Eastermar ( nl, Oostermeer) is a village in

Tytsjerksteradiel Tytsjerksteradiel () is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. It is named after the town of Tytsjerk, whose name is derived from a person named Tiete. Tiete was a daughter of Tryn, after whom the region (Trynwâlden) is n ...

municipality in the province

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 ...

(''Fryslân'' in West Frisian) 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 around 1,575 citizens in January 2017.

History

As early as 4000 BC there were nomads in this area. An important archaeological discovery was made at

Burgumer Mar The Burgumer Mar ( nl, Bergumermeer) is a lake near the town of Burgum in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Friesland. The lake was formed during the last ice age. It is a popular water sports area with multiple yacht harbours. The splits the la ...

, a lake to the northwest of Eastermar. This discovery is known as the Leien-Warten Kompleks. Also found around Eastermar were mammoth teeth and gold rings, now in the Regional Museum in

Burgum Burgum is the largest and administrative town of the municipality of Tytsjerksteradiel, in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Friesland. It had a population of 10,058 inhabitants in January 2017. On 1 January 1989 the official name of the villa ...

. The first farmers settled on the higher grounds east of the Burgumer Mar. Around 1200, the first stone church was built here, which was later known as the Protestant church of Eastermar. The community is believed to be several centuries older than the church. As shown on a 1605 map, originally the name Eastermar referred to this community, now It Heechsân, a hamlet to the east of today's Eastermar. In the Middle Ages there were already several farms around the church and to the north and south of It Heechsân. This 1605 map shows the ancient

to the northwest of the village, but not yet De Leien, the lake to the south that came into being during the large-scale peat extraction that took place between 1500 and 1750. During this period, peat workers built a hamlet at the crossing point between a road and a waterway (

Lits LITS, formerly known as Nuruomino (ヌルオミノ), is a binary determination puzzle published by Nikoli. Rules ''LITS'' is played on a rectangular grid, typically 10×10; the grid is divided into polyominoes, none of which have fewer than fo ...

). This settlement, called De Wâl, was a place of shipping, trade and craft and became the main centre in this area, eventually surpassing the older hamlet and assuming its name, Eastermar. After 1750, farming became dominant again in this area, and still is. Until 1989, the village had two formal names (as many Frisian places still do): Eastermar in West Frisian, and ''Oostermeer'' in Dutch. The local municipality decided on officially continuing under a single name in both Dutch and Frisian then; a change which is reflected in the single name on the town sign.

Community

Population

* 1954 - 1415 * 1959 - 1318 * 1964 - 1297 * 1969 - 1265 * 1973 - 1222 * 2006 - 1564

Famous (former) residents of Eastermar

Doutzen Kroes Doutzen Kroes (, ; born 23 January 1985) is a Dutch fashion model. She began her modelling career in 2003, in the Netherlands and was quickly sent by her agency to New York where she was cast by lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret. She was a Vict ...

(born 1985) -

Model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

Notable buildings

* The

Former Protestant church of Eastermar The former Protestant church of Eastermar was a church that stood in It Heechsân, Eastermar, Netherlands. It was demolished in 1868. Today only the medieval tower from the 13th century remains. The church is located far out of the center of th ...

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Friesland Tytsjerksteradiel