Het Bildt, a good region to work and live !

The municipality the Bildt is situated in the Northwestern corner of Friesland, the so called Frisian claysoil region.

To the North the municipality the Bildt borders on the Waddensea (Dutch wadden shallows) and on the Eastern, Southern and Western border you'll find the municipalities Ferwerderadeel, Leeuwarderadeel, Menaldumadeel and Franekeradeel.

Within a short distance the cities of Harlingen, Franeker and Leeuwarden are situated.

Where the inhabitants of the Bildt live at the present time was in the former days called the Middelzee. It was the Duke George of Saksen, who after negotiations with four Dutch Nobles : Thomas Beuckelaar, Brothers Jacob, Floris and Dirk van Wijngaarden, came to a agreement to embank the first part of the present Bildt. In 1505 the job was completed. Very soon three settlements came into existence, known as Wijngaarden, Altoena and Kijfhoek. These names came to be because the labourers, who embanked the land had named the new settlements after the region or village where they originated from.

Later these settlements had their own small Churches, dedicated to St.-Jacobus, St.-Anna and our Lieve Vrouwe. Shortly after that they changed the original names of the settlements into: St.-Jacobiparochie, St.-Annaparochie and Vrouwenparochie.

Through the input of so many "Dutch" labourers an entirely different language originated. This language - called the "Bildts language" is a mixture of Dutch and Frisian. Up to this day the Bildt language is used beside the Frisian and Dutch in every day use.

In 1600 the "new Bildt" was empoldered and in 1715 once again they empoldered a piece of land that was "aangeslibd" (added on through mud, silt), which was called the Bildtpollen.

In three centuries the total embankment of the present settlement was completed. A gigantic piece of work if you realize that it all had to be done with shovel and wheelbarrow. The statue "De Slikwerker" (The mud labourer) at Zwarte Haan near the Wadden coast has been erected to give honour to all those diligent workers.

The latest large extension of the Bildt took place in 1984, not through impoldering but through the municipal redivision of Friesland.

Since January 1st 1984 the municipality of the Bildt consists of the core in St.-Annaparochie, St.-Jacobiparochie, Vrouwenparochie, Oudebildtzijl, Westhoek en Minnertsga.

At the present it is a municipality of about 10.000 inhabitants with an excellent level of provisions. Travel time to Leeuwarden - via the new S10 - takes only ten minutes. Each village has a variety of shops, sport and social cultural provisions. In regard to Sports activities there are many sport fields with soccer accommodations, ice rinks, Dutch hand-tennis (kaatsen) courts, tennis courts, gymnastic facilities, sports hall, indoor swimming pool, leaping-pool terrain, manege etc.

Also the social, cultural provisions are well represented. You will find: club houses, societies, playgrounds for toddlers, libraries, concerthalls, a music school etc.etc.

There are plenty of schools for primary and advanced education.

The text was copied and translated from the information guide Municipality the Bildt 1992