Witmarsum ( fry, Wytmarsum) is a village in the northern

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 is located 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 ...

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 ...

. Witmarsum had a population of around 1,735 in January 2017. Witmarsum was place of birth of

Menno Simons Menno Simons (1496 – 31 January 1561) was a Roman Catholic priest from the Friesland region of the Low Countries who was excommunicated from the Catholic Church and became an influential Anabaptist religious leader. Simons was a contemporary o ...

(1496–1561), the leader of what would become the

Mennonites Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

History

The village was first mentioned in the 13th century as Witmarsum, and means "settlement of Witmer (person)". Witmarsum 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 which developed in the early middle ages. The village used to concentrate on the ''terp'', along the canal and along 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. The Dutch Reformed church was built in 1633 as a replacement of its medieval predecessor, because it was damaged by a lightning strike. The tower was again replaced in 1819. Witmarsum contains four churches: a Dutch Reformed church, a Catholic church, a former

Reformed Church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

and a modest

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

church. Witmarsum was home to 659 people in 1840. In 1879, an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

was erected as a memorial for Menno Simons. In 1880, Witmarsum became the capital of the municipality of

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 ...

. In 1911, an electricity factory was opened by a local electricity company for the villages of Witmarsum,

Pingjum 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 ...

Arum ''Arum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean region. Frequently called arum lilies, they are not closely ...

Achlum Achlum is a village in the Waadhoeke municipality of Friesland, Netherlands. It is approximately 7km southwest of the city of Franeker. Achlum had about 629 inhabitants in January 2014.transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

. There are two

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

s in the village, De Onderneming and De Pankoekstermolen. Before 2011, the village was part of the

municipality.

Notable people

(1496–1561), the leader of the

s *

Hobbe Smith Hobbe Smith (7 December 1862, Witmarsum – 1 May 1942, Amsterdam) was a Dutch painter, watercolorist and graphic designer, in the Post-Impressionist style. Biography His father was a house painter and he was apprenticed to a lithographer at ...

(1862–1942), painter, watercolorist

Gallery

File:20190821 Witmarsum.jpg, Canal view File:Menno simons Monument,Witmarsum.jpg, Menno Simons monument. File:Witmarsum - molen De Onderneming.jpg, Windmill ''De Onderneming'' in Witmarsum File:Achtkante grondzeiler schuin van achteren gefotografeerd - AMR Molenfoto - 20539324 - RCE.jpg, De Pankoekstermolen

References

{{Authority control Súdwest-Fryslân Populated places in Friesland