Blije ( nl, Blija) is a village in

Noardeast-Fryslân Noardeast-Fryslân is a municipality of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It was established 1 January 2019 and consists of the former municipalities of Dongeradeel, Ferwerderadiel and Kollumerland en Nieuwkruisland, all three of which dissol ...

in the province of

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It had a population of around 860 in January 2017. Before 2019, the village was part of the

Ferwerderadiel Ferwerderadiel () is a former municipality of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. Its official name is West Frisian, the Dutch name is Ferwerderadeel (). In 2019 it merged with the municipalities of Dongeradeel and Kollumerland en Nieuwkruislan ...

municipality.

History

The village was first mentioned in the 13th century as Blitha. The etymology is unclear. Blije is a ''

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 an ...

'' (artificial living mound) village which developed several centuries

before Christ The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...

. The Dutch Reformed church dates from the 13th century and received its current shape in 1741. In 1840, Blije was home to 911 people. Most of the ''terp'' except for the graveyard was excavated during the late-19th century. During the 20th century, retail disappeared from the village, and only the pub remained.

People from Blije

Watze Cuperus Watse Cuperus (1891 – 1966) was a Dutch journalist, writer and translator. He wrote in West Frisian, and his most important work is ''The golden wire'' (De gouden tried, 1941–50). Books * 1933 : Skeanebûrster folkslibben * 1937 : Lânstoa ...

(1891-1966), writer

Gallery

File:Voorstraat26 Blija.jpg, House in Blije File:Hoofdstraat in Blije (Noardeast-Fryslân).jpg, Main street File:Huisterp Unemaloane Blija.jpg, House on a little ''terp'' File:Blije Ferwerderadiel.jpg, Welcome to Blije

References

External links

* Noardeast-Fryslân Populated places in Friesland {{Friesland-geo-stub