First mentioned as Ambla in the 8th century, it paid
tribute to the county of
Holland until in 1424 its lord,
Ritske Jelmera, declared it a "free lordship" (
vrijheerschap): the
Lordship of Ameland. Although Holland, Friesland and the
Holy Roman Emperor contested this quasi-independent status, it remained a free lordship until the ruling family,
Cammingha, died out in 1708. After that, the Frisian
stadtholder John William Friso, Prince of Orange, became lord of Ameland and after him, his son the stadtholder of all the Netherlands,
William IV, Prince of Orange, and his grandson,
William V, Prince of Orange. Only in the constitution of 1813 was the island finally integrated into the Netherlands into the province of
Friesland. The
monarchy of the Netherlands still maintain the title
Vrijheer van Ameland today. In 1871–72, a
dike was built between Ameland and the mainland by a society for the reclamation of Frisian land from the sea. The dike ran from Holwert to Buren and was long. The province and the Dutch realm each paid 200,000
guilders. In the end, it was unsuccessful; the dike did not prove to be durable and in 1882, after heavy storms in the winter, repairs and maintenance of the dam were stopped. The dike can still be partially seen at low tide. The dam at Holwert is the beginning of this dike. In 1940, German troops were ferried to the island and within hours Ameland was under the control of the German Army. Due to its limited military value, the Allies never invaded Ameland. The German forces on the island did not surrender until 2 June 1945, almost a full month after the defeat of
Nazi Germany.
2023 MV Fremantle Highway fire In July 2023, a fire on the Panamanian flagged cargo ship
MV Fremantle Highway carrying over 3,700 cars off the coast of Ameland left one sailor dead and 22 others injured. == Nature ==