Sint Jacobiparochie


Sint Jacobiparochie is a town in the municipality of Waadhoeke in Friesland, the Netherlands. It lies about 13 km north of Franeker and had approximately 1,365 inhabitants in January 2017.

History

St. Jacobiparochie was founded in the 16th century, largely by Dutch settlers from South Holland. Today, both Dutch and West Frisian are spoken in the town. The town was originally named Wijngaarden, while "St. Jacobiparochie" was the name used for the local Roman Catholic parish. Eventually, the name for the parish came to be used as the name for the town as well. The change in name may have been due in part to the fact that the soil in Het Bildt was not suitable for growing grapes, making the original name inappropriate.
There was a station on the North Friesland Railway which opened in 1902 and closed to passengers in May 1935. It reopened to passengers in May 1940 and closed to passengers again in October 1942. Final closure took place in May 1966.
Before 2018, the village was part of het Bildt municipality.