Vlieland is one of the so called Waddeneilanden (West Frisian Islands), located between Texel and Terschelling. The island was permanently separated from the mainland during St. Lucia's flood in 1287. The name Vlieland is probably derived from "Insula Fle", which means “the island near the Flevostroom”, which was the estuary of the river IJssel in medieval times.

Vlieland used to consist of two villages: West-Vlieland and Oost-Vlieland. Before the latter became of any importance, West-Vlieland (Westeynde) was already a prosperous village. Storm tides in 1717 and 1727 caused the collapse of the village. In 1736, the last houses were evacuated. Oost-Vlieland was is the only remaining village on the island.

Because of its cultural-historical value, Oost-Vlieland has had the status of a protected village sight since 1971, with the Dorpsstraat (main image and PiP1) as its most important street. It has 39 buildings that have been declared national monuments. The oldest house on Vlieland is the building in which museum Tromp's Huys is located. This building dates back to 1575. Without doubt, one of the most famous (and important) inhabitants of Vlieland was Willem de Vlamingh: a sea captain who explored the central west coast of Australia in the late 17th century. This explorer is honoured with a statue on the Havenplein in Oost-Vlieland (PiP2 and 3).

The island of Vlieland has a surface area of only 39 square km and therefore is the smallest inhabited Waddeneiland of the Netherlands. With about 1.150 inhabitants - about 30 inhabitants per km² - Vlieland is the second least populated municipality in the Netherlands.