Westergoa was one of the seven sealands and one of the three that now lie within the borders of today's Dutch 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 ...

. Later it was one of the three goaen of Frisia. In the Middle Ages Westergoa most probably formed the political centre of the Frisian realm.

Area

On the eastern side Westergoa was bordered by the Middelsee, on the other side Eastergoa. On the south side it bordered with what originally was Bornegoa which was in the line with Terhernster Lake to the south of the coast, the eastern perimeter was with Doedingwerstal. All other borders were coastlines.

1200

Around 1200, Westergoa was divided into parts within the Westergoa area

Franeker Franeker (; fry, Frjentsjer) is one of the eleven historical cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Waadhoeke. It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about 20 km west of Leeuwarden. As of 1 January 2014, it had 12 ...

, Wildinge and Wymbrits, called the Fiefdielen (Five parts). Franeker and Wildinge have probably been the original Westergo. Wymbrits was added when begin 12th century when

Sudergoa Together with Westergoa and Eastergoa Sudergoa was one of the three goaën of the Dutch province of Friesland during the Middle Ages. From the 13th century on Sudergoa became a part of Westergoa. Stavoren Stavoren (; fry, Starum; previously Stav ...

was no more.

1500

Around 1500

Het Bildt Het or HET may refer to: Science and technology * Hall-effect thruster, a type of ion thruster used for spacecraft propulsion * Heavy Equipment Transporter, a vehicle in the US Army's Heavy Equipment Transport System * Hobby–Eberly Telescope ...

, was added to Westergoa but by the establishment of Sânwâlden, Gaasterland, Doniawerstal and Lemsterland these parts in the south of Westergoa were lost. Also eight cities grew exceptionally in the Westergoa area; Harlingen and

in the Fiefdielen part,

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 ...

at the eastern side of Wildinge, now Wûnseradiel and at the southern point Workum and Hindeloopen. The rest of Wymbrits fell into three cities and six parts. Stavoren,

Sneek Sneek (; fy, Snits) is a city southwest of Leeuwarden and the seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. As of 2011 it is the seat of the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân (Southwest Friesland). T ...

and IJlst had become autonomous cities but six

Frisian slot Frisian most often refers to: *Frisia, a cross-border coastal region in Germany and the Netherlands **Frisians, the medieval and modern ethnic group inhabiting Frisia *** Frisii, the ancient inhabitants of Frisia prior to 600 AD ** Frisian languag ...

s formed the grietenijen of Wymbritseradeel and Hemelumer Oldeferd (and Noardwâlde). {, cellspacing="0" !colspan=2, Eight Cities: , - , Ha, , Harlingen , - , F, ,

, - , B, ,

, - , Sn, ,

, - , Dr, , IJlst , - , W, , Workum , - , Hy, , Hindeloopen , - , St, , Stavoren Geography of Friesland History of Friesland