Franeker - Travel & Tourism Guide Franeker - Pays-Bas

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Franeker, Frjentsjer in Frisian, was from 1585 to 1811 (when Napoleon closed it) the seat of the universities of Friesland. Among its famous students, the French philosopher René Descartes and Pieter Stuyvesant, future governor of the North American colony "the new Amsterdam" (the future New York...). In front of the city hall, you can visit the oldest planetarium in the world. The city would have been born in 900 and its name would mean land of the king. It used to be an independent city, but since 1984 it is part of the municipality of Franekeradeel and has been merged with Waadhoeke. The astronomer Eise Eisinga died here