Bitgum

Village in Friesland, Netherlands

53°14′12″N 5°41′15″E / 53.23667°N 5.68750°E / 53.23667; 5.68750CountryNetherlandsProvinceFrieslandMunicipalityWaadhoekeArea

^[1]

• Total2.52 km² (0.97 sq mi)Elevation

^[2]

0.7 m (2.3 ft)Population

(2021)^[1]

• Total800 • Density320/km² (820/sq mi)Postal code

9044^[1]

Dialing code058

Bitgum (Dutch: Beetgum) is a village in Waadhoeke municipality in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. It had a population of around 792 in January 2017.^[3]

History

Before 2018, the village was part of the Menameradiel municipality. Bitgum gained notoriety in 1895, when three brothers from the village (Keimpe, Wybren and Marten Hogerhuis) were arrested for their alleged and disputed involvement in a burglary in the village of Britsum. The involvement of the Social Democrat Party's leader, Pieter Jelles Troelstra two years later, catapulted the village into the national headlines.^[4]

Aircraft crash

On June 9, 2016, a demonstration fighter jet crashed in the lake next to 'De bodde', the pilot saved himself by ejecting from the aircraft.

Gallery

Church
Bitgum's "Hege Wier", remains of one of 5 stins, or medieval castles in Friesland

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2021". Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
^ "Postcodetool for 9044LA". Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
^ Aantal inwoners per dorp - Menameradiel
^ De gevangenis in door klassenjustitie - Historisch Nieuwsblad (in Dutch)