Frisia Coast Trail.com

The much-celebrated Frisian Freedom refers to the period roughly between 1250 and 1500, when the Frisian terrae  (‘lands’)—bearing...

Like everywhere along the Wadden Sea shores in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the small republics of the tidal marshlands fought battle after battle against foreign aggressors seeking to subdue them. Counts, bishops, and cities alike tried to lay their hands on these fertile and strategically located lands. And if the threat was not from outside, it came from local headmen striving to establish dominion over a republic. The region of Butjadingen and Stadland, at the

What is the use of celebrating only the battles you have won? Feeling proud and superior as a nation over others, with the differences emphasized in the process. Why not follow the example of the Scots? Every year, they commemorate their defeat at the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746—fought between the Jacobite Army and the British Army. An estimated 1,350 soldiers died that day. Women, children, and (elderly) men from nearby villages are not included in that count, as th

To understand the ‘greatness’ of Great Pier, we decided to look into his ‘achievements’. As a freedom fighter (or pirate, if you like) his core business was to ransack ships and towns. If you listen or read about the places Great Pier sacked the area and number are quite impressive. Considering Great Pier was only active for some four years, his ‘productivity’ is huge or deceiving. To name a few examples of anecdotal places Great Pier ‘paid a visit’. Recently, a friend inform

Breaking! Great Pier measured around 2.30 meters in height! This question has been bugging the Frisians for centuries. Now we know. How? Keep reading… Granted. We asked ourselves this very same question in a previous blog post . We explored how great Pier was… as a leader. This time we are asking the same question, but taking it quite literally: how tall was Great Pier? No, we did not find and measure Great Piers remainings. We know where he is buried, but we don’t know exact

Most Frisians know the name of Great Pier, or ‘ Grutte Pier ’ in Frisian. But what do we really know about him? Well, all we know for sure is that he was tall. Very tall (read how tall exactly ). Spoiler alert: his name gave away that he was tall, right? If you would ask your friends and family what they know about Grutte Pier, then most of them would be able to tell you a handful of characteristics. Some might be even able to add a small story to that name. What most of them

On the Facebook page ' Frisian Americans ', the question popped up regarding the role certain Frisians played in the Whiskey Rebellion in...

In the year 1500, a girl by the name Tjede Peckes was born in the hamlet of Padingbüttel in the region of Land Wursten on the eastern banks of the River Weser. It was a salt marsh area the Wurstfriesen  'Wurst-Frisians' had managed to embank and cultivate. For centuries, they had enjoyed living in a lord-free farmers' republic. Towards the end of the fifteenth century, the Wurstfriesen came into conflict with the bishop of Bremen and the duke of Sachsen-Lauenburg, powers tha

Pagare il fio  is Italian for 'paying the penalty,' though literally it means 'paying the fee,' a phrase inherited from the northern...

The peoples of islands and archipelagos do not let others dictate how to live their lives. One of those archipelagos that meets these criteria as well is the Wadden Sea. For centuries, it is from here that sea explorers, tax evaders, sturdy Arctic whalers, self-righteous women, pirates, privateers, and other vagabonds have come. An archipelago that the Sea Beggars and the earliest trouser-wearing women call home. Even the first atheist of modern times comes from this archipel

Although the conversion of the Woden-devoted Frisians  was a slow and cumbersome process that only succeeded in depth in the tenth century, Frisia subsequently turned into the richest ecclesiastical area of Europe. Nowhere else on the Isles and the Continent were there this many monasteries and churches packed together. Even though nearly all monasteries have been dismantled with the advent of Protestantism, to this very day, nowhere in the world can one find as many high-med

New York City, the Capital of the World. They call it a lot of things: Gotham, the Big Apple, the Empire City, Modern Gomorrah, even Baghdad-on-the-Subway. And of course, Times Square proudly calls itself the Center of the Universe—although the true center of the world is the village of Aegum. And in the middle of all this noise, lights, and skyscraper swagger, portraits of two quiet men from seventeenth-century Friesland—villagers from Peperga and Koudum—hang proudly in two

According to medieval legend, around the year 800, Charlemagne and Pope Leo clashed with the citizens of Rome. The Pope was attacked and...

At the time of writing this blog post (2018), many supranational organizations, whether governmental or judicial, are struggling with their legitimacy and survival; it is almost becoming tedious. Take, for example, the European Union with a humiliating Brexit and its seemingly endless debates on urgent monetary and migration policy reforms. Consider the International Criminal Court (ICC), accused of being biased, with parties leaving the treaty, some even boycotting it from t

Not much is known about Redbad’s death. Many Frankish fragments use his year of death as a historical point of reference for many events. One story tells about his strong wish to make sure his heritage ends up with the rightful owners. It is 719. Redbad has been ill for six years. He suffers from a never ending pain. What he suffers from is not told. The old king feels the end is coming. But he is not intending to die without sorting out his legacy. In July 2012, the artis

On May 5th, 2018, it was exactly two centuries since Karl Marx was born. When the good man published the first volume of Das Kapital  in 1867, he was, in fact, about 1,300 years too late to turn the tide. The ship had already sailed—quite literally. Ships of selfish and ruthless Frisian merchants in pursuit of personal wealth, to be precise. If only Karl had known... the world might have looked—let’s say—a little different today. One might say that the Frisians had much in c

In March 714, Redbad's army reached the shores of Cologne . That is deep in the Frankish heartlands and way out of the traditional Frisian coastal territories. Sure, Frisians were smelly bastards, but eau de Cologne wasn't invented yet. Was Redbad ahead of his time or why else did he end up there? A movie about this Frisian king will be released in 2018 as a tribute. In 2019, it will be 1300 years ago that he died. In a previous article we explored the battles of Redbad . We

King Redbad died in 719. Some 1300 years later, as a tribute a  movie  about this Frisian king will hit the silver screen in the Dutch cinemas. Redbad repeatedly ended up fighting his neighbours, the Franks. Where and how often will be explored in this article. As a hikers blog that follows the whereabouts of Frisian history, we are especially interested in specific battle locations in order to add them in our trail itinerary. How often and where Redbad battled is pretty u

Hwasa thene vthemeda husath ieftha howath ieftha oppa sinne werf set, sa skel hi thes wachtia, hwetsa hi deth. Who receives a foreigner...

In both Germany and the Netherlands, many Frisians have watched with unease as waves of referenda and separatist movements have swept...