Swimming in Friesland
Attention water freaks! You can swim in Friesland. Whether you want to enjoy subtropically in one of our indoor swimming pools, are more of a breath of fresh air in an outdoor pool or want to chill on the beach, the choice is huge.
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De Babbelaar
De Babbelaar
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Campsite Tjaerda State
Campsite Tjaerda State
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Woonboot Oudega
Woonboot Oudega
Direct boekbaar
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Stadslogement Westersingel - De Etage
Stadslogement Westersingel - De Etage
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Vakantiehuisjes Marsherne
Vakantiehuisjes Marsherne
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Picknickbank Fiersichten Skingen
Picknickbank Fiersichten Skingen
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The liberation of Leeuwarden
The liberation of Leeuwarden
On 11 April 1945, it became clear that German resistance in the north of the Netherlands was limited. On 12 April, the Allies seized this opportunity to advance on Friesland as quickly as possible. One of the main goals was to liberate Leeuwarden. The 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade was designated for this purpose. But things would turn out differently.
On 12 April, the Royal Canadian Dragoons entered Friesland at Noordwolde. They were to conduct reconnaissance with their armoured vehicles and reach the Wadden Sea as quickly as possible. As a result, the German troops in Friesland and Groningen would be separated.
On the night of 14 to 15 April, three Squadrons of the Dragoons were at Suameer. Burgum could not be reached earlier that day, because the bridge at Burgummerdam had been blown up by the Germans.
Meanwhile, all sorts of things were happening in nearby Leeuwarden. On 12 April, the airfield had been blown up by the Germans. And they left the city on 14 April. Leeuwarden would not be defended. The Burgerweeshuis (Civil Orphanage) that had housed several German agencies was set on fire. An attempt to blow up the telephone exchange failed due to an ingenious intervention by the resistance. In the early morning of 15 April, the resistance also took to the streets en masse to occupy important points and to capture Germans who had remained behind.
The Dragoons in Suameer were in contact with the resistance in Leeuwarden. Due to various reports, it was unclear whether there was now heavy fighting in Leeuwarden or whether the Germans had left the city completely. Because the Germans had blown up important bridges on the route from Heerenveen to Leeuwarden, the infantry could not quickly provide assistance.
So, the Dragoons went to take a look for themselves. Initially, a patrol of four vehicles was sent via the Groningerstraatweg into the city around half past eleven. One of the Canadians in those vehicles recorded the following:
"As we entered the city, passing through the concrete barrier by the narrow passageway left for normal traffic, we were met by an almost hysterical patrol of Resistance men [...] In a few moments the news of our arrival had spread through the city, and we were given a fantastic welcome as we rolled slowly forward into the centre of town."A resident of Leeuwarden recalled:
"We lived close to the Groningerstraatweg, where our liberators passed. Many hundreds of us stood there, all happy spectators. All of a sudden, two ladies from the row flung themselves forward and threw their arms around the Canadians' necks, saying: "Oh darlings, you’re here at last!"After the patrol determined that the coast was clear, the entire C Squadron, a detachment of the Royal Canadian Engineers and Regimental Headquarters of Lieutenant-Colonel Landell followed. Leeuwarden had been liberated. After this, thousands took to the streets. One of the Canadians wrote:
"We halted, and were immediately surrounded by laughing, yelling mobs of people, bringing flowers to give to us, and cheering every move. The Resistance men were everywhere, doing their best to keep the people within bounds and off the cars, but their efforts were hardly necessary. I never saw a more satisfying gathering in my life."Leeuwarden had been liberated by the Dragoons through unexpected circumstances. On the night of 15 to 16 April, Canadian infantry moved into the city.
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De Forelpoel
De Forelpoel
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Pothondjessteeg
Pothondjessteeg
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Noordwolde the first village to be liberated by land
Noordwolde the first village to be liberated by land
In the evening of 11 April 1945, units of the Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment Royal Canadian Dragoons arrived at Dwingeloo, just before the so-called Frieslandriegel. This line of defence had been constructed shortly before by the work of many Dutch forced labourers. However, the line was hardly occupied and eventually turned out to be incorrectly constructed.
The Dragoons' task was to scout the road well ahead of the rest of the Canadian units. And they noted that the Germans in this area were barely able to defend themselves effectively. Partly for this reason, it was decided on 11 April that units of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and supporting units would make a jump to Leeuwarden in the following days. If the Frisian capital and possibly the rest of Friesland could be taken, the Germans would be trapped in the western part of the Netherlands. After all, large parts of Overijssel and Gelderland had also been liberated at this point.
The infantry had to advance through Zwolle, Meppel, Steenwijk, Heerenveen to Leeuwarden. To get them to Leeuwarden as soon as possible, all kinds of extra vehicles had been arranged. Meanwhile, the Royal Canadian Dragoons, and not much later another reconnaissance regiment, the Duke of York´s Royal Canadian Hussars, would enter Friesland to scout the planned main route there. And to create as much chaos as possible among the German defenders.Thanks to the citizens of Dieverbrug in Drenthe, an emergency bridge was built over the Drentse Hoofdvaart canal so that the Canadian vehicles could advance to Friesland. Then, on the morning of 12 April, the Dragoons were the first Canadian land unit to enter the province of Friesland. The village of Noordwolde was the first to be liberated.
Although this first Frisian village could be taken without a fight, there was brief fighting immediately north of Noordwolde. About twenty Germans and Dutch accomplices tried to delay the Canadians. After a short fight, the Germans fled the scene, leaving all their equipment behind. Others, including ten Dutch accomplices of the Landwacht and Ordnungspolizei, were captured.But the very first liberators to set foot on Frisian soil were French SAS paratroopers from the 3e Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes. Just over 700 of them were dropped over Drenthe and south-east Friesland on the night of 7 to 8 April. Their mission was to support the Allied ground operation. They did so by creating chaos behind German lines, capturing bridges, and carrying out all kinds of operations together with the resistance. They had to keep this up until the Canadian ground units reached them. A small proportion ended up at Appelscha and Haulerwijk and carried out their assignments there. In the performance of these assignments, 21-year-old Chasseur de 2e Classe (Private 2nd Class) Henri Pintaud was killed on 8 April.
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Lemmer
Lemmer
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Aqua-State Vakantiewoningen
Aqua-State Vakantiewoningen
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Kookatelier De Kleyne Sint Jacob
Kookatelier De Kleyne Sint Jacob
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Ottenhome Heeg - Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 349
Ottenhome Heeg - Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 349
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Rustpunt aan de Ee
Rustpunt aan de Ee
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Zwettebos
Zwettebos
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Occupation of the Blesse bridge by the NBS
Occupation of the Blesse bridge by the NBS
On 8 April 1945, the words "The bottle is empty" sounded on Radio Orange. This code message was the go-ahead for the resistance to start putting bridges, roads and railway lines out of order thirty-six hours later. The Frisian resistance answered this call en masse.
As soon as the Allied vanguard drew near, the armed resistance was also deployed to support their advance. And that sometimes meant that there were also bridges that had to be occupied rather than deactivated. One such action took place in the municipality of Weststellingwerf.
On 12 April 1945, the Canadian vanguard approached the village of De Blesse. The local section of the Dutch Domestic Armed Forces (NBS) was instructed by the resistance leadership to scout the railway bridge and road bridge (the Blesse bridge) over the Linde and, if possible, to occupy them.These bridges were important for maintaining the speed of the Canadian advance. Partly for this reason, they were also often guarded by German soldiers. In most cases, the bridges were also fitted with explosives. This allowed the bridge to be blown up if the Germans eventually had to retreat.
The reconnaissance revealed that the Blesse bridge was guarded by a total of about 10 soldiers. The NBS then decided to attack the bridge from two sides in the evening. Thanks to several aerial arms drops, the resistance fighters were well armed. In the dark, the men set off and split up into three groups. They eventually took up posts north and south of the bridge. The plan was to storm the bridge at two in the morning from the south.To their surprise, their fire was not returned as they approached the bridge. The guards appeared to have disappeared. With that, the bridge had unexpectedly fallen into the hands of the NBS without bloodshed. Moreover, no explosives were found to be affixed to bridge. After the bridge was secured, it was guarded until the Canadians arrived.
News of the occupation of the bridge was reported to the section commander the same night. And through other means of communication, the news also reached the Canadians. Holding the bridge facilitated and accelerated the Canadians' advance later in the day.
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Gewoan op 'e Dyk BBQ & Grill
Gewoan op 'e Dyk BBQ & Grill
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Traditional Sailing Charter
Traditional Sailing Charter
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De Witakker
De Witakker
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Zijda Yachting - Brandaris
Zijda Yachting - Brandaris
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Tiger Bunker Complex
Tiger Bunker Complex
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TOP Akkrum-Nes
TOP Akkrum-Nes
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Greenjoy Earnewâld
Greenjoy Earnewâld
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