|
1) Friesland / Fryslân:
Home to the eldest tribe, and rightly proud
You sent the Romans home and turned the Franks
You survived crusades and beat invasions
And today you still speak your own language
Closer to Anglosaxon than to Dutch
2) Groningen:
Green meadows, wealthy fields and endless plains
Capital of the north, Martini's town
A tower rises high above the green
The Ommelanden submitted to you
Oh mighty city, ruler of the north
3) Drenthe:
Hard labour, merciless toil, blood and sweat
Many tears were shed upon barren fields
Poorest of all, scarcely populated
You withstood nobility and the church
When they tried to take the little you had
4) Overijssel:
Merchant towns allong the IJssel river
Remind of Hanseatic glory days
Nowadays you are a calm, quiet land
From the banks of the former Zuiderzee
Right to Twente at the German border
5) Gelderland:
Green woods, hilly forests and sandy dunes
Meet the fertile land between the rivers
Gelre, you are not one, you are many
Proud duchy of old, home to many lands
And each one is different from the other
6) Zeeland:
You wrestled and arose above the waves
The terrible floods could not destroy you
Now your dikes stand tall, great masterpieces
They protect your wide fields and many sheep
Oh brave islands in the Schelde delta
7) Brabant:
The fallen heir to a once great duchy
You were oppressed for centuries, conquered
You never lost your hospitality
Oh, Burgundian province of the dukes
Most generous and welcoming of all
8) Limburg:
Proudly chauvinistic and defiant
You now still claim to be a colony
And you rigtfully declare your difference
For your hills and mountains, gentle slopes
Are much unlike the plains of the others
9) Utrecht:
The city at your heart, a pleasant one
With its deep canals and mighty tower
The bishop's seat, a religious centre
And also home to the largest uni
Is surrounded by quiet villages
10) Zuid-Holland:
Beating heart of the Dutch economy
Your port is the largest in the whole world
Political centre of the nation
The queen chose you for her own residence
But beware of your pride and arrogance
11) Noord-Holland:
Who knows not the capital Amsterdam
With its red lights and its dim coffeeshops
But you are much more than just that city
With your wide polders and your long beaches
Wedged in between the Noord- and Zuiderzee
12) Flevoland:
You marvelous piece of engineering
A newborn land taken from the water
You must be the largest polder ever
Hundred years ago you did not exist
And you were still deep below the grey waves |
Written by Phil (6836 comments posted) 28th April 2007 | Educational piece. Funny how you realise how little you know about something until you are told a little. My ignorance abounds!
Phil. |
Written by Fledermaus (3448 comments posted) 28th April 2007 | Hi Phil,
I bet if you'd write something similar about the counties of England I'd have exactly the same problem, yet I had hoped that not too much background information would have been needed.
Friesland is the only province in the Netherlands that has two official languages. They defeated the Romans once and fought many wars against the Franks. At that time they were still pagan, while the Franks were Christian. Later on in the middle ages a real crusade was launched against the Frisians in northern Germany.
The Groningen part refers to the Martini tower. I don't know very much about that province, except that it was known for its wealthy farmers.
Drenthe has always been the poorest province and it was so scarcely populated that during the days of the Republic it was represented by Groningen.
About Overijssel I don't know very much either.
Gelderland used to be a duchy in medieval times, and its area is very diverse. In the north there is a hilly area called the Veluwe, while in the south there is a river delta called the Betuwe.
Zeeland's motto is 'I wrestle and arise', and it constantly battled against floods, until at last the Delta-works were created.
Brabant was once a duchy that consisted of present day Dutch Brabant and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp and Brabant. The northern part was conquered in the 80-years war and until the days of Napoleon it was treated as occupied territory.
Brabanders often refer to themselves as Burgundians, by which they mean that they have a generous attitude and enjoy life and especially much food and beer.
Limburg was conquered in the Belgian war of independence, and before that time most of it wasn't realy part of the Netherlands. It is known for its hilly terrain, although I supose Britons won't be very impressed. It's highest 'mountain' is only 322 meters high.
Utrecht is the seat of the archbishop, and in medieval times it also ruled Overijssel and Drenthe.
Zuid-Holland is the most populous province, as it contains Rotterdam (hence the largest port) and The Hague (hence the queen). According to the stereotype Hollanders are sometimes considered arrogant by other Dutch...
Noord-Holland is the northern half of the former county of Holland. To make it even more confusing the Northern part of Noord-Holland is called West-Friesland 
Flevoland finally is one big polder, created in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Luckily we only have twelve provinces, for I think that if anyone is going to do this for Britain he'll be busy for a long, long time  | Hi Fledermaus
Written by jean.day (2326 comments posted) 29th April 2007 | What a good and interesting way of describing your country. I am glad you started with Friesland, as that is where my ancestors came from.
We watched a programme on TV about DNA origins, and the people from the East Coast have Friesland DNA - from that very specific part of Holland. |
Written by Fledermaus (3448 comments posted) 29th April 2007 | Hi Jean,
Somehow Friesland fascinates me, as it is almost a little country within the Netherlands. They have their own language, wave their own flag often on many occasions, have their own customs and sports (searching lapwing eggs, fierljeppen, skūtsje sailing, the eleven cities ice skating tour, etc...).
I think the relation between Friesland and Holland is a bit comparable to that between Wales and England:
Both are home to very old peoples, both had to deal with an expansive neighbour and both managed to survive the cultural imperialism of their neighbours, and today even see a revival of their language and culture.
I heard that some Frisians even change their family names to make them sound more Frisian, as appearantly the Hollanders had Dutchified them  | Memories come flooding back!
Written by stevetroster (1588 comments posted) 29th April 2007 | Groningen was great, until it rained and we found out that our tent wasn't waterproof.
Utrecht, I remember the flower markets all along the banks of the canals.
But you didn't do Amersfort (beautiful Ah!-mersfort) I appreciate that you were doing provinces, but how about doing an appendix just for old times sake.
Other than that slight dissapointment, very enjoyable piece of work.
Best wishes
Steve. |
Written by Fledermaus (3448 comments posted) 29th April 2007 | Thanks ST.
This is indeed about the provinces. Groningen and Utrecht happen to have capitals of the same name, so that might be a bit confusing. Amersfoort is in the province of Utrecht. A recent survey showed it was the best place to live in the Netherlands btw. |
Only registered users can rate and write comments.
Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
Previous item
