| Bitgum | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Pushpin Map: | Netherlands Friesland#Netherlands |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the Netherlands |
| Coordinates: | 53.2367°N 5.6875°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Friesland |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Waadhoeke |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 2.52 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 0.7 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 800 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 9044 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | 058 |
Bitgum (Dutch; Flemish: Beetgum) is a village in Waadhoeke municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. It had a population of around 792 in January 2017.[3]
Before 2018, the village was part of the Menameradiel municipality. Bitgum gained notoriety in 1895, when three brothers from the village (Keimpe, Wybren and Marten Hogerhuis) were arrested for their alleged and disputed involvement in a burglary in the village of Britsum. The involvement of the Social Democrat Party's leader, Pieter Jelles Troelstra two years later, catapulted the village into the national headlines.[4]
On June 9, 2016, a demonstration fighter jet crashed in the lake next to 'De bodde', the pilot saved himself by ejecting from the aircraft.