West Friesland (region)

West Friesland (Dutch: West-Friesland) is a contemporary region in the Northwest of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.

[1] In the Middle Ages, the Westflinge area of West Friesland became an island, bordered on the north by the Medem and Zijpe inlets, and to the south by various interconnecting lakes (now polder land) that were connected with the Zuiderzee.

The first inhabitants of Alkmaar, Oudorp, and St Pancras likely settled along the high beach ridges of the Vroonermeer in the 9th century AD.

The reclamation of the North Holland lakes was a purely private business affair intended for the establishment of new tracts of fertile land.

The exact location of West Friesland is not clearly defined, but it has been suggested that it comprised the area north of an imaginary line through Hoorn and Alkmaar.

The area between the rivers Vlie and IJ consists of the present-day municipalities of Alkmaar, Amsterdam (Landelijk Noord), Beemster, Bergen, Castricum, Den Helder, Drechterland, Edam-Volendam, Enkhuizen, Heerhugowaard, Heiloo, Hollands Kroon, Hoorn, Koggenland, Landsmeer, Langedijk, Medemblik, Purmerend, Oostzaan, Opmeer, Schagen, Stede Broec, Texel, Uitgeest, Vlieland, Waterland, Wognum, Wormerland, and Zaanstad.