Information about the Netherlands, about North-Holland, about Westfriesland, about Wervershoof, about Zwaagdijk-oost, about the famous surname Wiering, about our direct ancestors, some genealogical information, and about our small family.
About the Netherlands (Dutch: 'Nederland')
At present the Netherlands consist
out of 12 provinces. Holland was only one of the former provinces. But because
all the major seaports, the biggest cities and most industry was (and still is)
concentrated in Holland many foreigners think 'Holland' and 'The Netherlands'
are the same. In reality Holland is only a part of the Netherlands.
As you probably know The Netherlands was the first country in the world with
freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press and freedom of
everything.
Because of its dominant position
inside the Netherlands the province Holland was divided (1840) in two provinces
called Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland.
North-Holland is a coastal province comprising a peninsula (area 2,667 square
km) surrounded by the North Sea (west), the Waddenzee (north), and the
IJsselmeer (lake IJssel, east). The province contains Amsterdam, the chief city
of the Netherlands.
Along the shore sand dunes form a smooth, unbroken protection for the inland
regions.
Most of the province lies at or below sea level. The province is as Dutch as a
province can be. Most of the canals, windmills and beautiful dikes are here. On
the countryside the main occupations are cattle raising and dairy farming.
The Netherlands have the tallest population in the world which stands at an
average (for the entire Netherlands) of 1.735 metre for young women and 1.85
metre for young men. There is, however, a five-centimetre gab between men in the
north and men in the south of the Netherlands! The people in North-Holland are
among the tallest in the Netherlands. The people in the province North-Holland
also enjoy one of the longest life expectancies in the world.
The population is predominantly Roman Catholic although there are still some
protestant strongholds as well.
Throughout the region the population in Westfriesland is known for its honesty,
its good working-spirit and its lack of diplomatic skills. Usually people from
Westfriesland tell what they really think instead of turning around the subject.
The real Westfrisian, however, will not feel himself offended very quickly and
you have to tell him a lot before he becomes angry.
There is a song that people in Westfriesland sing at weddings and other events. It’s about Westfriesland. For the text click here!
Wervershoof is a village in Westfriesland bordering the IJsselmeer (the big lake in the centre of the Netherlands). Its population is Roman Catholic. The mayor's office is situated here and our mayor is ruling over Wervershoof and the villages Onderdijk and Zwaagdijk-oost. It is good swimming in the IJsselmeer.
Zwaagdijk-oost is definitely the
nicest village in the world. It is situated in the centre of Westfriesland
exactly between the historical towns Hoorn, Enkhuizen and Medemblik. It is a Roman Catholic
village with at present some 900 inhabitants.
During the elections in Zwaagdijk-oost a big majority of the original population
votes for the political parties who are in favour of freedom and democracy. The
socialists never gain more than a few percent of the votes.
During the pre-war period there was never ever any vote (not one single) for the
NSB (National Socialist Movement) and during the war itself Zwaagdijk-oost was a
centre for resistance against the occupying krauts. At one place in
Zwaagdijk-oost there was a dropping-field where English planes dropped weaponry
regularly to supply the resistance in Westfriesland and to supply the resistance
in the rest of the province North-Holland.
When visiting Zwaagdijk-oost: keep in mind that you are visiting holy ground.
Don't drive too fast, be nice and polite to everybody (just
as the people in
Zwaagdijk-oost will be towards you) and don't mess around with the girls. And most
important: don't mistake Zwaagdijk-west for Zwaagdijk-oost! It is not and it
will never be the same.
About the
famous surname Wiering
Almost all surnames in the Netherlands (and a big part of the rest of Europe) date back to the time when Napoleon occupied the Netherlands in the beginning of the 19th century. The French wanted everybody to register under a surname.
Before Napoleon conquered the Netherlands surnames already existed. Usually the rich influential families, mostly landowners, already had a surname. The big majority of labourers did not have a surname.
The surname ‘Wiering’ is a typical surname which dates back to somewhere in the middle-ages.
The surname Wiering consists out of two parts:
‘Wier’ and ‘ing’. Wier is derived from ‘wirre’, an old Germanic (that does not mean German!) word. The English word ‘warrior’ is definitely derived from it, just as the German words which start with 'Wehr' (for example 'Wehrmacht'). ‘Wirre’ meant something like ‘great brave warrior’.
The word ‘ing’ means the same as ‘ink’ and is quite common in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It’s meaning is: ‘son or descendent’ and is always written after the name of the person from whom he is a descendant.
So everyone who bears the name ‘Wiering’ is a descendant from a great warrior who once lived probably somewhere in the eastern part of the Netherlands somewhere in the middle-ages. Because I am his descendant he probably has been fighting for a good cause.
About my
direct ancestors, some genealogical information
In Zwaagdijk the surname Wiering is the oldest known name in our village which is still represented here in Zwaagdijk till the present day.
I traced my family tree back to the second half of the 17th century, the Dutch ‘Golden Century’. At that time the great Cornelis Wiering, a catholic farmer, was standing at the cradle of at least a big part of all the people called Wiering today.
Please click further to my genealogical site: Click here to go to my genealogical site in the English language!
In April 2002 I received a document with many more descendants of the great Cornelis Wiering. A link is made to the USA. A lot of the material is still under investigation and not translated in English yet. I made a html-document of it. Because I haven't asked all the people on all the photo's their permission, the document is without photo's: Click here to go to the genealogical site in the Dutch language!
Protestants: Mainly in the western part of the province North-Holland there are many protestants with the surname Wiering living. I saw a copy of a document written in the year 1666 mentioning the oldest known given names at this side of the family. These names were very similar to the oldest known given names at the catholic side of the family Wiering. This indicates that not long before the 17th century there are probably common ancestors. Originally the protestant side was also consisting of landowners with cattle. Later the protestant side somehow lost their possessions and they became laborers on the land. At present at the protestant side there are no farmers left.
During the reformation in the province North-Holland, in the 16th century, one Pastor in one village converted to Protestantism, and the Pastor in the next village decided to stick to the catholic church. The people in the villages just followed their local spiritual leaders. During this time the protestant side was created.
Some protestants went to the USA as well. As soon as I receive more information, I will immediately add that information to this website.
About business
We do have some small property with which we hope to earn money.
- 'Veehouderijbedrijf Wiering', for centuries the place with the best cattle in Holland: http://www.awiering.nl/veehouderijbedrijf.htm (registration in the chamber of commerce: 20090617uittreksel_kvk.pdf)
- 'Fruitkwekerij Wiering', a young company aimed at growing the best fruit in Holland: http://www.awiering.nl/fruitkwekerij.htm (registration in the chamber of commerce: 20090617uittreksel_kvk.pdf)
& (new!) http://www.awiering.nl/alliumteelt.htm
- 'Wiering Vastgoed', also a young company for developing the most beautiful and best real estate in Holland: http://www.awiering.nl/wieringvastgoed.htm
About horses
Here are some photos: paardenhouderij.htm
And here are some more photos: paardenfotos.htm
And here are the papers of the three beautiful horses: paardenpapieren.htm
And here some photos dated July 2010: paardenfotos2.htm
About wrong situations
Here a temporary link to a few photos, only interesting for the insider, so not interesting for you: http://www.awiering.nl/slootdemping.htm
About how we think
Teddy Roosevelt: 'It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deed might have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.'
Winston Churchill: 'Those who appease the crocodile will simply be eaten last.' (on the cowardly way the former British Prime Minister Chamberlain tried to appease the German national socialists.)
Winston Churchill (During the darkest hours of World War II, when the world faced a global threat from German Nazism, Italian Fascism and Japanese Imperialism, Churchill challenged his people to rise to the occasion and fight.): 'Never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.'
Edmund Burke: 'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.'
Captain Jean Luc Picard (in Star Trek: The Next Generation, episode 'The Drumhead'): 'With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.'
Views about islam: http://www.awiering.nl/islam.htm
Views about building houses: http://www.awiering.nl/woningbouw\20040207Trouw_Open_de_polders.pdf
New, temporarily, and especially for the politicians in Wervershoof, the documents regarding:
1. the distance between greenhouses and new homes: milieuzonering.html
2. the distance between fruit-trees, a cattle-farm and the new school in Zwaagdijk:
c. Brief aan het college van B&W van Wervershoof van 12 februari 2009
d. Brief aan het college van B&W van Wervershoof van 8 april 2009
Nissan, stay out of it (the best Nissan Commercial ever): http://www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/430921/fdde37af/beste_nissan_commercial_ooit.html
Angry German kid (The kid is a talented actor from Bergisches Land, Germany. He plays a character.): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbcctWbC8Q0
Sketch ("pistool") from New Kids is not allowed on TV on Comedy Central, too rude: http://www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/644201/268b184a/brabantse_tokkie_schiet_agent_door_hoofd.htmlSketch ("knoepert") from New Kids is not allowed on TV on Comedy Central, too rude: http://www.flabber.nl/linkdump/video/seizoen-3-new-kids-te-heet-voor-tv-2-3157
Russian madmen racing on the Russian highways, HD Quality!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTm8alJ4bFM&feature=player_profilepage#
Women, know your limits; the best instruction-film for women ever: http://www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/778461/bd09596f/women_know_your_limits.html
Funny; not for radical Muslims who do not want to adapt to a free society: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN5oV0-i_4s
Of course UFO's do exist. Any flying object that is not identified is, by definition, an unidentified flying object. The interesting question is whether or not a part of the UFO's is from extraterrestrial origin. Here I plan to make some links to the most compelling evidence so far that a part of the UFO's actually is of extraterrestrial origin, and that extraterrestrial biological entities (EBE) have been visiting the earth for thousands of years.
Westall '66: A Suburban UFO Mystery (video) : http://www.niburu.nl/index.php?articleID=23444
The case for NASA UFOs (video), under which the STS-75 tether incident in 1996: http://www.niburu.nl/index.php?articleID=18598
About our small family
My name is Andre Wiering (1965) and
my wife's name is Natascha Wiering-Kopylkova (1970). We have four children:
-Valeria (1993)
-Julia (1993) Julia is living in Germany; link to her site: Julia Wiering, in Germany registered under the
false and bought name Julia Penner (site in the german language)
-Mark (1997)
-Laura (2006)
Photos of our daughter Laura shortly after her birth:
laura1.htm (first 11 of 25 photographs)
laura2.htm (last 14 of 25 photographs)
8 February 2008: photos of Valeria's visit to Aurich, Germany: 20080205foto.htm, 20080206foto.htm, 20080207foto.htm, 20080208foto.htm
Here more photos:
Julia; photo taken in Moscow, 11 August 1993
Julia; photo taken in Moscow, 11 August 1993. It was the
first time I was allowed to take my baby in my arms.
Natascha and I; photo taken near the lake in the city of Hoorn, 14 September 1997
Natascha, 14 September 1997
Natascha; photo taken in Zwaagdijk, 9 November 2001
Valeria
Valeria; photo taken in Zwaagdijk, 29 July 2001
Mark
Mark; photo taken in Zwaagdijk, 29 July 2001
Underneath two 100% pure fanatics, on the 19th of April 2005. It was freezing cold and it was raining cats and dogs. We were riding for about the tenth time (sitting the tenth time in the same places) in a further totally deserted rollercoaster (the 'Goliath' at Walibiworld, the fastest rollercoaster in the Netherlands). Nobody was willing to join us. Rain hurts when you are going fast, and Mark and I had to protect our faces against the raindrops.
Underneath the nicest girl in the whole world: Laura! These 2 photos are taken at the end of August 2007.
Underneath the best mother anyone could ever have dreamed of; since 16 September 1993 in heaven
Underneath: babushka Vera, Natascha's Grandmother. Babushka is the Russian word for 'grandmother'. She survived the communist revolution and two World Wars. In the second World War she lost both her husband and her two children. Her husband served in the Soviet army and he was killed by the Germans. While trying to flee from the advancing German army, babushka Vera took a train to the south. Her small daughter was killed when the Germans bombed the train she was in. Babushka Vera escaped German labor-camps by joining the partisans in the forests for a while. While trying to find babushka Vera, the Germans sadistically tortured her small baby-boy to death by putting her small baby in the freezing Russian cold. Later during the second World War she received a new daughter, Natascha's mother. A big part of her life and until a few years ago she lived in the Russian city of Chelabinsk, infamous for the nuclear disaster which took place there in the 1950's. Her second husband, the son of her second husband and many of her friends died too early of cancer and other radiation-related diseases.
She was a very remarkable woman who has led an extremely difficult life.
Update January 4th, 2006: Nobody lives forever, not even Babushka Vera. On Wednesday, the 4th of January 2006 in the beginning of the evening babushka Vera passed away into heaven at the age of 91. The whole day she had been in a happy and friendly mood. In the afternoon, a few hours before she died, she had told to a woman who lives in the same building a very strange dream. In her sleep that afternoon a relative (a woman who had died too early and who had to say aunt to babushka Vera) appeared who told to babushka Vera: 'Come on, aunt Vera, you have been sleeping long enough now. Come with me!'. Babushka Vera had told to the neighboring woman that she saw the appearance as an invitation to die, but babushka Vera had told the neighboring woman that she did not want to die. Only a few hours later babushka Vera actually died peacefully, probably because of a brain-infarct or something like that.
The last couple of years in her life, in her eighties and nineties, babushka Vera lived in Minsk and enjoyed her pension. Babushka Vera always received a special pension from the Russian Federation because she had been working in the defense-industry during the war.
I am born and raised in Zwaagdijk-oost, just as my ancestors have been
born and raised in Zwaagdijk-oost for hundreds of years.
I am a graduated economist and I am proud to have received my degree from the
best university in Western Europe, the unrivalled University of Amsterdam. Among
others I am a cattle-farmer and a fruit-grower and besides I am a
project-developer who builds streets and houses. My wife is a Medical Doctor and
a specialist in the field of Paediatrics. Besides she is a homeopathic doctor.
We both like to travel around. We like to meet with other people in other
countries.
In case you visit this home page: please let us know that you were there by
sending a small Email message or give us a call when you are visiting the
Netherlands.
Our address is:
De Gracht 25
1684 NR Zwaagdijk-oost
The Netherlands
Telephone home: +31-228-584632, telephone mobile: +31-620000717
Please send us an e-mail-message: awiering @ [aaa] gmail.com (the [aaa] is not part of the e-mail-address; it is written to reduce the amount of spam)
Take care, God bless,
family Wiering
Links to the homepages of:
Natascha Wiering-Kopylkova (site in the dutch language)
Valeria (site in the dutch language)
Mark Wiering (site in the dutch language)