Provincie Fryslân (nl) - Provinsje Fryslân (fy) - Province of Friesland
Friesland (or in Frisian: Fryslân - because people here speak another language, than the rest of the Netherlands), is a part of the Dutch mainland and includes additionally the West Frisian Islands – in Dutch Waddeneilanden: Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. Leeuwarden is the capital of the province and other important cities are Dokkum, Franeker, Heerenveen, Sneek.
Leeuwarden is today a quiet old city, remembered beyond Friesland because of Mata Hari, a woman spy executed in France during the WWI who lived here as a small girl with her parents. Their house stands until today. Dokkum and Sneek are small cities with several memorable buildings and interesting historical museums. Franeker was in the Dutch Golden Age and later a home to an important university, a fortress of Protestantism during the reformation, closed in 1811 by Napoleon. Today Franeker is today an interesting small city with several historical sites and museums.
Every few years in winter, when the canals freeze, Elfstedentocht – a skating race through all eleven cities of Friesland, takes place. A Maltese bronze cross is given to each participant, who managed to finish this 200km long race. Usually 16 000 participants take part, but for the race to take place, the ice on the canals has to be thicker than 15cm, so it does not happen every winter.
Friesland with is a province of people proud of their traditions, their separate way of speaking, difficult to understand even for the Dutch, their style of life which combines centuries long tradition with the influences of global economy. Nowhere in the Netherlands McDonalds restaurant looks more weird than in Friesland.
Friesland distinguishes itself from the other eleven provinces through having its own language, which is also spoken in a minor part of the province of Groningen, to the east. Closely related languages, East Frisian ("Seeltersk", which is different from "East Frisian (Ostfriesisch)", a collection of Low German dialects of East Frisia) and North Frisian, are spoken in the Saterland and in North Friesland areas in Germany, respectively. Friesland was a part of the German empire until 1680 when it separated and joined the Netherlands. Part of Friesland is still considered part of Germany (Ostfriesland)
The English language is also closely related to Frisian. There is a saying about it: "As milk is to cheese, are English and Fries." Another version of this saying reads (in Frisian): "Bûter, brea, en griene tsiis; wa't dat net sizze kin, is gjin oprjochte Fries", which in English reads: "Butter, bread, and green cheese, whoever can't say that is no sincere Fries" (According to legend, the 16th century Frisian freedom fighter Pier Gerlofs Donia forced his captives to repeat this shibboleth to distinguish Frisians from Dutch and Low Germans). The saying plays on the sound differences between the Dutch and Frisian words for "butter, bread, and green cheese", which in Frisian are pronounced almost identically to their English counterparts (showing the original closeness between the two languages), while in Dutch ("Boter, brood, en groene kaas"), these words sound quite different.
Friesland is mainly an agricultural province. The famous black and white Friesian cattle and the well known black Friesian horse originated here. Tourism, mainly on the lakes in the south west of the province, and on the islands in the Wadden Sea in the north, is an important source of income, too. Technology companies such as Asset Control have also set up base in Friesland.
