March 25, 2020 today. The COVID-19 pandemic is climbing towards its second peak. Uncertainty of how destructive the pandemic is going to be in the long run. How many family members and loved ones will it take? A phenomenon of chaos and destruction that confronts us with the limitations of an engineered world. Some peopleContinue reading “Out of averting the inevitable a community was born”
Tag Archives: wierde
Shipwrecked people of the salt marshes
Tidal marshlands and Frisians. A dual entity. The Chauci and the Frisians (Frisii) had learned to adapt to this unprotected, hospitable salty environment. A vast area of treeless, tidal marshlands. No rocks, no wood, not much sweet water, and frequently flooded by the sea. But a place where these tribes prospered nonetheless at the timeContinue reading “Shipwrecked people of the salt marshes”
Groove is in the Hearth
The hearth was in pre- and early-medieval times the holy of holies, the heart of the family. Where you would lay back and groove. Groove on the sound of the endless rains on the thatched roof, or on the sound of the sea water at your feet below. Sloshing against the grassy slopes of yourContinue reading “Groove is in the Hearth”
One of history’s enlightening hikes, that of Bernlef
This post isn’t about the West-Frisian writer Hendrik Jan Marsman (1937-2012), whose pen-name was Bernlef. Nor is this post about student corporation Bernlef in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. No, this is all about the original. Bard and harp player Bernlef, who lived in Frisia somewhere between 760 and 840. And if youContinue reading “One of history’s enlightening hikes, that of Bernlef”
The terp that should have been a wierde?
The Hague, June 29, 2013. The day Zwaantje Vink-Brouwer, widow of Piet Vink, together with a party of local government people, re-opened the monument ‘The Terp’ in honor of her late-husband. But, naming this monument a ‘terp’ is all wrong. It infuriated the people of province Groningen and near separation from the Netherlands. Read belowContinue reading “The terp that should have been a wierde?”
A terp for Choquequirao
Why in heaven’s name should a terp be constructed in the Andes? To be more precise, the location for this terp is at the remote, archaeological Inca site Choquequirao in Peru. The answer to the question is not too difficult. The idea was inspired by the monument at the Tsjitsma terp near the village ofContinue reading “A terp for Choquequirao”
Manual Making a Terp in 12 Steps
This is your DIY manual for enlarging or creating your own terp. Your artificial settlement mound or house platform. Despite terps are being made for more than 2,600 years, this manual is the first of its kind. We sincerely hope it’s not too little too late, now that terp-building is on the rise again, andContinue reading “Manual Making a Terp in 12 Steps”
Notre dame of Grou
The ‘First Lady’ of the village of Grou in province Friesland, the Netherlands, also named Grytsje of Grou. Archaeologists found her in January 2018 in the village of Grou at Halbertsmaplein Square. Her grave is dated mid-eighth century. She received the title First Lady because until this find, it was not known people lived atContinue reading “Notre dame of Grou”
Frisia Coast Trail 