| De Wilp | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Westerkwartier |
| Pushpin Map: | Netherlands Groningen#Netherlands |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of De Wilp in the province of Groningen |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 5 |
| Area Total Km2: | 21.31 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 2,330 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Urban Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 9367 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | 0594 |
| Coordinates: | 53.1183°N 6.2558°W |
De Wilp (West Frisian: De Wylp) is a village in the Netherlands south of the town of Marum. It is largely located in the municipality of Westerkwartier in the province of Groningen, but a few houses of the village are in the municipality of Opsterland in the province of Friesland.[3]
The village was founded by labourers from Friesland; a part of the population still speaks West Frisian.[4]
The area around De Wilp was a raised bog which formed the boundary between the province of Friesland and Groningen. The border was not defined, because it contained swamps and heaths with few inhabitants. In the late-18 century, the Company of Drachten started exploiting the peat. The labour force mainly came from Friesland.[5] A linear settlement appeared along the canal,[6] and was named De Wilp after a sign with a Eurasian curlew (Wylp in Frisian) of a local tavern.[7] The border was defined later, and the Frisian side of the village is in Siegerswoude.[3] The village was first mentioned in 1828.[7]
The peat workers were joined by small farmers. In 1838, a school was founded, and in 1868, the Dutch Reformed Church was built.[3] In 1840, the population was 482 people and 142 in Siegerwoude.[4] De Wilp has an active village community which organises many events and is home to several sports organisation.[8] [4] In 2018, it became part of the municipality of Westerkwartier.[4]