Mee genomen uit Duingt, hier even op de foto met een Grutte Pier Bier.
Grutte Pier (ca. 1480-1520) – The greatest Frisian freedom fighter Editorial Grote Pier (Grutte Pier) The greatest hero in Frisian history is without a doubt Pier Gerlofs Donia, better known as Grutte Pier (Great Pier). This famous farmer from Kimswerd campaigned for an independent Friesland in the early sixteenth century. He is buried in the Martini Church of Sneek. Who was Grutte Pier? The bravery of Grutte Pier, 1516, nineteenth-century painting that glorifies the battle of Grote Pier (Johannes Hinderikus Egenberger, oil on canvas, Stadhuis Sneek) Pier Gerlofs Donia was born around 1480 in Kimswerd, a village near Harlingen, as the son of a farmer. According to legends, he was no less than 2.15 meters tall and - but the stories are probably exaggerated - he could lift a plow with one hand. Initially, the farmer's son wanted nothing to do with the battle that was being waged for the area. That changed when Saxon mercenaries set his farm on fire. His wife and several of Pier's relatives were killed. Together with some companions he then founded a gang: the Arumer Zwarte Hoop. Advertisement Grutte Pier became leader of the gang. On the Zuiderzee he and his men fought against the Dutch, who had sent the Saxon troops to Friesland to conquer the area. Ships were captured and cities were plundered. According to tradition, the rebel leader had prisoners recite a rhyme to find out whether he was dealing with Frisians or not: “Bûter, brea en griene tsiis, wa at dat net sizze kin, is gjin oprjochte Fries” This means something like: “Butter, rye bread and green cheese, anyone who cannot say that is not a real Frisian”. Anyone who did not say the sentence convincingly enough was irrevocably killed. The Frisians regarded Grutte Pier as a true freedom hero. The Dutch saw it very differently. They regarded the Frisian as an ordinary pirate. Print of Grutte Pier in a seventeenth-century book Initially, the Frisian worked together with the Duke of Guelders, who had promised support in the fight against the Dutch. When it became clear that the duke only wanted to take control in Friesland, Grutte Pier dropped out.