| Harkema | |
| Native Name: | De Harkema |
| Other Name: | Opeinde |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Pushpin Map: | Netherlands Friesland#Netherlands |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Friesland |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Achtkarspelen |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 6.53 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 2 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 4,295 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 9281 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | 0512 |
Harkema (Western Frisian: De Harkema) is a village in the municipality of Achtkarspelen, Friesland province, the Netherlands.
Harkema is in the eastern part of Friesland, 9 km north of Drachten. It was used to be known as Harkema-Opeinde and as of January 2017, the village had a population of 4,295.[3]
The village was first mentioned in 1530 as Opeyndt. The name Harkema means "settlement of the descendants of Buwe Harkema. In 1972, the name was officially changed from Opeinde to Harkema.[4]
Harkema was originally a peat excavation settlement. The initial linear settlement which mainly consisted of sod houses disappeared in the 18th century, but re-emerged during the 19th century. In 1840, it was home to 484 people. In 1883, a church was opened in a wooden shed, and was replaced in 1891 by a real church. The church was too small, and replaced by the current church in 1913. In the 1960s, Harkema experienced growth and started to attract industry.[5]
Harkema is home to the amateur football club, the Harkemase Boys. Cyclist Pieter Weening, who was the first Frisian to win a stage in the Tour de France, is from Harkema just as another former cyclist pro, Wiebren Veenstra, is.