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WestergoWestergo is the north-western part of Friesland, which was an island during the Middle Ages. Westergo contains several well known towns, such as Harlingen, Franeker and the famous terp village Wynaldum. In the year 900, Friesland had an estimated population of around 30,000, most of which lived in the clay regions. With an average of twenty inhabitants per square kilometer, Westergo was a relatively densely populated area for those days. Even today, there are still a large number of towns. |
- Middle Ages
- View of the former Westergo, by Koehool, Ecomare
Halfway through the Middle Ages, in the 10th century, Westergo was a fertile and densely populated area which was more or less inaccessible over land. It was full with terpen villages. The residents built large dike rings in those days, probably because there was more farmland and grazing pastures needed to serve the growing number of inhabitants with food. Westergo was totally secured by a ring dike around the 11th century. The Middle Sea and the Marne was reclaimed in the following centuries, and Westergo began grow onto to the rest of Friesland.
- All the terpen
- Marsh wall, Ecomare
As shown on the map, terpen in Westergo are arranged in a regular manner. This is no coincidence. The terpen lie on marsh walls, since higher lying areas of a marsh landscape consist of rough sand particles. The walls were situated on the edge of the marsh and were formed from old marshes that slibbed up more than normal during high floods between 1000 B.C. and the beginning of the Christian era. In this way, the land spread out in the direction of the sea. The marsh walls show how the coast of the Frisian marshlands constantly shifted.
Between the marsh walls lay the deep lying marsh plains where the finer and compacter clay particles precipitated. This is where the so-called 'cutable' clay lay, heavy sea clay used for making bricks and roof tiles. The broad tidal channels flowed into the deepest part of the marsh plains. These channels were later excavated into canals (Dutch=vaart), such as the Sexbieriumervaart (canal), the Ried, the Oude Meer and the Frankervaart canal.
See also
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Copyright Het Groninger Landschap
