Information About ™Frisia |
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Frisia (in (the German Bight ). Frisia is the traditional Homeland of the Frisians , a Germanic people who speak Frisian , a language closely related to the English Language . Frisia extends from the northwestern Netherlands across northwestern Germany and into southwestern Denmark . It is commonly divided into three sections: # West Frisia in North Holland , Friesland and Groningen # East Frisia in Lower Saxony # North Frisia in Schleswig-Holstein and South Jutland The three groups of the Frisian Archipelago (the West , East and North Frisian Islands ) stretch more or less correspondingly along these three sections of the Frisian Coast . Western Frisia is roughly identical with the Dutch Province of Friesland , the northern part of North Holland province (the historical region of West Friesland ) and also modern Groningen province, though the Western Frisian language is only spoken in Fryslân proper. In West-Friesland, Dialects with strong Frisian Substrate s are spoken ( Low German and Low Franconian dialect variants, respectively). Note that Westfriesland is only the westernmost portion of the traditional region of West Frisia, all of which are within the northern Netherlands. In the northern province of Groningen people speak Gronings , a Saxon dialect. East Frisia (German ''Ostfriesland'') includes areas located in the northwest of the German state of Lower Saxony , including the districts of Aurich , Leer , Wittmund and Friesland , as well as the district-free cities of Emden and Wilhelmshaven /Rüstringen. The portions of North Frisia within the state of Schleswig-Holstein are called Nordfriesland and stretch along the coast, and including also the coastal islands from the Eider River to the border of Denmark in the north. It is coterminous with the Schleswig-Holstein district of the same name. The island of Helgoland ( English 'Helligoland' and North Frisian 'Lun'), is also part of traditional 'Northern Frisia'. A half million Frisians of Fryslân (or Friesland) province in the Netherlands speak Frisian. Several thousand more Frisian language speakers, speaking a collection of dialects often unintelligible with each other and certainly unintelligible with forms spoken beyond Nordfriesland, are to be found in Nordfriesland in Germany, while a small number of speakers of the Sater-Frisian language are located in four villages of Lower Saxony in the Saterland region of Cloppenburg county, just beyond the boundaries of traditional East Frisia . HISTORY Frisia changed dramatically throughout time, both by floods and by a change in identity. Roman times The Frisians in Roman times lived on terps in an area without fresh water. Fresh water was captured in a hole when it rained. This was a unique Frisian invention. Frisia was a small area in Roman times. It comprised the present provinces of Friesland and North Holland . Half the population of the present Netherlands lived in present Friesland, because of the fertile grounds there. The Frisians were exterminated by floods in the 3rd and 4th century. Another theory is that they moved inland and came back later. Kingdom of Frisia East Anglian sources called the inhabitants of 'Frisia' Warnii instead of Frisians. In the 7th and 8th centuries, the Frankish chronologies mention this area as the kingdom of the Frisians. However, these were probably not the Frisians of Roman times. This kingdom comprised the then coastal provinces of The Netherlands and the German North Sea coast. During this time, the Frisian language was spoken along the entire southern North Sea coast and, today, this region is sometimes referred to as Greater Frisia or ''Frisia Magna''. The Franks conquered the western part in 689-719 and the eastern part at the end of the 8th century. This Frisia was partly conquered by vikings in the 840s, who were expelled between 885 and 920. It has also been suggested that the vikings didn't conquer Frisia, but settled in certain parts (such as the island Wieringen) where they built simple forts and cooperated and traded with the native Frisians. Loss of territory Frisians made Polder s in West Friesland , which moved further and further away from Friesland due to floods. The western part of Frisia became the county of Holland in 1101 after a few centuries of a different history, than the other parts. Frisia began to identify itself as a country with free folk in the Middle Ages . The Bishopric Of Utrecht didn't belong to this Frisia anymore. There were many floods in the 11th and 12th centuries, which led to the deaths of many, and the forming of the Zuiderzee . The largest flood was in 1322. Opstalboom League The free Frisians (actually petty noblemen) and the city of Groningen founded the Opstalboom League to counter feudalism. It consisted of Friesland , Groningen (province) , East Frisia , Dithmarschen and other parts of the German and Danish North Sea coast. But the Opstalboom league didn't only consist of Frisians. The area Zevenwouden was Saxon and the city of Groningen as well. Some Frisians lived under the rule of the counts of Holland in West Friesland . The Opstalboom League was not a success. It collapsed after a few years due to continuous internal strife. 15th century The 15th century saw the end of the free Frisians. The city of Groningen started to dominate Groningen (province) . A petty nobleman in East Frisia managed to defeat the other petty noblemen and became count of East Frisia. The Archbishop Of Bremen -Hamburg and the King Of Denmark conquered large areas of Frisia. Only Friesland and Dithmarschen remained for the Frisian Freedom. Friesland was conquered in the 1490s by duke Albert of Saxony-Meissen. Dithmarschen lost its independence in the 15th century. Frisian territories
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