| Reitsum | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Pushpin Map: | Netherlands Friesland#Netherlands |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the Netherlands |
| Coordinates: | 53.3208°N 5.8897°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Friesland |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Noardeast-Fryslân |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 2.81 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 0.7 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 125 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 9175 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | 0519 |
Reitsum is a village in Noardeast-Fryslân municipality in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of around 133 in January 2017.[3] Before 2019, the village was part of the Ferwerderadiel municipality.
The village was first mentioned between 822 and 825 as in Richeim. The etymology is unclear.[4] Reitsum is a terp (artificial living mound) village dating several centuries before Christ. It is one of the four so-called Vlieterpen (literally: flee terps) with a church and a couple of houses. The nearby farmers and their cattle could take shelter on the mound in case of high water.
The Dutch Reformed church was built in 1738. A tower was added and the church was enlarged in 1874.[5] In 1861, Johannes Ploos van Amstel became a minister of the church. On 10 February 1886, Ploos van Amstel announced as one of the first that he supported Abraham Kuyper which led to the 1886 Dutch Reformed Church split. Even though Ploos van Amstel was formally dismissed, and a lock was installed on the pulpit, he continued to preach in the village.[6]
In 1840, Reitsum was home to 88 people.[7] Most of the terp was excavated in the late-19th century.[5]