Frisia Beyond Redbad. Frisia and the Frisians ca. 400–800 AD

On the initiative of the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden, the NIhK is participating in a German-Dutch project aimed at intensifying cross-border cooperation between museums, research and educational institutions in Friesland, Groningen and East Frisia. Other project partners include the East Frisian State Museum in Emden, the East Frisian Landscape, Learning Hub Friesland, Berufsschule Firda, Mythemakers, Fryske Akademy und die Universität Groningen. The focus is on the fascinating history of the Frisian king Radbod (c. 670–719), who ruled over early medieval Friesland. The project will result in a special exhibition that will first be shown in Leeuwarden and then in Emden. The NIhK is primarily involved in the production of a scholarly book on early medieval Friesland. The authors include Christina Peek, Dr. Kirsten Hüser, Dr. Mike Belasus and Prof. Dr Hauke Jöns, as well as Prof. Dr Felix Bittmann, Dr. Daniel Hepp, Dr. Katrin Struckmeyer and Selina Pohl. The book is scheduled for publication in autumn 2026. In addition, the NIhK is conducting a textile archaeological study on Frisian cloth, which is much discussed in the literature. For this reason, the research is done in close cooperation with the project ‘quality and sustainability around 700 AD: the clothing of the man from Bernuthsfeld’, which is also being carried out at the NIhK. Furthermore, the NIhK will loan objects for the planned exhibitions. The funds required to implement the project are being provided by the Interreg VI A Programme Germany–Netherlands. The project began in autumn 2024 and will be completed in 2027.