Berltsum () is a village in

Waadhoeke Waadhoeke is a municipality of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It was established 1 January 2018 and consists of the former municipalities of Franekeradeel, het Bildt, Menameradiel and parts of Littenseradiel, all four of which were ...

municipality in the province of

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It had a population of around 2,529 in January 2017. Until 2018, the village was part of the

Menameradiel Menameradiel (; ) is a former municipality in Friesland, Netherlands. On 1 January 2018 it merged with the municipalities of Franekeradeel, het Bildt and parts of Littenseradiel to form the new municipality Waadhoeke. Population centres Popul ...

municipality.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1355 as Berlichem, and means "settlement of the people of Berilo (person)". The village of Tutingum or Tutgum which was located to the north probably merged into Berltsum in the 15th century, and the name disappeared in the 19th century. Berltsum developed as 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 and ...

'' (artificial living hill) village along the river Riedstroom several centuries

before Christ The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used when designating years in the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian and Julian calendar, Julian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord" but is often presented using "o ...

. Berltsum was never a city, but did receive rights. In the 12th century, it was burnt down by the

Vikings Vikings were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

. It developed into a centre of horticulture and fruit cultivation. The domed Dutch Reformed church was built between 1777 and 1779 as a replacement of its medieval predecessor.

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

s were present in Berltsum as early of 1550, and used to have a

clandestine church A clandestine church (), defined by historian Benjamin J. Kaplan as a "semi-clandestine church", is a house of worship used by religious minorities whose communal worship is tolerated by those of the majority faith on condition that it is discr ...

. In 1843, a church was built which could also be used a conference centre. Berltsum was home to 1,310 people in 1840. At the end of the 19th century, Berltsum started to industrialize and in 1899, an auction was established.

Gallery

File:Hemmemastate-Berlikum poortgebouw.jpg, Pub in Beltsum File:Voorgevel van twee panden onder een dak te Berlikum - Berlikum - 20033985 - RCE.jpg, House with tram rails (1966) File:20191023 Berltsumer Feart.jpg, Canal view File:Wetterhûn.jpg,

Wetterhoun The Wetterhoun (translated into English as the Frisian Water Dog) is a breed traditionally used as a hunting dog for small game and waterfowl and native to the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. The name of the breed comes from the West ...

statue

References

External links

Berlikum.com
{{Authority control Waadhoeke Populated places in Friesland