Editing Het Bildt

{{Distinguish|De Bilt}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->
<!-- Name and transliteration -->
| name                    = het Bildt
| settlement_type         = [[List of municipalities of the Netherlands|Municipality]]
<!-- Images, nickname, motto -->
| image_skyline           = Watertoren Sint Jacobiparochie.jpg
| image_alt               = 
| image_caption           = Church and water tower of [[Sint Jacobiparochie]]
| image_flag              = Flag of Het Bildt.svg
| flag_size               = 100x67px
| flag_alt                = 
| image_shield            = Bildt wapen.svg
| shield_size             = 100x80px
| shield_alt              = 
<!-- Maps, coordinates -->
| image_map               = Map - NL - Municipality code 0063 (2009).svg
| map_alt                 = Highlighted position of het Bildt in a municipal map of Friesland
| map_caption             = Location in Friesland
| coordinates             = {{coord|53|17|N|5|40|E|region:NL|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes   = 
| subdivision_type        = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name        = [[Netherlands]]
| subdivision_type1       = [[Provinces of the Netherlands|Province]]
| subdivision_name1       = [[Friesland]]
| government_footnotes    = <ref name="mayor_now">{{cite web
 |url = http://www.hetbildt.nl/bestuur-en-politiek/burgemeester-en-wethouders/burgemeester-g-krol.html
 |title = Wnd. Burgemeester G. Krol
 |trans-title = Ad interim mayor G. Krol
 |language = Dutch
 |author = 
 |date = 
 |work = 
 |publisher = Gemeente het Bildt
 |accessdate = 12 September 2013
 |archive-date = 23 December 2015
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151223035134/https://www.hetbildt.nl/bestuur-en-politiek/burgemeester-en-wethouders/burgemeester-g-krol.html
 |url-status = dead
 }}</ref>
| governing_body          = [[Municipal council (Netherlands)|Municipal council]]
| leader_party            = [[Christian Democratic Appeal|CDA]]
| leader_title            = [[Burgemeester|Mayor]]
| leader_name             = [[Gerrit Krol (politician)|Gerrit Krol]]
<!-- Geographic information -->
| unit_pref               = Metric
<!-- ALL fields with measurements have automatic unit conversion -->
<!-- for references: use <ref> tags -->
| area_footnotes          = <ref>{{Dutch municipality total area|dataref}}</ref>
<!-- square kilometers -->
| area_total_km2          = {{Dutch municipality total area|het Bildt}}
| area_land_km2           = {{Dutch municipality land area|het Bildt}}
| area_water_km2          = {{Dutch municipality water area|het Bildt}}
| elevation_footnotes     = <ref name="AHN">{{cite web
 |url=http://www.ahn.nl/postcodetool 
 |title=Postcodetool for 9076BT 
 |language=Dutch 
 |work=Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland 
 |publisher=Het Waterschapshuis 
 |accessdate=12 September 2013 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053543/http://www.ahn.nl/postcodetool 
 |archive-date=21 September 2013 
}}</ref>
| elevation_m             = 1
| elevation_max_footnotes = <!-- for references: use <ref> tags -->
| elevation_max_m         =
| elevation_min_footnotes = <!-- for references: use <ref> tags -->
| elevation_min_m         =
<!-- Other information -->
| timezone1               = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset1             = +1
| timezone1_DST           = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST         = +2
| postal_code_type        = [[Postal codes in the Netherlands|Postcode]]
| postal_code             = 9047, 9075–9079
| area_code_type          = [[Telephone numbers in the Netherlands|Area code]]
| area_code               = 0518
| website                 = {{URL|1=http://www.hetbildt.nl}}
| footnotes               =
}}
'''het Bildt''' ({{IPA|nl|ɦɛd ˈbɪlt|lang|451 Het Bildt.ogg}} {{IPA|nl|əd ˈbɪlt|label=or}}) is a former [[Municipalities of the Netherlands|municipality]] in the province of [[Friesland]] in the northern [[Netherlands]]; its capital was [[Sint Annaparochie]]. On 1 January 2018 it merged with the municipalities of [[Franekeradeel]],  [[Menameradiel]] and parts of [[Littenseradiel]] to form the new municipality [[Waadhoeke]].

Het Bildt has {{convert|15.4|km|abbr=on}} of coastline. Its soil is very fertile and agriculture is a major part of its economy; crops grown include onions, potatoes, and a variety of fruits (mainly [[apple]]s). Het Bildt was largely settled by Dutch inhabitants from [[South Holland]]; as a result, the language generally spoken there is "[[Bildts]]", a dialect that mixes [[Dutch (language)|Dutch]] (as spoken in South Holland) with [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]]; Bildts is usually classified as a dialect of Dutch. All three languages - Bildts, Dutch, and West Frisian - are spoken in the area.
Only in [[Minnertsga]] (which did not become a part of the municipality of Het Bildt until 1984) is West Frisian the predominant language. Signage in Het Bildt is generally bilingual, with names given in both Dutch and Bildts.

The name Het Bildt is formed out of the word ''opbilden'' which means the silting up of land.

[[File:Gem-HetBildt-OpenTopo.jpg|thumb|Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Het Bildt, June 2015.]]

== Population centres ==

Number of inhabitants as of 1 January 2004: 
{| class="toccolours" style="margin: 0 2em 0 2em;"
|'''Dutch name'''||'''''Bildts name'''''||'''''West Frisian name'''''||'''Population'''
|-
|[[Sint Annaparochie]]||''Sint-Anne''||''Sint Anne''|| align="right" |3990
|-
|[[Minnertsga]]||''Minnertska''||''Minnertsgea''||ALIGN="right"|1640
|-
|[[Sint Jacobiparochie]]||''Sint-Jabik''||''Sint Jabik''|| align="right" |1370
|-
|[[Oudebildtzijl]]||''Ouwe-Syl''||''Aldebildtsyl''|| align="right" |740
|-
|[[Vrouwenparochie]]||''Froubuurt''||''Froubuorren''||ALIGN="right"|620
|-
|[[Nij Altoenae]]||''Nij Altoenae''||''Nij Altena''|| align="right" |280
|-
|[[Westhoek (Friesland)|Westhoek]]||''De Westhoek''||''De Westhoek''|| align="right" |280
|}
<small>Source: CBS</small>

== History ==
 <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Middelsee.png|right|thumb|300px]] -->
The region now called Het Bildt was formed out of a sea called the [[Middelsee]] (or Bordine) and was at one time subject to serious floods.  The Middlesee once separated the western lands from the rest of the Frisian mainland. The western part was called [[Westergoa]] and the city of [[Franeker]] was in its center. The eastern part was called [[Eastergoa]]. The city [[Leeuwarden]] was located along Eastergoa's western coast. The Middelsee stretched all the way from the north to the west of [[Bolsward]]. Earlier it extended still further, all the way to the [[Zuiderzee]] (now het [[IJsselmeer]]) and Westergoa was an Island only accessible by boat. Around 1300 the sea began to become less accessible to boats. Eventually a dike was raised between the villages [[Beetgumermolen]] and [[Britsum]] to stop the continuous overflooding. As a result, the area south of this dike was no longer subject to the effects of tides and the parts that weren't already dry became solid land. Westergo and Oostergo were connected. The Swette has been kept as a small river between Leeuwarden and [[Sneek]]. After the dike was raised, the northern part of the Middelsee also gradually silted. In 1398 the newly reclaimed dry lands were given by the Duke [[Albert I, Duke of Bavaria|Albert I of Bavaria]] to [[Arnold I, Lord of Egmond]], Lord of IJsselstein. In 1498, even more land became dry. This trend, caused by the [[Waddenzee]]'s tide, has continued to the present.

The new dry land consisted of two regions, called "Het Grote Bildt" and "Het Kleine Bildt", and both came under the ownership of the Saxon duke [[Albert III, Duke of Saxony|Albert of Saxony-Meissen]]. He seriously considered converting the whole region into solid dry land but he was out of funds and died within a few years in 1504. The Saxon control of Friesland was by no means secure and was continually threatened by revolts in that province. Consequently, Albert's successor [[Henry IV, Duke of Saxony|Heinrich of Saxony]], who was of a rather inert disposition, relinquished his claims to the governorship, and in 1505 an agreement was made between Albert's two sons by which Friesland was transferred to Heinrich's brother, [[George, Duke of Saxony|George of Saxony]], while Heinrich received an annuity and the districts of [[Freiberg (district)|Freiberg]] and [[Wolkenstein]].

[[File:Oldmapmiddelsee.jpg|thumb|250px|Map of the Middelzee from 1834.]]

In June 1505, Duke George of Saxony signed an eleven-year farming-lease-agreement with the noble brothers from [[South Holland]], [[Dirk van Wijngaarden]], [[Floris van Wijngaarden]], and [[Jakob Oem van Wijngaarden]], and their brother in law [[Thomas Beukelaar]].  The brothers started the project in 1505 but in the years that followed the dykes they had laid could still not prevent the tides from flooding the land.  After receiving money from George of Saxony and hiring the help of two nobles, misters Davelaer and Bontemantel, they accomplished the immense task of dyking the area properly.  "Het Bildt" was diked by a {{Convert|14|km|4=-long|adj=mid}} dike which was fashioned purely by hand, spade, boats, and mud. This work was accomplished by many workmen from three Dutch provinces: [[South Holland]], [[Zeeland]], and [[Friesland]]. The area was mathematically planned and consists of straight, parallel roads pointing from south to north or east to west.

Along the main road three villages were formed. They are named Wijngaarden, Altoenae, and Kijfhoek, after the villages ([[Wijngaarden]], [[Altoenae]] and [[Kijfhoek (village)|Kijfhoek]]) in South Holland, the province from which most of the workers came.  In time the villages formed Catholic parishes (parochie) and the names of these parishes eventually were used as the names for these villages. Since then the villages have been called [[Sint Jacobiparochie]], [[Sint Annaparochie]] and [[Vrouwenparochie]]. George of Saxony was unable to suppress the revolts of the [[Schieringers]] and [[Gelderschen]] (who formed a pact) and in 1514 he was required to hand over the whole Bildt area to the [[Count of Holland and Zeeland]], with the permission of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], the [[Holy Roman Emperor]].

When the "[[Republic of the Seven United Netherlands]]" fought and freed itself from [[Spain]], Het Bildt became the 29th [[county]] of [[Friesland]].  Eventually, it was decided that the area north of the dike would also be diked; this was done in 1600. The new dike was called the "[[Nieuwe Bildtdijk]]" and the old 14-kilometer-long dike was called "[[Oude Bildtdijk]]". The area in between was called "Nij Bildt" and in 1637 was sold because the Frisian province was short on money. It is claimed that the [[Frisian farmhouse]]s which can be seen throughout Friesland originated in Het Bildt. The former [[South Holland]] province inhabitants brought the design with them and it was later exploited for use all over the Frisian province (though the typical [[Bildts farmhouse]]s do vary from Frisian farmhouses).
In 1715 another western area was diked, named the "[[Wester Bildtpollen]]". On 12 March 1751 the rest of this area was also sold. In 1754 the eastern part, the "[[Ooster Bildtpollen]]" was diked.

Today the "Oude Bildtdijk" and the "Nieuwe Bildtdijk" are both covered with roads and houses; the road that runs across the old 14 kilometer long dike is the longest in the Netherlands.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category-inline|Het Bildt|lcfirst=yes}}
* {{Official website|http://www.hetbildt.nl}}

{{Geographic location
 | title     = Neighbouring municipalities at time of dissolution
 | Centre    = Het Bildt
 | North     = ''[[Wadden Sea]]''
 | Northeast = [[Ferwerderadiel]]
 | East      = [[Leeuwarderadeel]]
 | South     = [[Menameradiel]]
 | Southwest = [[Franekeradeel]]
 | West      = ''[[Wadden Sea]]''
}}
{{lowercase title}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Waadhoeke]]
[[Category:Former municipalities of Friesland]]
[[Category:Municipalities of the Netherlands disestablished in 2018]]