De Blesse (or ''Blesse'') is a village in

Weststellingwerf Weststellingwerf (; Stellingwarfs: or ) is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It is one of the municipalities of Friesland, where the spoken language is not West Frisian; instead, Stellingwerfs, a dialect of ...

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 800 in 2017. Its windmill, ''De Mars'', was rebuilt in 1997. Before 1956, the village was called Blesse.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1439 as ter Blesse, and means "bare spot". The Blesbroggeschaans is a

sconce Sconce may refer to: *Sconce (fortification), a military fortification *Sconce (light fixture) *Sconcing, imposing a penalty in the form of drink *Sconce Point Fort Victoria is a former military fort on the Isle of Wight, England (), built to ...

built in 1583 along the main road of

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

. In 1672 and 1673, it was besieged by

Christoph Bernhard von Galen Christoph Bernhard Freiherr von Galen (12 October 1606, Drensteinfurt – 19 September 1678) was Prince-bishop of Münster. He was born into a noble Westphalian family. Background, education and conversion to Roman Catholicism Christoph Bernh ...

, the Prince-bishop of Münster, but did not get taken. The Dutch Reformed chapel dates from 1880. The

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

''De Mars'' was built in 1834. In the 1910s, an electro motor was installed and in 1958, the top of the windmill was demolished. In 1999, De Mars was restored and is frequently in commission. De Blesse was home to 160 people in 1840.

Gallery

File:De Blesse Hervormde Evangelisatie-002.JPG, Chapel in De Blesse File:Locatie, Lendevallei. Zicht op de Lende 04.jpg, Linde canal File:Locatie, Lendevallei. Trektocht door de vallei. (Blesbroggeschaans) 01.jpg, Blesbroggeschaans

References

Geography of Weststellingwerf Populated places in Friesland {{Friesland-geo-stub