| Stiens | |
| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Pushpin Map: | Netherlands Friesland#Netherlands |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the Netherlands |
| Coordinates: | 53.2608°N 5.7575°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Friesland |
| Subdivision Type2: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name2: | Leeuwarden |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 18.07 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 0.9 |
| Population As Of: | 2021 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Total: | 7,695 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 9051 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | 058 |
Stiens is a town in the municipality of Leeuwarden, Netherlands. As of January 2017, the town has a population of about 7,545.[3] Between 1944 and 2018, it was the capital of the municipality of Leeuwarderadeel.
The village was first mentioned in the 13th century Steninge, and means settlement of the people of Stena (person). Staining in Lancashire, England has the same origin.[4] Stiens is a terp (artificial living mound) village with a radial structure which developed before our era along the Middelzee. There are additional terps to the north and south of the main terp on which the church was built. The western part of the main terp was later lost in floods.[5]
The nave of the Dutch Reformed Church dates from around 1100. The tower dates from the 15th century and was restored in 1898.[5] In 1840, Stiens was home to 1,617 people.[6] In 1933, a monument was erected for Pieter Jelles Troelstra, however it is not for his achievements as a politician, but as a poet.[5] The capital of the municipality of Leeuwarderadeel was the village of Huizum. In 1944, the southern part of the municipality including Huizum was annexed by Leeuwarden, and Stiens became the new capital of Leeuwarderadeel.[7]
Before 2018, the town was part of the Leeuwarderadeel municipality. The town hall of the municipality was located in Stiens.[6]
See main article: North Friesland Railway. Stiens was the main station on the North Friesland Railway. It opened in April 1901, with a branch to opening in stages between December 1902 and May 1904. Closures of the railway include the following
There are three windmills in Stiens, including De Hoop, De Kleine Molen, and De Steenhuistermolen.