Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Flylân

A collage of flowers we came across during a cycle trip on the island of Vlieland.

There has been a chapel - first mentioned in 1245 - at this location on the island of Vlieland, which was dedicated to Saint Nicholas. It became a parish church in the late Middle Ages. Later, it was elevated to a parish church. As the village of West-Vlieland gradually became depopulated (see: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/50819386) and the inhabitants moved to Oost-Vlieland, the need arose for a larger building. After the Reformation the chapel was replaced by the present building, using bricks from the demolished chapel. The Nicolaaskerk (Nicholas Church) was built in 1605 as an east-west oriented simple hall church. At that point it was one of the first church buildings in the Netherlands built voor Protestant services. In 1647 the church was extended in the direction of the church square and acquired its current form. The interior of the Nicolaaskerk is famous for the whale jaws that were once used as tombstones, but were brought inside because of the acid rain. Many parts of the church are made of jute wood, like some pews, and a panel of the pulpit once was a door of a ship. The chandeliers were donated by the King of Sweden and Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, one of the most skilled Dutch admirals in history. (Unfortunately, due to the corona measures, it was not possible for me to visit the interior of the church. We could only catch a glimpse of it from behind a locked glass door.) The last restoration of the - nowadays - only church on Vlieland was in 1997. For a time it was known as Hervormde Kerk , but is now named by its original name, Nicolaaskerk . In addition to services, it serves also as a venue for concerts.

Het Oude Raadhuis (The Old Town Hall) was built in 1855 to replace a building from 1598. The town hall was built in neo-classical style. Two gable stones still remind one of the old town hall: one with the year 1598 and one with Vlieland's coat of arms on it. The town hall has a hip-roof with chimneys at the corners. On the roof is a bell tower, on which a weather vane in the shape of a ship is placed. The pillars in front of the door bear the two former coats of arms of Oost- and West-Vlieland. The building was registered as a national monument in 1967. In 2001 Het Oude Raadhuis was sold to the Vereniging Hendrick de Keyser (an association aiming to be the guardian of the architectural heritage of The Netherlands by acquiring, conserving, restoring and renting out historic properties). This association had Het Oude Raadhuis restored in 2005. Nowadays the building is used as a wedding venue.

Vlieland has a number of scattered forests, although these did not originally belong to the island. They are now over 100 years old; planted at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, 300 ha of the dunes on Vlieland were converted into woodland. The main purpose was to get a grip on the shifting sand. On the highest points of the island, maritime pines were planted (this species can withstand dryness). Furthermore, Corsican, Austrian, and mountain pines were planted. Each pine was given its own place.

The history of Het Armhuis dates back to 1632. In that year it was decided that a kind of home for former sailors should be created. Thanks to a generous donation from the clergyman Abraham Ursinius, the deaconry was able to take on this task. For centuries the house provided shelter to old (seafaring) people, the needy and later also to orphans. Until 1950 it functioned as an Armhuis . After a thorough restoration in 1997, the building was used as a restaurant and gallery (in the meantime the restaurant will be closed on 1 June 2021). Het Armhuis is also an official wedding location on Vlieland.

De Vuurduin is the landmark of the island of Vlieland. This lighthouse - also called the Rode Kabouter (Red Gnome) - is a monument. It is only 16.8 metres high, but thanks to its location on the 42-metre-high Vuurboetsduin , the light from the tower shines 55 metres above sea level. The lights and the glass are stationary; a sort of curtain rotates to screen the light every two seconds. The cast-iron red tower was originally the superstructure of a tower from IJmuiden and was transferred to Vlieland in 1909. In 1929, an observation post on stilts was built next to the lighthouse. In 1986, the dome of the lighthouse was completely renovated. De Vuurduin works completely automatically. The lighthouse keeper is still regularly present for visitors. The stairs to the panoramic roof have 49 steps; the lamp is 9 steps higher. From the lighthouse one has a unique view over two seas: the Wadden Sea and the North Sea.

Vlieland is one of the Dutch Waddeneilanden (West Frisian Islands). The (car-free) island is known for its beautiful beaches. The wide beach on the North Sea is one of the most beautiful and cleanest in the Netherlands. On the west side of the beach (at the end of the Reddingbootpad ), there is a 'nursery' of new dunes (PiP5). The beach of Vlieland is about 15 kilometres long and 150 metres wide on average. It has only two beach pavilions (PiP4).

Vlieland is one of the so called Waddeneilanden (West Frisian Islands), located between Texel and Terschelling. The island was permanently separated from the mainland during St. Lucia's flood in 1287. The name Vlieland is probably derived from "Insula Fle", which means “the island near the Flevostroom”, which was the estuary of the river IJssel in medieval times. Vlieland used to consist of two villages: West-Vlieland and Oost-Vlieland. Before the latter became of any importance, West-Vlieland (Westeynde) was already a prosperous village. Storm tides in 1717 and 1727 caused the collapse of the village. In 1736, the last houses were evacuated. Oost-Vlieland was is the only remaining village on the island. Because of its cultural-historical value, Oost-Vlieland has had the status of a protected village sight since 1971, with the Dorpsstraat (main image and PiP1) as its most important street. It has 39 buildings that have been declared national monuments. The oldest house on Vlieland is the building in which museum Tromp's Huys is located. This building dates back to 1575. Without doubt, one of the most famous (and important) inhabitants of Vlieland was Willem de Vlamingh: a sea captain who explored the central west coast of Australia in the late 17th century. This explorer is honoured with a statue on the Havenplein in Oost-Vlieland (PiP2 and 3). The island of Vlieland has a surface area of only 39 square km and therefore is the smallest inhabited Waddeneiland of the Netherlands. With about 1.150 inhabitants - about 30 inhabitants per km² - Vlieland is the second least populated municipality in the Netherlands.