WORDS: Jo Fletcher-Cross
Wilhelminaplein, Leeuwarden
Friesland isn’t like the rest of the Netherlands. The North Sea has shaped this province’s landscape and history, and the area still retains a strong identity — fiercely independent, friendly, freethinking and welcoming. As far back as 1300, the Frisians created a free state, away from centralised authority with their own language, laws, and traditions. Though they’ve been part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for a long time now, the culture and language remains.