Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be de ...

Súdwest-Fryslân Southwest Friesland ( fy, Súdwest-Fryslân ) is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northern Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Friesland. It had a population of 84,092 in August 201 ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

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 ...

. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of

Sneek Sneek (; fy, Snits) is a city southwest of Leeuwarden and the seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. As of 2011 it is the seat of the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân (Southwest Friesland). T ...

History

The town is founded on three artificial dwelling mounds, the first of which was built some time before Christ. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, Bolsward was a trade center and port city connected to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

via the Middle Sea. This connection was lost when the Middle Sea was reclaimed to form arable land. After this, a canal was dug to the Zuiderzee. The town is first mentioned in AD 725. As a trading city, Bolsward was granted city rights by

Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belon ...

in 1455. Bolsward was made a member of the Hanseatic league in 1422. Before being merged into the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân, the town of Bolsward was an independent municipality.

Notable historical figures

Notable historical figures born here include: * Juw Juwinga or Jonghema (14th century), 11th potestate of Friesland * Petrus Thaborita (1450–1527), historian * Boetius Adamsz Bolswert (c.1580-1633), engraver * Schelderic Adamsz Bolswert (c.1586-1659), engraver * Gysbert Japiks (1603–1666), poet * Frederick Philipse (1626–1702), American progenitor and founder * Willem Muurling (1805–1882), theologian * Titus Brandsma (1881–1942), Carmelite philosopher

Events

Heamiel. A local festival of four days in June. This is an old traditional festival to celebrate that the farmers finished getting the hay from the fields. The name of the festival, Heamiel, is Frisian for 'Hay meal', and is derived from the traditional banquet. Bolletongersdei. Bolletongersdei is Frisian for 'bulls Thursday'. Bolletongersdei includes a street market. Bolletongersdei is held on the first Thursday of October. Simmerwike. A festival of four evenings with musical performances, held in August.

Elfstedentocht

Bolsward is one of the eleven Frisian cities in which the ice skating Elfstedentocht, an

ice skating Ice skating is the self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. Ice skating may be per ...

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair di ...

, is held. Because the marathon depends on the thickness of the ice, it is not held on a regular schedule and is somewhat rare. Bolsward is also the host city for the yearly Cycling Elfstedentocht, a

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

tour.

Notable buildings

* Protestant church of Bolsward * Gysbert Japicx House, birth place and museum about Gysbert Japiks. *Broerekerk (burned 1980, repurposed 2006) Bolsward-Broerekerk-May-2018

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2011 Cities in the Netherlands Cities in Friesland Former municipalities of Friesland Populated places in Friesland Súdwest-Fryslân