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Heerenveen
Heerenveen; It Hearrenfean
	— Municipality —
	Crackstate, the old part of the town hall
; Flag	; Coat of arms
	Coordinates: 52°57′N 5°56′E / 52.95°N 5.933°E
Country	Netherlands
Province	Friesland
	Area (2006)
- Total	140.15 km2 (54.1 sq mi)
- Land	135.18 km2 (52.2 sq mi)
- Water	4.97 km2 (1.9 sq mi)
	Population (1 January, 2007)
- Total	42,754
- Density	316/km2 (818.4/sq mi)
	Source: CBS, Statline.
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Heerenveen ( pronunciation (help·info), West Frisian: It Hearrenfean) is a municipality and a town in the province of Friesland (Fryslan), in the north of the Netherlands.

[edit] Population centres

Population as of 1 January 2004:

Heerenveen (29.750), Bontebok (440), De Knipe (1470), Gersloot (290), Hoornsterzwaag (890), Jubbega (3270), Katlijk (630), Luinjeberd (450), Mildam (740), Nieuwehorne (1500), Nieuweschoot (140), Oranjewoud (1030), Oudehorne (850), Oudeschoot (1480), Terband (290), and Tjalleberd (730).

[edit] The town of Heerenveen

[edit] History

The town was established in 1551 by three lords as a location for the purpose of digging peat which was used for fuel, hence the name (heer is "lord", veen is "peat"). Heerenveen was not one of the traditional eleven cities in Friesland (Fryslan) as it did not have so-called city rights. However, it is now one of the larger municipalities of the province.

[edit] Transportation

Railway Station: Heerenveen

[edit] Local government

**municipal legislative**
Party	seats	change from 2002
PvdA	12	+5
CDA	4	-1
VVD	4	-1
Leefbaar Heerenveen	2	-2
GroenLinks	2	+0
ChristenUnie	2	+1
FNP	1	+0
SP	0	-1
D66	0	-1
Total	27	-

[edit] Sports

Heerenveen is famous for its sporting accomplishments and world class sports accommodations. This includes the Abe Lenstra football stadium and the Thialf speed skating arena which was one of the first indoor 400m ice rinks in the world, and where annually held international events draw large crowds. The town's football team, SC Heerenveen, plays in the Dutch Premier Division and has been a steady presence in the UEFA Cup for 10 years, topped by the team's biggest achievement when they qualified for the UEFA Champions League in 2000. In 2006, the "Sportstad" (Sport City) project was completed, which included a gymnastics hall, swimming pool and an extension to the football stadium, all of which are clustered together. The Abe Lenstra stadium is unique because its supporter capacity is larger than the number of inhabitants of the town. One of the few football venues that shares this distinction is Stade Félix Bollaert in Lens, France. Several American football venues, mostly college football venues, also share this distinction.