Ballum is a village on the western half of the island of

Ameland Ameland (; West Frisian: It Amelân) is a municipality and one of the West Frisian Islands off the north coast of the Netherlands. It consists mostly of sand dunes. It is the third major island of the West Frisians. It neighbours islands ...

and the smallest of the total of four villages on the island, one of the

West Frisian Islands The West Frisian Islands (; fry, Waadeilannen) are a chain of islands in the North Sea off the Dutch coast, along the edge of the Wadden Sea. They continue further east as the German East Frisian Islands and are part of the Frisian Islands. Fr ...

and part 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 ...

History

The village was first mentioned in 1473 as "jn balnera lees: balmera buren", and means "settlement of Balle (person)". Ballum is an ''

esdorp __NOTOC__ An ''Angerdorf'' (plural: ''Angerdörfer'') is a type of village that is characterised by the houses and farmsteads being laid out around a central grassed area, the ''anger'' (from the Old High German ''angar'' =pasture or grassy place ...

'' with a triangular village square which developed in the Late Middle Ages. In the early 15th century, the castle Jelmera State was built in Ballum which later became known as Camminghaslot after the

Cammingha Van Cammingha is an old Frisian noble family and their house from the Dutch province of Friesland. The family castle in Ballum is now the location of the town hall. History The oldest known ancestor is one Rienck Cammingha who lived in the first ...

family became owners of the island. The castle started to deteriorate and transporting stones to the island was too expensive, therefore, the island was sold to

John William Friso John William Friso ( nl, Johan Willem Friso; 14 August 1687 – 14 July 1711) became the (titular) Prince of Orange in 1702. He was the Stadtholder of Friesland and Groningen in the Dutch Republic until his death by accidental drowning in the ...

, the Prince of Orange.

Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following Beatrix of the Netherlands, his mother's abdication in 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the old ...

, the current King, still uses the title "Vrijheer of Ameland" as one of his titles. In 1795, the island was confiscated, and the castle became the residence of 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 ...

'' of Ameland. In 1829, the castle was condemned and demolished. The municipal hall of Ameland was built in its place. In 1961, a new municipal hall was built. The bell tower was built in 1755 as a replacement of the wooden tower. It was enlarged in 1870. The Dutch Reformed church is an aisleless church which was built in 1832 to replace the medieval church which was located at a distance. Ballum was home to 289 people in 1840. The small

Ameland Airport Ameland Airport ( nl, Vliegveld Ameland) , also known as Ameland Airport Ballum, is a small general aviation airport located near the town of Ballum on the western part of the island of Ameland, one of the West Frisian Islands in the Netherlands. ...

is located northwest of Ballum.

People from Ballum

* , oldest living man in the

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...

. Died 2020, aged 109.

Gallery

File:Ballum Ameland.jpg, Welcome to Ballum File:Gemeentehuis Ballum Ameland.jpg, Municipal hall File:Gerrit Kosterweg 10, Ballum (Ameland).jpg, House in Ballum

References

External links

{{Authority control Ameland Populated places in Friesland