Everything about Texel totally explained
Texel is a municipality and an
island in the
Netherlands, in the province of
North Holland. It is the biggest and most populated of the
Frisian Islands in the
Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this
archipelago, which extends to
Denmark. The next island in the
archipelago, to the north of Texel, is
Vlieland.
Although spelled with an
X the name is pronounced
Tessel; this is because, historically, it was spelled with a
ligature for "ss", which strongly resembled the letter
x. As the ligature disappeared from use, the name came to be spelled with an "x" but the pronunciation remained the same.
Geography
The island includes the seven villages
De Cocksdorp,
De Koog,
De Waal,
Den Burg,
Den Hoorn,
Oosterend, and
Oudeschild, and the small townships of
Bargen,
De Nes,
Dijkmanshuizen,
Driehuizen,
Harkebuurt,
't Horntje,
Midden-Eierland,
Molenbuurt,
Nieuweschild,
Noorderbuurt,
Ongeren,
Oost,
Spang,
Spijkdorp,
Tienhoven,
Westermient,
Zevenhuizen, and
Zuid-Eierland.
The municipality also includes the uninhabited
sand bar of
Noorderhaaks. The island of Texel, which received
city rights in
1415, originally was made up of two islands, Texel proper to the south and
Eierland to the northwest, which were connected by
shoals. In the
seventeenth century, the islands were
poldered together. Today, Texel forms the largest natural barrier between the
North Sea and the
Wadden Sea.
The dune landscape on Texel is a unique habitat for wildlife. Texel is known for its wildlife, particularly in winter, when
birds of prey and
geese take up residence. About one third of Texel is a protected nature reserve.
Transport
Transport around the island is typically by bicycle or car. Texel has an extensive cycle path network. Transport to Texel is usually by ferry (
Royal TESO), from
Den Helder, or by air via
Texel International Airport.
History
In the early
Middle Ages and before, Texel and
Wieringen may have been much bigger and met each other as opposite banks of the
Marsdiep, which was then a river with banks of permanent land: see
here.
Notable battles involving Texel:
Tourism
The tourism industry forms a substantial part of the economy in Texel. Approximately 70% of activities on Texel are in some way related to tourism. Popular forms of tourism on Texel include cycling, walking, swimming and horse riding.
Local government
The municipal council of Texel consists of 15 seats, which are divided as follows:
Texels Belang - 4 seats
VVD - 3 seats
CDA - 2 seats
GroenLinks - 2 seats
PvdA - 2 seats
D66 - 1 seat
Fractie Weijers - 1 seatFurther Information
Get more info on 'Texel'.
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