Leeuwarden Town Frisian: Liwwadden; Leeuwarder dialect: Leewarden) is a city and municipality in Friesland in the Netherlands. It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provincial Council of Friesland. The municipality has a population of 122,293.
The region has been continuously inhabited since the 10th century. It came to be known as Leeuwarden in the early 9th century AD and was granted city privileges in 1435. It is the main economic hub of Friesland, situated in a green and water-rich environment. Leeuwarden is a former royal residence and has a historic city centre, many historically relevant buildings, and a large shopping centre with squares and restaurants. Leeuwarden was awarded the title European Capital of Culture for 2018.
The Elfstedentocht (Eleven Cities Tour), an ice skating tour passing the eleven cities of Friesland, started and finished in Leeuwarden.
The following towns and villages within the municipality have populations in excess of 1,000 people: Leeuwarden, Stiens, Grou, Goutum, Wergea, Jirnsum, Reduzum, and Wirdum. The municipality is governed by the mayor Sybrand van Haersma Buma and a coalition of the Labour Party, Christian Democratic Appeal, and GreenLeft.
There are over 800 Rijksmonuments (national heritage sites) in the municipality of Leeuwarden. The Oldehove, a leaning unfinished church tower, is a symbol of the city. Other well-known buildings in the city centre include the Kanselarij (former chancellery), the Stadhouderlijk Hof (former residence of the stadtholders of Friesland), the city hall (1715), the Waag (old weigh house), the Saint Boniface church (an important part of the neogothic movement) and the Centraal Apotheek, a pharmacy in the Art Nouveau style. The Blokhuispoort is a former prison that has been transformed into a public library, hostel and restaurant.
The Froskepôlemolen (built in 1896), is the last surviving windmill to have stood in Leeuwarden. The remains of the Cammingha-Buurstermolen were demolished in 2000. The Slauerhoffbrug is a fully automatic bascule bridge named after the poet Jan Jacob Slauerhoff. It uses two arms to swing a section of road in and out of place within the road itself. This movable bridge is also known as the ‘Flying’ Drawbridge.
The tallest building in the city is the 114-metre (374 ft) Achmeatoren (Achmea insurance tower), built in 2001 and designed by Abe Bonnema – who also designed the second-tallest building, Averotoren at 77 m (253 ft).
Museums in the city of Leeuwarden:
- Fries Museum. An art, culture and history museum. The building (2013) was designed by Hubert-Jan Henket.
- Fries Verzetsmuseum, a museum that documents the impact of World War II on Friesland. The museum is part of the Fries Museum.
- Princessehof Ceramics Museum, a ceramics museum.
- Pier Pander Museum, an art museum dedicated to the works of sculptor Pier Pander.
- Natuurmuseum Fryslân, a natural history museum.
- The Other Museum. Collections: old-timers, model trains, lace and photography, radio and Meccano.
- Tresoar, a historical centre and museum with archives about Friesland.[24]
- Fries Landbouwmuseum, an agricultural museum.
