Lauwersoog is a seaside village and harbour in the province of

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

, located in the northern 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 ...

. It is part of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

Het Hogeland Het Hogeland is a municipality in the north of the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. History The municipality of Het Hogeland was established on 1 January 2019 by merging the municipalities of Bedum, De Marne, Eemsmond ...

. It was established on 23 May 1969. The ferry to Schiermonnikoog departs from Lauwersoog.

History

As part of the

Zuiderzee Works The Zuiderzee Works ( nl, Zuiderzeewerken) is a man-made system of dams and dikes, land reclamation and water drainage work, in total the largest hydraulic engineering project undertaken by the Netherlands during the twentieth century. The pro ...

, it was decided to transform the Lauwerszee (a bay) into the

Lauwersmeer Lauwersmeer () is a man-made lake in the north of the Netherlands, on the border of the provinces of Groningen and Friesland. The lake was formed on 23 May 1969, when the dike between the bay called Lauwers Sea and the Wadden Sea was closed. It i ...

(lake). In 1969, a dike was completed on the border of the provinces 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 ...

and

which separates the

from the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern cont ...

. The village and harbour were named Lauwersoog in 1964 based on a suggestion by Sip Sytsma who worked for the

Ministry of Transport and Water Management The Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management ( Dutch: ''Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat''; V&W) was a Dutch ministry responsible for water management, public and private transport and infrastructure. It is now part of the Mi ...

, to match the nearby islands of Rottumeroog and Schiermonnikoog. The name received some criticism because -oog means island, and it is not an island. On 23 May 1969, Lauwersoog was officially established. There was an agreement to locate the village in Groningen, however the decision was later disputed by Friesland. Groningen intended to use the harbour for recreational purposes only, because they were constructing the

Eemshaven Eemshaven (; en, Ems Harbor) is a seaport in the province of Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. In 1968, the Dutch government declared the Ems estuary ( Eemsmond) to be an economic key region. One of the key developments for the regi ...

, as a new main harbour. Friesland and the Groninger fishing village of

Zoutkamp Zoutkamp is a village in the municipality Het Hogeland which is part of the province Groningen in the Netherlands. The village started as a sconce. During the Dutch Revolt, it was the site of the Battle of Zoutkamp. Later it became a fishing vil ...

desired a commercial harbour. In January 1970, the conflict was brought to the

States General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( nl, Staten-Generaal ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States ...

. Lauwersoog remained in Groningen, but did become a commercial harbour. It started to specialise in fishing. From 1973 onwards, many English and German fishers started using Lauwersoog to deliver their catch, and by 1986, it was the second largest fishing harbour. As a village, it was not very successful. It first appeared on maps in 1984 and has remained small.

Transport

The ferry to Schiermonnikoog departs from Lauwersoog.

Qbuzz Qbuzz is a public transport company in the Netherlands that operates services in South Holland, Utrecht, Drenthe and Groningen. Founded in 2008, it was a 100% subsidiary of Nederlandse Spoorwegen (the Dutch National Railway Operator) between 2 ...

provides a bus service (route 163

- Lauwersoog - Holwerd) and

Arriva Arriva plc is a British multinational corporation, multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.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 ...

- Lauwersoog). They connect with the departures of the ferry to Schiermonnikoog. Lauwersoog can be reached by car 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 ...

and the city of Groningen via the .

Coastal trails

The E9 European long distance path passes through Lauwersoog. The is a

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents ...

from Stavoren to Lauwersoog ().

Gallery

LO.8 in de haven van lauwersoog.JPG, Fishing port Visafslag Lauwersoog.JPG, Fish auction Lauwersoog (127032352).jpg, Sluice at Lauwersoog 00 1287 Port of Lauwersoog.jpg, Boats in the harbour

References

External links

* {{Authority control Het Hogeland Populated places in Groningen (province) Port cities and towns in the Netherlands 1969 establishments in the Netherlands