Drenthe in the context of "Stellingwerfs language"

There are twelve provinces (Dutch: provincies [proːˈvɪnsis] or provinciën [proːˈvɪnsijə(n)] ; sing. provincie [ˌproːˈvɪnsi] ) of the Netherlands representing the administrative layer between the national government and the local governments, with responsibility for matters of subnational or regional importance.

The most populous province is South Holland, with just over 3.8 million inhabitants as of January 2023, and also the most densely populated province with 1,410/km (3,700/sq mi). With 391,124 inhabitants, Zeeland has the smallest population. However Drenthe is the least densely populated province with 191/km (490/sq mi). In terms of area, Friesland is the largest province with a total area of 5,753 km (2,221 sq mi). If water is excluded, Gelderland is the largest province by land area at 4,960 km (1,915 sq mi). The province of Utrecht is the smallest with a total area of 1,560 km (602 sq mi), while Flevoland is the smallest by land area at 1,410 km (544 sq mi). In total about 10,000 people were employed by the provincial administrations in 2018.

Friesland (/ˈfriːzlənd/ FREEZ-lənd; Dutch: [ˈfrislɑnt] ; official West Frisian: Fryslân [ˈfrislɔ̃ːn] ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (/ˈfriːʒə/), is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of Flevoland, northeast of North Holland, and south of the Wadden Sea. As of January 2023, the province had a population of about 660,000, and a total area of 5,753 km (2,221 sq mi).

The land is mostly made up of grassland and has numerous lakes. The area of the province was once part of the ancient, larger region of Frisia, which gave the province its name. Friesland today is the home of the Netherlands's ethnic Frisian people. The official languages of Friesland are West Frisian and Dutch, and almost all West Frisian speakers are bilingual with Dutch.

Groningen (/ˈɡroʊnɪŋən/ GROH-ning-ən, UK also /ˈɡrɒnɪŋən/ GRON-ing-ən; Dutch: [ˈɣroːnɪŋə(n)] ; Gronings: Grunn; West Frisian: Grinslân [ˈɡrẽːslɔ̃ːn]) is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. It borders on Friesland to the west, Drenthe to the south, the German state of Lower Saxony to the east, and the Wadden Sea to the north. As of January 2023, Groningen had a population of about 596,000, and a total area of 2,955 km (1,141 sq mi).

Historically the area was at different times part of Frisia, the Frankish Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Dutch Republic, the precursor state of the modern Netherlands. In the 14th century, the city of Groningen became a member of the Hanseatic League.

The Lordship of Overijssel or Overissel (Latin: Transisalania) is a former division of the Netherlands named for its position along the river IJssel. It corresponds to the modern day province of Overijssel.

The lordship was formed in 1528 when Charles V of Habsburg conquered Oversticht (roughly the present-day Province of Overijssel and Province of Drenthe), during the Guelders Wars. Before 1528, this area was part of the Bishopric of Utrecht. In 1528, at the demand of Henry of the Palatinate, Prince-Bishop of Utrecht, Habsburg forces under Georg Schenck van Toutenburg liberated the Bishopric, which had been occupied by the Duchy of Guelders since 1521–1522. On October 20, 1528, Bishop Henry handed over power to Charles of Habsburg. The Bishopric of Utrecht came to an end and was divided into the Lordship of Utrecht and the Lordship of Overijssel, both ruled by a Habsburg Stadtholder. The name Overijssel however is of much earlier date; Oversticht was known since 1233 by its Latin name Transysla or Transisalania, literally: Over-IJssel, i.e. the other side of the river IJssel.

Overijssel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌoːvərˈɛisəl] ; Dutch Low Saxon: Oaveriessel [ˌɒːvərˈiːsl̩]; German: Oberyssel; lit. 'Outer IJssel') is a province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province borders Drenthe to the north, Friesland to the north-west, Flevoland (and a small part of the IJsselmeer) to the west, Gelderland to the south and west, and Germany's states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia to the east. Overijssel had a population of about 1,184,000 as of January 2023.

The province's name comes from the perspective of the Episcopal principality of Utrecht, which held the territory until 1528. The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle (pop. 132,441) and the largest city is Enschede (pop. 161,235). The land mostly consists of grasslands and some forests (including Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park).

The Westerkwartier (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɛstərkʋɑrˌtiːr]; Gronings: Westerkertaaier; West Frisian: Westerkertier; English: Western Quarter) is a historical region in the Dutch province of Groningen, at the border with the provinces of Drenthe and Friesland. In the past the area was part of the historical region of Frisia. The West Frisian language is still spoken in the western parts of the area (the villages Marum, De Wilp and Opende). In the rest of the Westerkwartier, "Westerkertiersk", a local variant of Low Saxon, is spoken.

The biggest town in the Westerkwartier is Leek.

Megalithic architecture appeared in what is now the Netherlands during the Neolithic period, especially in the northeast. Megalithic structures, i.e. buildings made of large upright stones, occur in various forms and functions, mainly as burial sites, temples or menhirs (stones standing alone or in a formation). In the Netherlands, only burial complexes are known. These large stone tombs (Dutch: Hunebedden) were built between 3470 and 3250 BC by members of the Western Group of the Funnelbeaker culture (TBK) and were used until about 2760 BC. After the end of the Funnelbeaker culture in the Late Neolithic, the sites were reused by the Single Grave culture and the Bell Beaker culture during the ensuing Early Bronze Age and, to a lesser extent, into the Middle Ages.

Of the original 100 megalithic tombs in the Netherlands, 54 are still preserved today. Of these, 52 are located in the province of Drenthe. Two more are in the province of Groningen, one of which has been turned into a museum. There is also a site in the province of Utrecht whose classification as a megalithic tomb is uncertain. Destroyed megalithic tombs are also known from the province of Overijssel. Most of the surviving tombs are concentrated on the Hondsrug ridge between the cities of Groningen and Emmen.

In linguistics, Old Dutch (Modern Dutch: Oudnederlands) or Old Low Franconian (Modern Dutch: Oudnederfrankisch) is the set of dialects that evolved from Frankish spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from around the 6th to the 12th century. Old Dutch is mostly recorded on fragmentary relics, and words have been reconstructed from Middle Dutch and Old Dutch loanwords in French.

Old Dutch is regarded as the primary stage in the development of a separate Dutch language. It was spoken by the descendants of the Salian Franks who occupied what is now the southern Netherlands, northern Belgium, part of northern France, and parts of the Lower Rhine regions of Germany. It evolved into Middle Dutch around the 12th century. The inhabitants of northern Dutch provinces, including Groningen, Friesland, and the coast of North Holland, spoke Old Frisian, and some in the east (Achterhoek, Overijssel, and Drenthe) instead spoke Old Saxon.