Frisia is a

cross-border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political border ...

cultural region in

Northwestern Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The region can be defined both geographically and ethnographically. Geographic definitions Geographically, North ...

. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the 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 ...

and parts of northwestern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Germanic ethnic group.

Etymology

The contemporary name for the region stems from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

word Frisii; an ethnonym used for a group of tribes in modern-day Northwestern

, possibly being a loanword of

Proto-Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic br ...

*frisaz, meaning "curly, crisp", presumably referring to the hair of the tribesmen. In some areas, the local translation of "Frisia" is used to refer to another subregion. On the North Frisian islands, for instance, "Frisia" and "Frisians" refer to (the inhabitants of) mainland North Frisia. In Saterland Frisian, the term ''Fräislound'' specifically refers to Ostfriesland. During the French occupation of the Netherlands, the name for the Frisian department was . In English, both "Frisia" and "Friesland" may be interchangeably used to refer to the region.

Subdivisions

Frisia is commonly divided into three sections: * West Frisia in the Netherlands roughly corresponds to the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

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 ...

(''Fryslân''). In a broader sense, it also includes West Friesland in northern North Holland and the

Ommelanden The Ommelanden (; ) are the parts of Groningen province that surround Groningen city. Usually mentioned as synonym for the province in the expression ("city and surrounding lands"). The area was Frisian-speaking, but under the influence of the ...

in the province of Groningen, though the West Frisian language is only spoken in Friesland proper. Dialects with strong West Frisian substrates, including Low German and Low Franconian, are also spoken in West Frisia. In the province of Groningen, people speak Gronings, a

Low Saxon Low Saxon, also known as West Low German ( nds, Nedersassisch, Nedersaksies; nl, Nedersaksisch) are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of ...

dialect with a strong Frisian substrate. Rural Groningen originally belonged to the Frisian lands "east of the Lauwers" and is therefore more closely linked to East Frisia than to the west. In West Friesland, West Frisian Dutch – a

Hollandic dialect Hollandic or Hollandish ( ) is the most widely spoken dialect of the Dutch language. Hollandic is among the Central Dutch dialects. Other important language varieties of spoken Low Franconian languages are Brabantian, Flemish ( East Flemish, ...

with strong Frisian influences – is spoken. * East Frisia in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

, Germany roughly corresponds to the historical regions of East Frisia ( Aurich, Leer, Wittmund and Emden) and

Oldenburger Friesland The Oldenburg or Oldenburger is a warmblood horse from the north-western corner of Lower Saxony, what was formerly the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg. The breed was built on a mare base of all-purpose farm and carriage horses, today called the Alt ...

(

and Wilhelmshaven), and the municipality of

Saterland Saterland (; Saterland Frisian: , ) is a municipality in the district of Cloppenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated between the cities of Leer, Cloppenburg, and Oldenburg. It is home to Saterland Frisians, who speak Frisian in add ...

. In a broader sense, it also includes the

Butjadingen Butjadingen is a peninsula and municipality in the Wesermarsch district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Butjadingen is situated on the German North Sea coast. It is bordered on the west and southwest by the Jade River and the east by t ...

peninsula (former Rüstringen) and

Land Wursten Land Wursten is a former ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was situated approximately southwest of Cuxhaven, and north of Bremerhaven. Its seat was in the village Dorum. It w ...

. Usually, only the people from East Frisia proper () refer to themselves as East Frisians. The German name ''Ostfriesland'' distinguishes the historical region from ''Ost-Friesland'', which refers to East Frisia as a whole. * North Frisia in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

, Germany roughly corresponds to the district of Nordfriesland and the archipelago of

Heligoland Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possession ...

. It includes the North Frisian Islands, where varieties of the North Frisian language are spoken. It stretches from the Eider River in the south to the border of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

in the north. Until the

Second Schleswig War The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...

in 1864, the region belonged to the Danish Duchy of Schleswig.

History

Roman era

The people, later to be known as Frisii, began settling in Frisia in the 6th century BC. According to

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

, in Roman times, the Frisians (or rather their close neighbours, the Chauci) lived on terps, man-made hills. According to other sources, the Frisians lived along a broader expanse of the North Sea (or "Frisian Sea") coast. At this time, Frisia comprised the present-day provinces of

, Groningen, North Holland and parts of South Holland.

Early Middle Ages

Frisian presence during the Early Middle Ages has been documented from North-Western Flanders up to the Weser River Estuary. According to archaeological evidence, these Frisians were not the Frisians of Roman times, but the descendants of Anglo-Saxon immigrants from the German Bight, arriving during the Great Migration. By the 8th century, ethnic Frisians also started to colonize the coastal areas North of the Eider River under Danish rule. The nascent Frisian languages were spoken all along the southern North Sea coast. Today, the whole region is sometimes referred to as Greater Frisia (). Distant authors seem to have made little distinction between Frisians and Saxons. The Byzantine Procopius described three peoples living in Great Britain: Angles, Frisians and Britons, and the Danish author of '' Knútsdrápa'' celebrating the 11th-century Canute the Great used "Frisians" as a synonym of "English". The historian and sociologist George Homans has made a case for Frisian cultural domination in East Anglia since the 5th century, pointing to distinct land-holdings arrangements in carucates (these forming

vill Vill is a term used in English history to describe the basic rural land unit, roughly comparable to that of a parish, manor, village or tithing. Medieval developments The vill was the smallest territorial and administrative unit—a geographica ...

s assembled in

leet Leet (or "1337"), also known as eleet or leetspeak, is a system of modified spellings used primarily on the Internet. It often uses character replacements in ways that play on the similarity of their glyphs via reflection or other resemblance ...

s), partible inheritance patterns of common lands held in by kin, resistance to

manorialism Manorialism, also known as the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or " tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, sometimes for ...

and other social institutions. Some East Anglian sources called the mainland inhabitants Warnii, rather than Frisians. During the 7th and 8th centuries, Frankish chronologies mention the northern

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

as the kingdom of the Frisians. According to Medieval legends, this kingdom comprised the coastal provinces of the

, from the Scheldt River to the Weser River and further East. Archaeological research does not confirm this idea, as the petty kingdoms appear to have been rather small and short-lived. The earliest Frisian records name four social classes, the (''

nobiles The ''nobiles'' ( ''nobilis'') were members of a social rank in the Roman Republic indicating that one was "well known". This may have changed over time: in Cicero's time, one was notable if one descended from a person who had been elected consul ...

'' in Latin documents) and , who together made up the "Free Frisians" who might bring suit at court, and the ''laten'' or ''liten'' with the slaves, who were absorbed into the ''laten'' during the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

, as slavery was not so much formally abolished, as evaporated. The ''laten'' were tenants of lands they did not own and might be tied to it in the manner of serfs, but in later times might buy their freedom. The basic land-holding unit for assessment of taxes and military contributions was - according to Homans - the ''ploegg'' (cf. "plow") or ''teen'' (cf. tithing, cf. " hundred"), which, however, also passed under other local names. The ''teen'' was pledged to supply ten men for the ''heer'', or army. ''Ploegg'' or ''teen'' formed a unit of which the members were collectively responsible for the performance of any of the men. The ''ploegg'' or East Frisian ''rott'' was a compact holding that originated with a single lineage or kinship, whose men in early times went to war under their chief, and devolved in medieval times into a union of neighbors rather than kith and kin. Several, often three, ''ploeggs'' were grouped into a ''burar'', whose members controlled and adjudicated the uses of pasturage (but not tillage) which the ''ploeggs'' held in common, and came to be in charge of roads, ditches and dikes. Twelve ''ploeggs'' made up a "long" hundred, responsible for supplying a hundred armed men, four of which made a ''go'' (cf. '' Gau''). Homans' ideas, which were largely based on studies now considered to be outdated, have not been followed up by Continental scholars. The 7th-century Frisian Realm (650–734) under the kings

Aldegisel Aldegisel, Aldegisl, Aldgillis, Aldgisl, Aldgils or Eadgils (fl. c. 678) was the ruler of Frisia (as king or duke) in the late seventh century contemporarily with Dagobert II and a very obscure figure. All that is known of him is in relation to t ...

and

Redbad Radbod, Radbot, Ratbod, Ratpot, Redbod, Redbad, Radboud, Rapoto, or sometimes just Boddo, is a Germanic masculine given name that may refer to: *Redbad, King of the Frisians (died 719) *Radbod (prefect) (833–54), Frankish prefect *Ratbod (archbis ...

, had its centre of power in the city of Utrecht. Its ancient customary law was drawn up as the '' Lex Frisionum'' in the late eighth century. Its end came in 734 at the

Battle of the Boarn The Battle of the Boarn ( fry, Slach oan de Boarn nl, Slag aan de Boorne) was an eighth century battle between the Franks and the Frisians near the mouth of the river Boarn in what is now the Dutch province of Friesland. Battle In 734 a Fran ...

, when the Frisians were defeated by the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools ...

, who then conquered the western part up to the Lauwers. Frankish troops conquered the area east of the Lauwers in 785, after

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

defeated the Saxon leader Widukind. The Carolingians laid Frisia under the rule of ''grewan'', a title that has been loosely related to

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

in its early sense of "governor" rather than " feudal overlord". During the 7th to 10th centuries, Frisian merchants and skippers played an important part in the international luxury trade, establishing commercial districts in distant cities as Sigtuna, Hedeby, Ribe, York, London, Duisburg, Cologne, Mainz, and Worms. Establishing this Frisian Trading Empire played a big role during the

late middle ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Ren ...

. While interpersonal violence was on the rise almost everywhere else in Europe, Northern Europe and especially Frisia managed to maintain low violence levels. This can be traced back to the well-developed society and established rule of law, which were results of extensive trade. The Frisian coastal areas were partly occupied by Danish Vikings in the 840s, until these were expelled between 885 and 920. Recently, it has been suggested that the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

did not conquer Frisia, but settled peacefully in certain districts (such as the islands of Walcheren and

Wieringen Wieringen () is part of the municipality of Hollands Kroon, established in 2012 in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It is a former municipality in this province, with its name appearing in records of the late 9th and early 10t ...

), where they built simple forts and cooperated and traded with the native Frisians. One of their leaders was

Rorik of Dorestad Rorik (''Roricus, Rorichus''; Old Norse ''HrœrekR'', c. 810 – c. 880) was a Danish Viking, who ruled over parts of Friesland between 841 and 873, conquering Dorestad and Utrecht in 850. Rorik swore allegiance to Louis the German in 873 ...

Upstalsboom League

During the 12th century Frisian noblemen and the city of Groningen founded the Upstalsboom League under the slogan of " Frisian freedom" to counter feudalizing tendencies. The league consisted of modern

, Groningen, East Frisia, Harlingerland, Jever and Rüstringen. The Frisian districts in West Friesland West of the

Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an ov ...

did not participate, neither did the districts North of the Eider River along the Danish

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

coast (

). The former were occupied by the count of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former Provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

in 1289, and the latter were governed by the Duke of Schleswig and the king of

. The same holds true for the district of

East of the Weser River. The Upstalsboom League was revived in the early 14th century, but it collapsed after 1337. By then, the non-Frisian city of Groningen took the lead of the independent coastal districts.

15th century

The 15th century saw the demise of Frisian republicanism. In East Frisia, a leading nobleman from the Cirksena-family managed to defeat his competitors with the help of the Hanseatic League. In 1464 he acquired the title of count of East Frisia. The king of Denmark was successful in subduing the coastal districts North of the Eider River. The Dutch provinces of

and Groningen remained independent until 1498. By then Friesland was conquered by Duke Albert of Saxony-Meissen. The city of Groningen, which had started to dominate the surrounding rural districts, surrendered to count Edzard of East Frisia in 1506. The city conveyed its remaining privileges to the Habsburg Empire in 1536. The district of Butjadingen (formerly Rüstringen) was occupied by the Count of Oldenburg in 1514, the Land Wursten by the Prince-bishop of Bremen in 1525.

Modern age

In the early 16th century, the pirate and freedom fighter Pier Gerlofs Donia (Grutte Pier) challenged Saxon authority in Friesland during a prolonged guerrilla war, backed by the Duke of Guelders. He had several successes and was feared by Hollandic authorities, but he died as a farmer in 1520. According to the legend he was seven feet tall. A statue of Grutte Pier by was erected in Kimswert in 1985. In the 1560s many Frisans joined the revolt led by William of Orange against the Habsburg monarchy. In 1577 the province of Friesland became part of the nascent

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...

, as its representatives signed the Union of Utrecht. The city of Groningen was conquered by the Dutch in 1594. Since then, membership of the Dutch Republic was perceived as a guarantee for the preservation of civil liberties. Actual power, however, was usurped by the landowning gentry. Protests against aristocratic rule led to a democratic movement in the 1780s.

Frisian territories

*When West Friesland was conquered by the County of Holland in 1289, this was the end of a series of wars between the county of Holland and Friesland that started at the end of the 11th century. The Dutch conquest occurred immediately after the disastrous

St. Lucia's flood North Holland, 1st-10th century St. Lucia's flood (Sint-Luciavloed) was a storm tide that affected the Netherlands and Northern Germany on 13/14 December 1287 ( OS), St. Lucia Day and the day after, killing approximately 50,000 to 80,000 peo ...

in which many Frisians in the area were killed. After the conquest the district of West Friesland, which also comprised the islands of

, Texel, and Vlieland, had its own seats in the Estates of Holland and West Friesland. When the province of Holland was split up in the

constitutional reform A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...

of 1840, West-Friesland became a part of North Holland. The name of West Friesland has also been used by an intercommunal administrative board (''samenwerkingsregio'') and a water board. *

became an independent member of the Dutch Republic in 1581. It is now a Dutch province, in 1996 renamed as ''Fryslân''. *The islands of Terschelling, Ameland, and Schiermonnikoog were independent seignories, which were integrated into the province of Friesland during the 19th and 20th centuries. * Groningen, formerly ''Stad en Lande'' (the city of Groningen and its surroundings), became an independent member of the Dutch Republic in 1594. Now it is a Dutch province. As a rule, its inhabitants do not consider their province as a part of Frisia, though the area has many cultural ties with neighbouring East Frisia. * East Frisia was an independent county since 1464, later a principality within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

until 1744. By then, it was annexed by the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

. After a period of Dutch and French rule, it became part of the

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Ha ...

in 1814, which was annexed by Prussia in 1866. Now it consists of several districts within the federal state of

in the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. * Harlingerland was a seignory, inherited by the count of East Frisia in 1600. * Jever was a seignory, annexed by the County of Oldenburg in 1573 and, after a prolonged period of Saxony-Anhalt, Russian, Dutch and French rule, reunited with Oldenburg in 1814. It is now part of the district of Friesland within the federal state of

. * Kniphausen was a seignory, split off from the County of Oldenburg in 1667 and reunited with its surroundings in 1854 (effectively in 1813). *

was a tiny Frisian district under the Prince-bishop of

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

, in 1814 assigned to the

Kingdom of Hannover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hano ...

. *

was a coastal republic, a remnant of the largely submerged district of Rüstringen. It was conquered by the Count of Oldenburg in 1514. After a period of Danish rule, it became part of the Duchy of Oldenburg in 1774, which remained a more or less independent state within the German Empire until 1918. Butjadingen is now part of the district of Wesermarsch within the federal state of

. *

was a coastal republic, conquered by the Prince-bishop of Bremen in 1525. It became part of the Duchy of Bremen-Verden. The latter was, after a period of Swedish rule, integrated into the

in 1715. It is now part of the district of

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven ...

within the federal state of

. * North Frisia originally corresponded to the

Uthlande Uthlande, Utlande ( Low German or Old Danish: ''The outer lands'', in Danish also: ''Friselagen'') is a term for the islands, halligen and marshes off the mainland of North Frisia in the Southwest Jutland, modern Nordfriesland district, German ...

in the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of metropolitan Denma ...

. Later, North Frisia became a part of the Danish Duchy of Schleswig (or Southern Jutland, ''Sønderjylland'') and of the royal enclaves (''Kongerigske enklaver'') of the

. The duchy was conquered by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

in 1864. Now it forms a district within the federal state of

. Helgoland is part of the district of Pinneberg. North Frisia was never a part of the

Contemporary regionalism

During the late 19th and early 20th century, "Frisian freedom" became the slogan of a regionalist movement in Friesland, demanding equal rights for the Frisian language and culture within the Netherlands. The West Frisian language and its urban dialects are spoken by the majority of the inhabitants. In East Frisia, the idea of "Frisian freedom" became entangled with regional sentiments as well, though the East Frisian language had been replaced by Low German dialects as early as the 15th century. In Groningen, on the other hand, Frisian sentiments faded away at the end of the 16th century. In North Frisia, regional sentiments concentrate around the surviving North Frisian dialects, which are spoken by a sizeable minority of the population, though Lower German is far more widespread.

Regional political parties

Languages

A half-million Frisians in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands speak West Frisian. Several thousand people in Nordfriesland and Heligoland in Germany speak a collection of North Frisian dialects. A small number of

Saterland Frisian language Saterland Frisian, also known as Sater Frisian, Saterfrisian or Saterlandic (), is the last living dialect of the East Frisian language. It is closely related to the other Frisian languages: North Frisian, spoken in Germany as well, and West Fr ...

speakers live in four villages in

, in the

region of Cloppenburg county, just beyond the boundaries of traditional East Frisia. Many Frisians speak

dialects which have a Frisian substratum known as Friso-Saxon, especially in East Frisia, where the local dialects are called Ōstfräisk ("East Frisian") or Ōstfräisk Plat ( East Frisian Low Saxon). In the provinces of Friesland and Groningen, and in North Frisia, there are also areas where Friso-Saxon dialects are predominantly spoken, such as Gronings. In West Frisia, there are West Frisian-influenced dialects of Dutch such as West Frisian Dutch and

Stadsfries Stadsfries () or Town Frisian ( fy, Stedsk, link=no, ) is a set of dialects spoken in certain cities in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands, namely Leeuwarden, Sneek, Bolsward, Franeker, Dokkum, Harlingen, Stavoren, and to som ...

Maps

File:Europe location FRS.png, Location of Frisia (dark orange) in Europe File:Frisians.png, Historical settlement areas of the Frisians, and areas where a Frisian language is spoken File:Ost-Friesland.svg, The Frisian territories in Lower Saxony (East Frisia) File:AreasSettlementSchleswig-HolsteinText.png, Frisian colonisation (yellow) of southwestern Jutland during the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...

File:KreisRegionNordfriesland.png, Difference between the historical region and present-day district of Nordfriesland

Flag

While the subdivisions of Frisia have their own regional flags, Frisia as a whole has not historically had a flag of its own. In September 2006, a flag for a united Frisia – known as the "Interfrisian Flag" – was designed by the

Groep fan Auwerk Groep fan Auwerk ("Group of Aurich") is a political activism organization that advocates for an independent Frisian state (Frisia). The group is active in politics and promotes a stronger Frisian identity. History Groep fan Auwerk was founded i ...

. This separatist group supports the unification of Frisia as an independent country. The design was inspired by the Nordic Cross flag. The four '' pompeblêden'' (water lily leaves) represent the contemporary variety of the Frisian regions – North, South, West and East. The design was not accepted by the Interfrisian Council.Press release from the Interfrisian Council
/ref> Instead, the council adopted the idea of an Interfrisian flag and created a design of its own, containing elements of the flags of the council's three sections. Neither of the two flags is widely used.

Notes

References

;Bibliography * Thomas Steensen: 'Die Friesen. Menschen am Meer', Wachholtz Verlag, Kiel/Hamburg 2020, ((ISBN 978-3-529-05047-3)). * Albert Bantelmann, Rolf Kuschert, Albert Panten, Thomas Steensen: ''Geschichte Nordfrieslands''. 2., durchges. u. aktualisierte Aufl., Westholst. Verlagsanstalt Boyens, Heide in Holstein 1996 (= Nordfriisk Instituut, Nr. 136), . * Thomas Steensen: ''Geschichte Nordfrieslands von 1918 bis in die Gegenwart''. Neuausg., Nordfriisk Instituut, Bräist/Bredstedt 2006 (= Geschichte Nordfrieslands, Teil 5; Nordfriisk Instituut, Nr. 190), . * Stefan Kröger - ''Das Ostfriesland-Lexikon. Ein unterhaltsames Nachschlagewerk'', Isensee Verlag, Oldenburg 2006 * ''Ostfriesland im Schutze des Deiches. Beiträge zur Kultur- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte des ostfriesischen Küstenlandes'', hrsg. im Auftrag der Niederemsischen Deichacht, 12 Bände, Selbstverlag, Pewsum u. a. 1969 *

Onno Klopp Onno Klopp (9 October 1822 in Leer, Kingdom of Hanover – 9 August 1903 in Penzing, Austria) was a German historian, best known as the author of ''Der Fall des Hauses Stuart'' (The Fall of the House of Stuart), the fullest existing account of ...

-, ''Geschichte Ostfrieslands'', 3 Bde., Hannover 1854–1858 * Hajo van Lengen - ''Ostfriesland, Kultur und Landschaft'', Ruhrspiegel-Verlag, Essen 1978 * Hajo van Lengen (Hrsg.) - ''Die Friesische Freiheit des Mittelalters – Leben und Legende'', Verlag Ostfriesische Landschaft 2003, * Franz Kurowski - ''Das Volk am Meer – Die dramatische Geschichte der Friesen'', Türmer-Verlag 1984, * Karl Cramer - ''Die Geschichte Ostfrieslands. Ein Überblick'', Isensee - Oldenburg * Hermann Homann - ''Ostfriesland – Inseln, Watt und Küstenland'', F. Coppenrath Verlag, Münster * Manfred Scheuch - ''Historischer Atlas Deutschland'', * Karl-Ernst Behre / Hajo van Lengen - ''Ostfriesland. Geschichte und Gestalt einer Kulturlandschaft'', Aurich 1995, * Tielke, Martin (ed.) - ''Biographisches Lexikon für Ostfriesland'', Ostfries. Landschaftliche Verlag- u. Vertriebsges. Aurich, vol. 1 (1993), vol. 2 (1997), vol. 3 (2001)

External links

* at Eurominority.eu * of the Interfrisian Council * {{URL, https://www.groepfanauwerk.com/, Website of the

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