Wolvega ( nds, Wolvege), ( fry, Wolvegea) is the largest town in the municipality of

Weststellingwerf Weststellingwerf (; Stellingwarfs: or ) is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It is one of the municipalities of Friesland, where the spoken language is not West Frisian; instead, Stellingwerfs, a dialect of ...

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 ...

(Fryslan), in 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 13,090 in 2021. Wolvega is the capital and largest town of the municipality.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1218, and means "settlement of Wolf (person)." The Dutch Reformed church was built in 1646 using material from its medieval predecessor. The tower was rebuilt after a fire in 1894. Lycklama State was a ''

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 ...

'' built in the early 17th century. It was built as a fortified building even though advances in warfare had made the construction obsolete. In 1626, Rinco van Lycklama became ''grietman'' (predecessor of mayor/judge) of Stellingwerf-Westeinde. In 1736, it was in a dilapidated state and demolished. The Catholic retirement home Huize Lycklama was later built in its place. Around 1820, the main road from

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

was constructed through Wolvega. In 1835, Wolvega became the capital of the municipality of Weststellingwerf. It was home to 1,202 people in 1840. In 1868, the

Wolvega railway station Wolvega is a railway station in Wolvega, Netherlands. The station opened on 15 January 1868 and is on the Arnhem–Leeuwarden railway. The services are operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen. Train services Bus services Bus services at this stati ...

station opened. During the 1950s, it became one of the industrial centre of Friesland, and started to develop into a town.

Sights

The only remaining ''stins'' in Wolvega is Lindenoord which was built in 1780 in

Louis XVI style Louis XVI style, also called ''Louis Seize'', is a style of architecture, furniture, decoration and art which developed in France during the 19-year reign of Louis XVI (1774–1793), just before the French Revolution. It saw the final phase of t ...

. The estate used to organise

horse races Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. The races moved to

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

which hosts the largest horse race of the Netherlands. 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 town, De Gooyer and Windlust.

Gallery

File:Gemeentehuis Weststellingwerf.jpg, Town Hall File:Wolvegea, Aldheidkeamer Stellingwerf.jpg, House in Wolvega File:Martinibuurt.jpg, Neighbourhood in Wolvega File:Wolvega Friesland Gemeente Weststellingwerf Holland.jpg, Street view

References

{{Dutch municipality Weststellingwerf Geography of Weststellingwerf Populated places in Friesland

History

Sights

Gallery

See also

References