Westhoek, Friesland Explained

Westhoek
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:Netherlands Friesland#Netherlands
Pushpin Label Position:left
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in the Netherlands
Coordinates:53.2748°N 5.5697°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Netherlands
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Friesland
Subdivision Type2:Municipality
Subdivision Name2:Waadhoeke
Unit Pref:Metric
Area Total Km2:3.87
Elevation Footnotes:[1]
Elevation M:1.3
Population As Of:2021
Population Footnotes:[2]
Population Total:255
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:CET
Utc Offset:+1
Timezone Dst:CEST
Utc Offset Dst:+2
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:9075
Area Code Type:Dialing code
Area Code:0518

Westhoek (Bildts: De Westhoek) is a village in Waadhoeke in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. It had a population of approximately 255 in 2021.[2]

History

Westhoek (western corner) is the western part of the Oudebildtdijk, which is the longest local road of the Netherlands with a length of . Westhoek is considered outside of the build-up area, however it does have place name signs and a 30 km/h speed limit. The dike was built in 1505 and het Bildt was poldered which became the last grietenij (predecessor of municipality) of Friesland. Around 1600, a new dike was constructed, and the old dike turned into a linear settlement.[3]

Around 1960, Westhoek was planned to be demolished, because many of the houses and farms were in bad conditions or derelict, and were not connected to the sewage system, however tiny adverts were placed in the major daily newspapers by the slumlords offering cheap houses, Most buildings were quickly sold and subsequently restored.

Before 2018, the village was part of het Bildt municipality and before 1991 Westhoek was not a village but a hamlet which was part of the village Sint Jacobiparochie.[4]

References

  1. Web site: Postcodetool for 9075PA . nl . Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland . Het Waterschapshuis . 3 April 2022 .
  2. Web site: Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2021 . Central Bureau of Statistics . 3 April 2022.
  3. Web site: Westhoek . Friesland Wonderland . 3 April 2022 . nl.
  4. Web site: Westhoek en Oosthoek . Plaatsengids . 3 April 2022 . nl.