Kimswerd ( fry, Kimswert) is a village in

Súdwest-Fryslân Southwest Friesland ( fy, Súdwest-Fryslân ) is a municipality in the Northern Netherlands, located in the province of Friesland. It had a population of 84,092 in August 2017. Sneek is the municipal seat. With a total area of 841.56 km2, Sú ...

municipality 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 565 in January 2017.

History

The village was first mentioned in the 13th century as Kemmerswerth, and means "''terp'' village of Kemme (person). Kimswerd is a ''

terp A ''terp'', also known as a ''wierde, woerd, warf, warft, werf, werve, wurt'' or ''værft'', is an artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides an ...

'' (artificial living hill) village. Archaelogical finds have been discovered in the ''terp'' from the Roman era. The village used to have a grid structure and was located along the former Marneslenk, a bay in the Wadden Sea. Around 1850, the road from

Bolsward Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of Sneek. History The town is founded on thr ...

to Harlingen was paved, and the village extended towards the road. The Dutch Reformed church dates from the 11th century, and has a tower from the 12th century. It was modified and extended many times during its history. On 29 January 1515, Kimswerd was plundered by Saxon mercenaries hired by the Count of Holland to conquer

Pier Gerlofs Donia Pier Gerlofs Donia ( 1480 – 28 October 1520) was a Frisian rebel leader and pirate. He is best known by his West Frisian nickname ''Grutte Pier'' ("Big Pier"; in the pre-1980 West Frisian spelling written as ''Greate Pier''), or by the Dutch ...

who lost his wife and one of his two children swore revenge, and founded the

Arumer Zwarte Hoop The Arumer Zwarte Hoop, meaning "Black Army of Arum" ( fry, Swarte Heap) was an army of peasant rebels and mercenaries in Friesland fighting against the Habsburg authorities from 1515 to 1523. For four years they were successful under the former f ...

, a guerilla army which plundered and raided cities in Holland. Kimswerd was home to 408 people in 1840. Before 2011, the village was part of the

Wûnseradiel Wûnseradiel () is a former municipality in the Friesland province of the northern Netherlands, at the eastern end of the ''Afsluitdijk''. The official (legal) name of the municipality is in the West Frisian language, though it is known as Wonsera ...

municipality.

Notable people

, nicknamed ''Grutte Pier'', an infamous

freedom fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

born around 1480, who led a

guerrilla war Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics ...

against the occupying forces after his wife and one of his two children were killed, and burnt his farm in 1515. He led the Frisian rebel army, the

from 1515 until 1519.

Gallery

File:Grotepier TN.JPG, ''Grutte Pier'' statue File:Kimswerd - molen De Eendracht.jpg, Windmill ''De Eendracht'' File:20190903 herberg Greate Pier Kimswerd.jpg, Inn Greate Pier File:20190903 Harlingervaart Streek in Kimswerd.jpg, Street view

References

External links

{{Authority control Súdwest-Fryslân Populated places in Friesland