Achtkarspelen

Achtkarspelen () is a municipality in Friesland in the northern Netherlands.
History.
The name "Achtkarspelen", literally meaning "eight parishes", is derived from the original eight parishes within the "grietenij", namely: Augustinusga, Buitenpost (the capital), Drogeham, De Kooten, Kortwoude, Lutkepost, Surhuizum and Twijzel. Achtkarspelen held a separate status within Friesland for many years. In the Middle Ages Achtkarspelen fell under the Bishopric of Münster, meanwhile the rest of Friesland was a part of the Bishopric of Utrecht.
The "grietenij" Achtkarspelen became a municipality in 1851 as a result of the Municipality Act of Minister of the Interior Johan Rudolph Thorbecke.
Population centres.
The administrative centre in the municipality is Buitenpost.