IJlst is one of the eleven Frisian cities. It's quite difficult for an English speaking person to pronounce the city's name, but if you want to take a crack at it, say something in between 'eye' and 'hey' for the IJ (which is a Dutch letter).
The city is 725 years old and lays on the borders of the IJsselmeer. In the 17th and 18th century, IJlst ships 'ruled' the waves as far as Spain and Scandinavia. Until 1800, the IJlst type of ship called kogge was the kind of water transport in Holland. Because of the many historical buildings in the city centre, IJlst has a protected cityscape, which means that government authorization is required for every change to a building or any other street scenery object.
Despite its city rights, IJlst is just a small town. It's the capital to a district named Wymbritseradiel, which has no more than 16,000 inhabitants in total. IJlst's nearest large city is Sneek.