Sexbierum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sexbierum is a village in the municipality of Franekeradeel (province of Friesland), in the north of the Netherlands.
The town is famous for its contraction of the words 'Sex', 'Bier' (Dutch, beer) and 'Rum'. In history the town is mentioned as Sixtebeeren (1322), probably derived from the pope Sixtus II (257 - 258) and the old Frisian word "bere", which means house. Other variations are Sixtusbarra (also after the pope).
In the native Frisian language the town is called 'Seisbierrum' so the word "sex" is not in the Frisian version of the name. The village consists of about 600 houses and 1800 habitants, including the twin-village Pietersbierum. Both villages grew together in the late sixties (20th century).
Frisian is the main language in Sexbierum, but the Dutch language is gaining more and more influence. Since about 1972 the primairy schools in Sexbierum switched to Dutch language for the instruction of pupils. Before that date about 90 percent of lessons were conducted in the Frisian language, only the Dutch language lessons were in Dutch.
Sexbierum has three major religious groups: about 1/3 are non-religious, about 1/3 are Nederlands Hervormd and about 1/3 are Gereformeerd. Even though the latter two churches merged in 2004, this still plays some role in day-to-day society. Some of the clubs and foundations stipulate in their statutes that the representative-background must be according to this division (see also Pillarisation).
Sexbierum is located about 7 kilometers north-east of Harlingen, about 7 kilometers north-west of Franeker, and about 100 kilometer north-west of Amsterdam, the capital of The Netherlands.
[edit] External links
- Sexbierum's website (mostly in Dutch)
