Bitgum

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]

Bitgum
Village
Bitgum
Location in Menameradiel municipality
Bitgum Location in the Netherlands Show map of Friesland Bitgum Bitgum (Netherlands) Show map of Netherlands
Coordinates: 53°14′12″N 5°41′15″E
Country	Netherlands
Province	Friesland
Municipality	Waadhoeke
Area [1]
• Total	2.52 km2 (0.97 sq mi)
Elevation [2]	0.7 m (2.3 ft)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Total	800
• Density	320/km2 (820/sq mi)
Postal code	9044[1]
Dialing code	058

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