Popmastins

This Stins was located near Oosterend, municipality of Terschelling. It is not known when the Stins was built. On Terschelling, the Popma family was the family with a managerial position. This old Popma family called itself Lord of Schellingerland.

For a long time the Dutch considered the island as a fief. In 1399 Albrecht van Beieren sold the island to Jan van Arkel, but when he revolted against his lord, his goods were confiscated. In the meantime, Jacoba van Beieren had become Countess of Holland and she sold the island in 1417 to Gerard van Heemskerk. Through inheritance it later comes into the possession of Cornelis van Bergen and finally of Jean de Ligne Graaf van Aremberg.

The most important figure in the Popma family was Folkert Popma. He concluded international treaties, including in 1482 with King Edward of England in 1482. In these he is mentioned as lord van der Skylinghe ende Gryndt.

When Rienck Popma died in 1510, Cornelis van Bergen can actually take possession of the island: he buys off Jarich van Popma, Rienck's son. Jarich van Popma loses all his money and dies in poverty.

Jean d'Aremberg was killed in 1568 near Heiligerlee and his son Charles sold the island in 1615 to the States of Holland.

The Dutch lords of Ter-Schelling lived in a castle in Stryp and the government was established in Midsland.

At Oosterend there is an artificial hill (wier) on which the stins would have stood. Medieval bricks have been found below ground level at the top of the wier and a moat clearly ran around the wier.

You can also find such a wier near the town of Lies.

Unfortunately, the Stins does not appear on old maps and no images have been preserved, making it impossible to say anything about the appearance of the Stins.

At the Popmastins there was a chapel, the one gate, where café-restaurant de Boschplaat is now located. Behind that chapel was a cemetery and the road in front of that chapel is still called the "corpse road" (lijkweg).

The coat of arms of the Terschellinger Popmas differs from that of the Frisian Popmas, because there is a Star of David (= pole star) next to the lily.