achlum File:Dorpsgezicht van het dorp Achlum in Friesland.jpg, Canal view File:Monnikenweg 2.jpg, House in Achlum File:Tanjabuurt 8.jpg, House in Achlum

References

{{Authority control Waadhoeke Populated places in Friesland