Black Rooster

Zwarte Haan is a hamlet in the municipality of Het Bildt. The dike on which the hamlet was founded was constructed in 1715. It is commonly referred to as Swarte Hean. According to various sources, the name Zwarte Haan originated from the original Frisian term “Swarte hoarne” or “harne,” which means “Black Corner.” Later, “hoarne” was corrupted to “hoanne,” which is Frisian for “rooster.” A nearby farm is still called the “Swarte harne.”

Zwarte Haan is located just north of Nij Altoenae on the Nieuwe Bildtdijk and is part of the village of Sint-Jacobiparochie. Because Zwarte Haan is located on the Nieuwe Bildtdijk, it does not have the postal code of Sint-Jacobiparochie but that of Sint-Annaparochie: 9076. Locals sometimes refer to Zwarte Haan as “the beginning of the world,” because the Nieuwe Bildtdijk begins there. Near the seawall stands the H.G. Miedema Pumping Station, which drains the Bildt into the Wadden Sea. The pumping station is named after the former chairman of the Noardlik Westergoa Water Board, Henk Miedema.


On the dike near Zwarte Haan stands *De Slikwerker*, a bronze statue of a farmworker created by Frans Ram in honor and memory of the men who reclaimed the Bildt. In 2010, a memorial titled *Om de kwaliteit fan de romte* (On the Quality of Space), designed by Gunnar Daan, was erected on the dike in memory of the Frisian provincial council member Anita Andriesen. Zwarte Haan lies along the Jabikspaad and Friese Kustpad hiking trails.