Although it is one of the eleven Frisian cities, Harlingen is perhaps the least Frisian of them all, and few people speak the Frisian language as their mother tongue. It's a quaint little port town, which gained its fortune through fishing and trade. Still today, several commercial boating routes leave from here, on their way to Scandinavia or further. Some of the original fortifications have survived the test of time, as have the canals and a good number of historic warehouses and mansions.