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Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands. Its name in the Frisian language is Fryslân, which has also been its official name since 1997, and is therefore also used in official Dutch language publications. Friesland has 643,000 inhabitants (2005) and its capital is Leeuwarden (Ljouwert), with 91,000 inhabitants, in the centre of the province.
Friesland distinguishes itself from the other eleven Dutch provinces through having its own language, which is also spoken in a minor part of the province of Groningen, to the east.
Friesland is mainly an agricultural province. The famous black and white Friesian cattle and the well known black Friesian horse originated here. Tourism, mainly on the lakes in the south west of the province, and on the islands in the Wadden Sea in the north, is an important source of income, too.
The province is also famous for its speed skaters, and also for the Elfstedentocht (Eleven cities tour), a 253 kilometres ice skating tour.
Another interesting feature are the many windmills. There are 195 windmills in the province of Friesland, from a total of about 1200 in the entire country.
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