Westerkwartier

The Westerkwartier (; en, Western Quarter) is a historical region in the Dutch province of Groningen, at the border with the provinces of Drenthe and

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 ...

. In the past the area was part of the historical region of Frisia. The

West Frisian language West Frisian, or simply Frisian ( fy, link=no, Frysk or ; nl, Fries , also ), is a West Germanic language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland () in the north of the Netherlands, mostly by those of Frisian ancestry. It is the most wid ...

is still spoken in the western parts of the area (the villages

Marum Marum () is a town and a former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. The municipality was merged into the municipality of Westerkwartier on 1 January 2019. History Marum is located in the peat area, and was an agricultural village. It ...

De Wilp De Wilp ( West Frisian: ''De Wylp'') is a village in the Netherlands south of the town of Marum. It is largely located in the municipality of Westerkwartier in the province of Groningen, but a few houses of the village are in the municipality o ...

and

Opende Opende is a village in the north-eastern Netherlands, in the province of Groningen. It is part of the municipality of Westerkwartier. It had a population of around 2,865 in January 2017. History The village was first mentioned in 1457 as vpey ...

). In the rest of the Westerkwartier, "Westerkertiersk", a local variant of Low Saxon, is spoken. The biggest town in the Westerkwartier is Leek. At January 1st 2019, the four municipalities Leek,

Zuidhorn Zuidhorn () is a town and former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. The town largely depends on the city of Groningen. A railway line, operated by Arriva, connects the town with Leeuwarden in Friesland and Groningen. Due to a municipal ...

, and

Grootegast Grootegast (; fy, Gruttegast) is a village and former municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. It is the sister city of Kingston, Tasmania. The municipality was merged into the municipality of Westerkwartier on 1 January 2019. Geography ...

have merged to become the municipality of Westerkwartier. Also the villages

Garnwerd Garnwerd is a wierde village next to the Reitdiep in the municipality of Westerkwartier in the Dutch province of Groningen. History The village was first mentioned in the 10th or 11th century as "ad Granauurð". The etymology is unclear. Gar ...

, Feerwerd and

Ezinge Ezinge (Gronings: ''Aisen'' or ''Aizing'') is a village in the Dutch province of Groningen. It is located in the municipality of Westerkwartier, about 15 km northwest of the city of Groningen. Ezinge is the oldest, constantly inhabited vil ...

(municipality of

Winsum Winsum () is a town and a former Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the northeastern Netherlands. On 1 January 2019 the municipality merged with the municipalities of Bedum, De Marne and Eemsmond to form the new municipality Het H ...

) have been added to this new municipality. Regions of Groningen (province) {{Groningen-geo-stub