Haulerwijk (Frisian: Haulerwyk) is a village in Ooststellingwerf municipality.
Fryslân province. It is an old peat-colony on the border with Opsterland
municipality, with (1958) 2510 inhabitants; (1974) 2726. It used
to be two settlements - Beneden-Haulerwijk and Boven-Haulerwijk (Dolni
Haulerwijk and Horni Haulerwijk). Dolni Haulerwijk is now named Waskemeer.
This is a Frisian enclave in the Saxon speaking world of the Stellingwerfs.
Nickname: "Brúntsjes" (brownies, the color of peat and
of the Haulerwykster hands and faces; "bobbekoppen", special sheep
only occurring in Haulerwijk and in Onstwedde (Groningen province)
Haulerwijk coat of arms: in red a main fess of silver, charged with a black
"snik" (small ship) and in base two yellow peat-implements in saltire.
The exploitation of the peat-fields near the village of Haule was started
from Drachten. In 1642 there was a contract between Passchier Hendriks
Bolleman e.a. and the inhabitants of northern- and southern-Drachten to
dig the Drachter canal. This project started several others, like "de
Lange Wijk" which ended in Ooststellingwerf.
On the maps of Schotanus of 1718 this "wijk" reached just south
of Opsterland in Ooststellingwerf. Later a canal crossing this "wijk"
was dug, which was the origin of Haulerwijk. In the coat of arms the white bar in
red symbolizes the colors of heather and peat. The "snik" was a
well known type of ship and is often seen on old prints of Haulerwijk.
It was also an important link with bigger settlements like Assen and Drachten.
Flag: three equally wide horizontal stripes of yellow and red, with
a green hoist-triangle, which reaches flag half, charged with a yellow "snik".
For the flag the colors have been derived from the coat of arms. The green hoist triangle
tells us that the canal in the heart of the village has been filled up,
and the "snik" has been more or less placed on dry land.
Design: P. Bultsma
Source: Genealogysk Jierboekje 1986.
Encyclopedie van Friesland, 1958.
Encyclopedie van het Hedendaagse Friesland, c. 1978.
Groot Schimpnamenboek van Nederland, by Dirk van der Heide, 1998.
Jarig Bakker, 14 Sep 2003
![[Haulerwijk villageflag]](../images/n/nl-fr0hw.gif)
image
by Jarig Bakker, 14 Sep 2003
![[Haulerwijk Coat of Arms]](../images/n/nl-fr)hw.jpg)
from this website.
