Westerkwartier

The Westerkwartier ( Gronings: Westerkwartaar ) is a region in the Dutch province of Groningen. The area abuts the provinces of Friesland and Drenthe and is limited within the province of Groningen by the Reitdiep and the city of Groningen.

It owes its name to the fact that it is the westernmost of the three Ommelande. It consists of the historic districts of the country Vredewold, LANGEWOLD, Humsterland and Middag. Currently, the Westerkwartier includes the basic territory of the municipalities Leek, Marum, Zuidhorn, Grootegast and part of Winsum. Until the late Middle Ages, the abovementioned areas quarter alone Frisian districts and each a member of the Union were Ommelander.

The northern part of Westerkwartiers is one of the oldest cultural landscapes in Western Europe. Around the year 800, it was one of the most densely populated areas in the Netherlands today. The former islands Middag and Humsterland are proposed for the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The main towns of Westerkwartiers are Leek, Zuidhorn and Grijpskerk.

Language

The Westerkwartier has the Westerkwartiers within the Groninger Platts a typical Lower Saxon dialect, which has been particularly influenced by the opposite side of the Frisian- groninger border. Even in neighboring Friesland find this dialect. In return, the villages Marum, Opende and De Wilp are the only places in the Netherlands, where outside the province of Friesland, the Frisian language is spoken.