Wier is a village in

Waadhoeke Waadhoeke is a municipality of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It was established 1 January 2018 and consists of the former municipalities of Franekeradeel, het Bildt, Menameradiel and parts of Littenseradiel, all four of which were dis ...

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 210 in January 2017.

History

The village was first mentioned in the 13th century as Werue, and means ''

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). The ''terp'' probably dates from the beginning of our era and was located on the outskirts of the

Middelzee The Middelzee (Dutch for "middle sea"; fry, Middelsee), also called Bordine, was the estuary mouth of the River Boorne (West Frisian: ''Boarn'') now in the Dutch province of Friesland. It ran from as far south as Sneek northward to the Wadden S ...

. It was originally a fishing village, and was connected to

Berlikum Berltsum () is a village in Waadhoeke municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 2,529 in January 2017. Until 2018, the village was part of the Menameradiel municipality. History The village was fi ...

via a canal. The Dutch Reformed church was built in the 12th century. The tower dates from 1881. The church was restored in 2012. The church contains a unique

astrarium An astrarium, also called a planetarium, is the mechanical representation of the cyclic nature of astronomical objects in one timepiece. It is an astronomical clock. History Greek and Roman World The first astraria were mechanical devices. Archi ...

which was created by an ''onderduiker'' (person in hiding) during World War II and donated to the church in 1946. The ''

stins A stins (Dutch, pl. ''stinsen''; from West Frisian ''stienhûs'' utch ''steenhuis''"stone house", shortened to ''stins'', pl. ''stinzen'') is a former stronghold or villa in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Many stinsen carry the name ...

'' Lauta State was first mentioned in 1192. Around 1740, it was owned by Horatius Hiddema van Knijff, the ''

grietman A grietman (from Old Frisian ''greta'' to accuse, to summon) is partly a forerunner of the current rural mayor in the province of Friesland, and partly the forerunner of a judge. The area of jurisdiction was the municipality or gemeente. In the j ...

'' (mayor/judge) of

Menaldumadeel Menameradiel (; nl, Menaldumadeel ) is a former municipality in Friesland, Netherlands. On 1 January 2018 it merged with the municipalities of Franekeradeel, het Bildt and parts of Littenseradiel to form the new municipality Waadhoeke. Populatio ...

. The population considered the taxes in the ''

grietenij A ''grietenij'' was a forerunner to the ''gemeente'' or municipality in Frisia, particularly in Friesland, and also in Groningen which are now a part of the Netherlands. From the end of the 16th century until 1851, there were a total of 30 ''grie ...

'' too high, and van Knijff was accused of conspiring with the French. On the night of 1 to 2 June 1748, there was a revolt and the angry population burnt down the estate. Van Knijff managed to flee. Only the tower remained standing until 1900 when it was demolished. When the Middelzee started to retreat, Wier turned into an agricultural community. Wier was home to 258 people in 1840. In 1981, a

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

post was built in Wier as part of the

NATO Integrated Air Defense System The NATO Integrated Air Defense System (short: NATINADS) is a command and control network combining radars and other facilities spread throughout the NATO alliance's air defence forces. It formed in the mid-1950s and became operational in 1962 as ...

. In 2021, the installation was renewed, and the old tower was replaced. Before 2018, the village was part of the

Menameradiel Menameradiel (; nl, Menaldumadeel ) is a former municipality in Friesland, Netherlands. On 1 January 2018 it merged with the municipalities of Franekeradeel, het Bildt and parts of Littenseradiel to form the new municipality Waadhoeke. Populatio ...

municipality.

Gallery

File:Tsjerke fan Wier.jpg, Protestant church File:Radarpost Noord van de Koninklijke Luchtmacht.jpg, Radar installation (2008) File:De Wierster kat, Wier.JPG, Cat statue

References

{{Authority control Waadhoeke Populated places in Friesland