Jonkerslân ( nl, Jonkersland) is a village consisting of around 295 inhabitants in the municipality of

Opsterland Opsterland (; fry, Opsterlân) is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. Population centres Drachten-Azeven is an industrial zone of Drachten located in Opsterland. Hamlets The hamlets within the municipality are: ...

in the east 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 ...

. The village was first mentioned in 1899 as Jonkersland, and means land of the ''

Jonkheer (female equivalent: ; french: Écuyer; en, Squire) is an honorific in the Low Countries denoting the lowest rank within the nobility. In the Netherlands, this in general concerns a prefix used by the untitled nobility. In Belgium, this is the ...

'' which is probably a reference to

Juw Dekama Juw Dekema (1449/50 – October 24, 1523) was a Frisian chieftain and Schieringer in Weidum and Baard, who was elected as potestate of Friesland in 1494 at the diet of Sneek Sneek (; fy, Snits) is a city southwest of Leeuwarden and t ...

. Jonkerslân developed into a

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...

colony in the 18th century. In 1988, it was awarded a village status.

References

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