Sloten (Fries: Sleat) is a (former) fortified town in the
municipality of De Friese Meren, in the Dutch province of Friesland.
Sloten is close to the Slotermeer and is located between Lemmer and
Balk.
Sloten belongs to the Frisian eleven cities and was an
independent municipality until 1984. Until January 1, 2014, Sloten
belonged to the municipality of Gaasterland-Sloten. In 2020 Sloten
had 700 inhabitants.
Part of Sloten is a protected cityscape, one of the protected town
and village views in Friesland. The city has partly preserved the
original walls and the original structure of Sloten has also been
preserved almost entirely. The fortress was designed and built by the
famous fortress builder Menno van Coehoorn, who is buried in nearby
Wijckel. Sloten was the ideal city in fortress terms, its shape
resembles an onion, the city is therefore also called the "sipelstêd"
(onion city). The annual market Sipelsneon (Onion Saturday) is held in
Sloten every year.
Several monuments can be found in the city,
such as:
The two water gates
The waterway "it djip" (the deep)
with canal houses.
The corn mill De Kaai from 1755 (until 2006 simply
called De Korenmolen). At the mill is an old cannon that is fired every
Friday evening in July and August by the city militia of Sloten.
The
old town hall which now houses a museum about the city and magic
lanterns.
The "Bolwerk", the old city walls that are partly planted.
Also see:
List of national monuments in Sloten
List of
municipal monuments in Sloten
Women's choir 'De Sleattemer Kaaien'
Music Society St êd Sleat
Sipelsneon, the annual market on the last Saturday of June.
Since 1961, the city has had its own football club, VV Sleat.
Furthermore, it knows;
Sleat tennis club
Gym association T.H.O.R.
(To the Hail of Our Ribcage)
Ice Club De Eendracht
Water sports
association Sleatemermar
Dart club Sleat
Pishit club
Billiard
club Sleat
Sloten knows with the primary school De Klinkert, a small-scale school.
Sloten originated in the thirteenth century as a settlement at a
stins of the Van Harinxma thoe Slooten family, so it was located at a
junction of the trade road from Bentheim to Stavoren. There was trade in
cheese, butter and meat. The family had many conflicts with the
Vetkopers at the time. Nowadays nothing can be found of the stins.
Sloten is mentioned as a city on a charter dated August 30, 1426. In
1523, the city was the last Frisian fortress to fall into the hands of
the heirs of the Counts of Holland. During the siege of Sloten in 1523,
where Frisian and Gelderland troops were stationed, the Dutch nobleman
Jan II van Wassenaer was mortally wounded. The nobleman was the last
Dutchman to die in the battle for supremacy over Friesland.
Sloten was located on the important waterway from Sneek to the Zuiderzee
and on to the Hanseatic cities on the IJssel. In Sloten this waterway
crossed with the country road from Germany to Stavoren (Starum). This
intersection could therefore be used to levy tolls and exercise
strategic control. The country road ran via Doniawerstal over the
gaasten (sand ridges) via Sloten, where the waterway could be bridged,
to Gaasterland and so on to Stavoren, which was a large and important
trading town in the Middle Ages. Sloten also held an important key
position during the Eighty Years' War. The Spaniards tried to conquer
the city by hiding men in a beer ship. The ruse failed. At the end of
World War II, the Germans blew up the bridge over the Ee to slow down
the progress of Canadian troops.
Afterwards, Sloten is no longer
of strategic importance. The city is popular with water sports
enthusiasts and day trippers. A marina was built on the south side of
the city in the 1970s, where several water sports companies are also
located. There is also a large factory in the city that is part of the
Nutreco group. The company produces milk replacers for young stock
(calves, piglets, etc.). In the vicinity of Sloten there is a lot of
livestock farming, which forms an important basis for the local economy.
Afterwards, Sloten is no longer of strategic
importance. The city is popular with water sports enthusiasts and
day tourists. On the south side of the city, a marina was built in
the 1970s where several water sports companies are also located.
There is also a large factory in the city that is part of the
Nutreco concern. The company produces milk replacers for young
cattle (calves, piglets, etc.). There is a lot of livestock farming
in the vicinity of Sloten, which forms an important basis for the
local economy.
The city has almost completely preserved the
original walls and the original structure of Sloten has been almost
completely preserved. The fortress was designed and built by the
renowned fortress builder Menno van Coehoorn, who is buried in
nearby Wijckel. Sloten was the ideal city in fortress terms, its
shape resembles an onion, so the city is also called the "sipelstêd"
(onion city). The Sipelsneon is held in Sloten.
Sloten had
about 760 inhabitants in 2012 and is therefore not the smallest city
in the Netherlands, although that is often said. The city is the
smallest Frisian city.