About the town » Gemeente Het Bildt, Friesland, Netherlands

het Bildt is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands; its capital is Sint Annaparochie. As of 1 November 2006 it had a population of 10,975. Het Bildt has 15.4 kilometers of coastline. Its soil is very fertile and agriculture is a major part of its economy; crops grown include onions, potatoes, and a variety of fruits. Het Bildt was largely settled by Dutch inhabitants from South Holland; as a result, the language generally spoken there is "Bildts", a dialect that mixes Dutch (as spoken in South Holland) with West Frisian; Bildts is usually classified as a dialect of Dutch. All three languages - Bildts, Dutch, and Frisian - are spoken in the area. Only in Minnertsga (which did not become a part of the municipality of Het Bildt until 1984) is Frisian the predominant language. Signage in Het Bildt is generally bilingual, with names given in both Dutch and Bildts. The name Het Bildt is formed out of the word "opbilden" which means the silting up of land. Het Bildt should not be confused with the county and town De Bilt in Utrecht province.