Who was the Princess of Zweeloo?
As far as is known, Zweeloo did not have its own royal house. Who was that woman and why was she called princess?
Roelof Schuiling of the Zweeloo Historical Society wrote a chapter about the ‘princess’ in the book Sweel and the Zweelers. He thinks that the woman in question is not from the village at all. “It wasn’t Zweeloos. She probably came from Northern Germany.”
He bases this on archaeological finds made in her grave. This includes a gold-plated fibula. in other words, a closing pin, which was used to keep a woolen cloak closed. And necklaces with amber and glass beads. The jewelry was discovered in 1952 in a field opposite the Zweeloo church.
The kind of stuff found at the dig was also found at digs in northern Germany. “The grave is dated to the year 450, the time of the great population movements. So maybe she comes from there,” says Schuiling.
The fact that valuable jewelry was found indicates that the woman in the grave was very wealthy. “And who was rich? In history and stories, it was a princess. That is why the people involved in the excavation came up with the slogan of the Princess of Zweeloo.”