Waterside Gardens
IJlst
Unique and characteristic to IJlst are the waterside gardens on each side of the Ee.
Unique and characteristic to IJlst are the waterside gardens on each side of the Ee.
Elderly people referring to these yards in the Frisian language, will often speak of the 'bleek’ (bleach). This was the old function of such a grassy area, to bleach the white laundry. After a boil wash in the olden days, the laundry was laid out on the grass, so that the sunlight could dry and bleach it. The previous residents of the Galama and Eegracht canalside houses in IJlst had their bleaches on the other side of the street. They needed to cross the street to reach them therefore, hence the Dutch word 'overtuin': garden on the other side. With the invention of washing machines, the bleaching function was to disappear.
Yet the people of IJlst have kept their gardens on the other side, and preserved this unique feature of the city. Nowadays, this is common land owned by the municipality and made available to the community for use, as long as it is kept well maintained. Each year, on the first Saturday of June, the people of IJlst organise the 'Overtuinen fair'. Around 50 stalls are then set up in the many gardens. Between them, they offer a variety of curiosities, bric-a-brac, antiques, garden furniture, home decoration, or flowers and plants, clothing and religious statues. There are also tasty treats, and artists practising many crafts and trades. And so the ‘overtuinen’ have regained an active and very useful function.
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Church of Hindeloopen
Church of Hindeloopen
The Hindeloopen skyline is dominated by its church, called Grote Kerk, visible from many miles away. The old church of Hindeloopen was destroyed during the Eighty Years’ War, in 1570.
Hindeloopen -
Jacobuskerk Church in Delfstrahuizen
Jacobuskerk Church in Delfstrahuizen
The Jacobuskerk church was designed by the architect J. Schreur and built in 1908. An extension was subsequently added to the back of the church. The church was designed in neo-Renaissance style, including a gable tower with a constricted spire.
Delfstrahuizen -
Vaste Burchtkerk Fortress Church
Vaste Burchtkerk Fortress Church
The substantial tower of this church rises proudly above the Van Coehoorn forest, which is named after the strategist and fortress builder Menno Van Coehoorn, who is buried in a spectacular mausoleum in the church.
Wijckel -
11Fountains Bolsward
11Fountains Bolsward
Bats are intriguing, useful animals, crucial to the ecological system for their insect hunting. In Asian culture, the bat symbolises wealth, happiness and the blessings of old age.
Bolsward -
Standbeeld Grutte Pier
Standbeeld Grutte Pier
De grootste volksheld uit de Friese geschiedenis moet wel Pier Gerlofs Donia (1480-1520) zijn, oftewel Grutte Pier. Als gewone boer uit Kimswerd speelde een belangrijke rol in de strijd voor een onafhankelijk Friesland.
Kimswerd -
Mummy Crypt in Wiuwert
Mummy Crypt in Wiuwert
In 1765, carpenters working in St Nicholas Church in Wiuwert had the fright of their lives when they unexpectedly came across seven perfectly preserved bodies in the crypt. The carpenters fled from the church in panic.
Wiuwert -
Jacobikerk Church
Jacobikerk Church
The Jacobikerk church stands on the terp in the village of Wommels. The single-nave church built in the 13th century was restored after a fire in around 1508. In the three-tier tower built in 1862 there are two bells. One was cast by Geert van Wou in 1494
Wommels
