Hemelum ( fry, Himmelum) is a village in Súdwest Fryslân 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 ...

of the Netherlands. It had a population of around 610 in January 2017.Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2017
- CBS Statline

History

The earliest records of Hemelum date back to 1180. The

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

families of Epema and Galama lived in the town in 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 ...

. Early Hemelum was home to a stins, some estates, and a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

. The nunnery of the Benedictine Order was one of the first convents to be established in Friesland, and was dependent on the

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

of Stavorum. The lay order of the

Beguines and Beghards The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take forma ...

was also active at the convent for a time. The

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

of Hemelum was built in 1668 on the foundations of the old convent, as the religious turmoil of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

had largely displaced monasticism in the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

. However, Christian monasticism experienced a modest revival in Hemelum toward the end of the 20th century with the establishment of a

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

convent in the village. For centuries, most people living in and around Hemelum were farmers. In 1896, farmers in Hemelum founded the

steam-powered A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tr ...

dairy factory ''Coöperatieve Stoomzuivelfabriek Hemelum'', which soon became an important source of employment for the village. Since 1974, the building has been used as a water sports company (including a sailing school). Recently,

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

companies have begun to take up residence in the town. Until the

municipal consolidation A merger, consolidation or amalgamation, in a political or administrative sense, is the combination of two or more political or administrative entities, such as municipalities (in other words cities, towns, etc.), counties, districts, etc., int ...

in 1984, Hemelum was located in the municipality of Hemelumer Oldeferd, with the municipal capital in

Koudum Koudum is a village in the northern Netherlands. It is located in Súdwest-Fryslân, Friesland. Nearby villages include Molkwerum to the west, Workum to the north and Hemelum to the south. The population of Koudum was 2,700 in 2019. The nearest t ...

. From 1984 to 2011, Hemelum was part of the municipality of

Nijefurd Nijefurd () is a former municipality in the northern Netherlands, in the province of Friesland. History It was formed in 1984 from the old municipalities of Hindeloopen, Stavoren, and Workum, and part of Hemelumer Oldeferd. In 2011, it formed to ...

, with the capital in

Workum Workum () is a city located in the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân in Friesland, Netherlands. It received city rights in 1399 and is one of the eleven cities of Friesland. It had a population of 4,435 in January 2017.Súdwest-Fryslân Populated places in Friesland