The Van Camminghas were once Free and Hereditary Lords of Ameland, just as Queen Beatrix was Free and Hereditary Lady of Ameland and King Willem-Alexander is today Free and Hereditary Lord of Ameland. A descendant of the Van Cammingha’s visited the island in 2009, having only been to the island a few times before. Her family had more or less given the island its independence and influenced the language spoken on the island. On the Frisian Wadden Island, no Frisian is spoken, but a kind of City Frisian, related to the language of the Van Cammingha’s. The island came into the hands of the Orange through Johan Willen Friso.
Christa van Cammingha at the painting of the Camminghaslot / Source: Persbureau Ameland
The family that ruled Ameland
- Descendant of Cammingha
- Ballum on Ameland
- Sjouck the sister of Pieter van Cammingha
- Goutum and Breda
- Cambuur and the family coat of arms
- The tile in America
- Visit to the Camminghaslot
Descendant of Cammingha
In 2009, Lady Christina Maria (Christa) van Cammingha (1936) visited Ameland. She is a descendant of the Van Cammingha family who ruled the island. Ritske Jelmera built a castle in Ballum in 1400, approximately where the town hall now stands. That castle became the home of the Lord of Ameland, Hayo van Cammingha. The Van Cammingha family continued to rule the island for two hundred years and called themselves Lords of Ameland. The last Van Cammingha of the Ameland branch died in 1681.
Ballum on Ameland
The castle in Ballum was demolished in 1828 and the island changed hands. The Thoe Schwartzenberg and Hohenlansberg family became owners, but they wanted to sell the island. In 1704 they found a buyer in Johan Willem Friso, hereditary stadtholder of Friesland, Prince of Orange and husband of Maria Louise, Marijke Meu. Johan Willem Friso bought it for 170,000. Through this purchase, Ameland came into the hands of the House of Orange and inherited the title of Free and Hereditary Lord/Lady of Ameland. Princess Beatrix held the title when she was queen and Willem-Alexander has worn it since the inauguration on April 30, 2013.
Sjouck the sister of Pieter van Cammingha
The distant ancestors of Jonkvrouw Christa were the Van Camminghas. Christa van Cammingha is a descendant of the Wiarda branch. The Wiardas had a castle in Goutum, a village near Leeuwarden. Her ancestor from the Van Cammingha line was Sjouck, who was sister of Pieter van Cammingha. And that Pieter was Lord of Ameland.
Goutum and Breda
The Wiardas did not have a strong bond with Ameland. This family owned Wiardastate in Goutum and was more focused on Leeuwarden. The family lost its wealth and had difficulty supporting the state: the Wiardas moved south in the 19th century and settled in Breda. Their state was broken down, just like that of the Van Camminghas.
Cambuur emblem
Cambuur and the family coat of arms
The Wiarda branch of the Camminghas is connected to Leeuwarden. Christa’s father gave permission to Cambuur football club to use the family coat of arms. The coat of arms is a shield with crests and a deer. The football club is therefore connected to Ameland via the Camminghas. The Amelander branch of the family has crests, lilies, stars, beams and a moon in its coat of arms. We see the beams and the moon in the Amelander coat of arms.
The tile in America
Christa van Cammingha grew up in the west of the country. In 2009 she lives in Wolvega. She only visited Ameland a few times and recognized little of it on her last visit. There is nothing from Ameland in her house in Wolvega. There once hung a tile in her house with the Camminghas lock on it, but she no longer has that souvenir. It now hangs with her cousin, who lives in America. The portraits of the Wiardas hang in the Friesch Museum in Leeuwarden.
The line died out
Christa van Cammingha’s brother and sister both emigrated to the United States after the Second World War. The brother never married and had no children. He died in 2003 and with him the Van Cammingha line became extinct. Christa’s sister died in 2006, making Christina Maria the last of the Van Camminghas. Christa has children, but they have a different surname than Van Cammingha. Her sister’s children from America are particularly interested in the family’s noble past. Christa wants to know everything about her family’s history, she collects all the books she can find about the Van Camminghas.
Bulthuis
Artists Jan Bulthuis made drawings and etchings of the Cammingha’s castle in 1791.
Source: Cammingha coat of arms
Visit to the Camminghaslot
The Camminghaslot can be visited, albeit virtually. A film can be seen in Museum Sorgdrager in Hollum where the castle can be visually experienced in 3D. The viewer can, as it were, walk through the vegetable garden, walk between the trees of the orchard and enter the castle. The 3D visualization incorporates objects that can be seen in real life in the museum, such as a locked door. The building itself – once one of the most beautiful in Friesland – was demolished in 1828.
Camminghaslot
Legend
A . Ameland
B . Location of the Camminghaslot
C . Museum Sorgdrager
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- Flag and coat of arms of Wadden Island Ameland
- Municipality of Ameland and the municipal council
- Queen Beatrix – working visit to Schiermonnikoog
- Sports Club Cambuur Leeuwarden