Hemelum

Hemelum ( ) is a village in Súdwest Fryslân municipality, in the province Friesland of the Netherlands. It had a population of around 610 in January 2017.

== History == The earliest records of Hemelum date back to 1180. The noble families of Epema and Galama lived in the town in the Middle Ages. Early Hemelum was home to a stins, some estates, and a convent. The nunnery of the Benedictine Order was one of the first convents to be established in Friesland, and was dependent on the Abbot of Stavorum. The lay order of the Beguines and Beghards was also active at the convent for a time. The Dutch Reformed Church of Hemelum was built in 1668 on the foundations of the old convent, as the religious turmoil of the Reformation had largely displaced monasticism in the Dutch Republic. However, Christian monasticism experienced a modest revival in Hemelum toward the end of the 20th century with the establishment of a Russian Orthodox convent in the village.