Pingjum ( fry, Penjum) is a village in the municipality of
Súdwest-Fryslân in
Friesland, in the northern
Netherlands and lies southwest of
Harlingen. It had a population of around 585 in January 2017.
History
The village was first mentioned in the 13th century as Penningem, and means "settlement of Penne (person)". Pingjum is a ''
terp'' (artificial living hill) village from the early middle ages which developed on the
Marneslenk in a grid structure.
According to legend, the earliest settlers were shepherds from
Drenthe
Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...
who decided to build the terps and around 1100 added dikes for further protection against the sea.
The tower of the Dutch Reformed church was built in the 12th or 13th century and was enlarged in the 15th century. The church dates from around 1500 and was enlarged in 1759. A water well is located next to the choir.
In 1524,
Menno Simons became priest at the church. Simons started to preach against militarism and was
baptised as an adult. His breach with the Catholic church started in Pingjum, and lead to the
Mennonites.
A Mennonite church was built around 1600 as a
clandestine church
A clandestine church ( nl, schuilkerk), defined by historian Benjamin J. Kaplan as a "semi-clandestine church", is a house of worship used by religious minorities whose communal worship is tolerated by those of the majority faith on condition th ...
behind a non conspicuous house which was used as clergy house. It is one of the oldest still extant Mennonite churches.
During the
February flood of 1825, Frisian seawalls broke. Pingjum was spared thanks to a dike around the village known as the Pingjumer Golden Collar (
Pingjumer Gulden Halsband). In 1892 the province of Friesland decided to put an end to the Pingjumer Golden Collar coastal protection, although in several places the dike is still visible. This ring dyke was originally built in part to reclaim land from the
Marne Estuary to the north of the village.
Pingjum was home to 116 people in 1840.
Part of the ''terp'' was excavated.
In 1945, the village was severely damaged.
On 15 April 1945, Canadian troops demanded the surrender of the German forces in the area. The Germans refused and hid in Pingjum. An intense two day battle with mortars and flame-throwers followed. On 17 April, the last farms in which the Germans were hiding, were set on fire.
Before 2011, the village was part of the
Wûnseradiel municipality.
Notable residents
* (1768–1829), mathematician
* , comedian
*
Jan Ykema
Jan Jelte Ykema (born 18 April 1963) is a former ice speed skater from the Netherlands, who represented his native country at two consecutive Winter Olympics, starting in 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. In 1988 (Calgary
Calgary ( ) is t ...
, Olympic speedskating medallist, lives in Pingjum
Gallery
File:Pingjumer_Gulden_Halsband.jpg, The Pingjumer Golden Collar southwest of Pingjum in 2011
File:Rondje rond de Kerk 1 Pingjum.JPG, Houses in Pingjum
File:Zicht op Pingjum2.jpg, View on Pingjum
File:Het Friese Pingjum bij de kop van de Afsluitdijk werd zwaar beschadigd, Bestanddeelnr 900-2687.jpg, Destruction during World War II (18 April 1945)
References
External links
{{Authority control
Súdwest-Fryslân
Populated places in Friesland