Jaap van 't Veen's photos

Access bridge across the inner moat to Kasteel Twickel . This bridge was built in 1709 of sandstone blockwork with two round arches. The bridge forms the connection between the moated forecourt and the moated main building. The bridge has a simple wrought-iron railing. In 1987, the last restoration of this national monument took place.

In 1565 the city council of Harlingen received permission from Philips II to expand the city on the north side. This mainly concerned the widening of the northern canal to Noorderhaven (Northern Harbour) and the planned neighbourhood to the north of it. These activities were completed in the years 1579-1580 and Harlingen had approximately tripled in size. This tidal port accommodated many vessels that came from the Frisian hinterland and was connected to the sea. The port became a popular place to live for wealthy citizens and still has many monumental houses today. Warehouses were also built along the water. Some names of the warehouses recall the destinations of the merchants, such as Poland, Russia, Java, and Sumatra. In 1730, town architect H.J. Norel started with the construction of the new town hall , which is also located along the Noorderhaven .

The 'new old' town hall of Harlingen - one of the eleven Frisian cities - stands on the south side of the Noorderhaven opposite the Raadhuisbrug. The block-shaped building was built in 1730 by city architect Hendrik Jacobs Norel in Louis XIV style. In 1756, a new wing replaced the 16th-century Renaissance town hall behind this new building; only a tower was retained (PiP3). At the front, the symmetrical facade has a balcony and a gilded statue of Michael, the patron saint of the city of Harlingen. The statue was made by Gerbrandus van der Haven. The town hall is more than ‘just’ a monument, as it is still in use by the municipality.

Firdgum is a small village on a terp (a man made mound), created in the Middle Ages. The little village has about 30 houses and 70 inhabitants. Until 1794 there was a 13th century Reformed church, dedicated to St. Nicolas. The church was demolished in 1794 as it was too dilapidated and dangerous to hold services in. The tower made of bricks - which still contains a bell from 1471 - has remained and still rises like a 19 meter high landmark in the flat landscape. The three-storey gabled tower was restored in 1922 and a Lombard band was added. In 1986 the tower was restored again. The church tower is a national heritage monument of the Netherlands.

The Corn Carrier’s House with the beautiful stepped gable dates from 1634. At that time, the “corn and grain carriers” formed a guild-like professional group. The corn carrier - in earlier times an official appointed by the city council to ensure that the trade in grain was conducted fairly - was responsible for distributing corn and grain from incoming ships. They determined the quantities of corn to be supplied and the excise duty to be paid.

Franeker - one of the eleven cities of Friesland - was probably founded around the year 800. From the 11th to the 16th century, Franeker developed into the administrative centre of the region. In the 15th century, Duke Albrecht van Saksen settled in Franeker and the town received city rights. Franeker seemed to be developing into the capital of Friesland, but was surpassed by Leeuwarden. Without a doubt, the graceful city hall is the most beautiful building in the city. The first stone was laid in 1591 and the construction took three years. It is one of the earliest town halls in the Frisian Renaissance style; beautifully detailed and decorated. Above the main entrance, the coat of arms of Friesland is depicted and at the top of the gable, the statue of Lady Justice, the goddess of justice, is displayed. The side wing of the building looks completely different and dates from 1760. The building is a national monument and is listed in the top 100 of Dutch heritage sites.

A collage of flowers we came across during a cycle trip on the island of Vlieland.

There has been a chapel - first mentioned in 1245 - at this location on the island of Vlieland, which was dedicated to Saint Nicholas. It became a parish church in the late Middle Ages. Later, it was elevated to a parish church. As the village of West-Vlieland gradually became depopulated (see: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/50819386) and the inhabitants moved to Oost-Vlieland, the need arose for a larger building. After the Reformation the chapel was replaced by the present building, using bricks from the demolished chapel. The Nicolaaskerk (Nicholas Church) was built in 1605 as an east-west oriented simple hall church. At that point it was one of the first church buildings in the Netherlands built voor Protestant services. In 1647 the church was extended in the direction of the church square and acquired its current form. The interior of the Nicolaaskerk is famous for the whale jaws that were once used as tombstones, but were brought inside because of the acid rain. Many parts of the church are made of jute wood, like some pews, and a panel of the pulpit once was a door of a ship. The chandeliers were donated by the King of Sweden and Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, one of the most skilled Dutch admirals in history. (Unfortunately, due to the corona measures, it was not possible for me to visit the interior of the church. We could only catch a glimpse of it from behind a locked glass door.) The last restoration of the - nowadays - only church on Vlieland was in 1997. For a time it was known as Hervormde Kerk , but is now named by its original name, Nicolaaskerk . In addition to services, it serves also as a venue for concerts.

Het Oude Raadhuis (The Old Town Hall) was built in 1855 to replace a building from 1598. The town hall was built in neo-classical style. Two gable stones still remind one of the old town hall: one with the year 1598 and one with Vlieland's coat of arms on it. The town hall has a hip-roof with chimneys at the corners. On the roof is a bell tower, on which a weather vane in the shape of a ship is placed. The pillars in front of the door bear the two former coats of arms of Oost- and West-Vlieland. The building was registered as a national monument in 1967. In 2001 Het Oude Raadhuis was sold to the Vereniging Hendrick de Keyser (an association aiming to be the guardian of the architectural heritage of The Netherlands by acquiring, conserving, restoring and renting out historic properties). This association had Het Oude Raadhuis restored in 2005. Nowadays the building is used as a wedding venue.

Vlieland has a number of scattered forests, although these did not originally belong to the island. They are now over 100 years old; planted at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, 300 ha of the dunes on Vlieland were converted into woodland. The main purpose was to get a grip on the shifting sand. On the highest points of the island, maritime pines were planted (this species can withstand dryness). Furthermore, Corsican, Austrian, and mountain pines were planted. Each pine was given its own place.

The history of Het Armhuis dates back to 1632. In that year it was decided that a kind of home for former sailors should be created. Thanks to a generous donation from the clergyman Abraham Ursinius, the deaconry was able to take on this task. For centuries the house provided shelter to old (seafaring) people, the needy and later also to orphans. Until 1950 it functioned as an Armhuis . After a thorough restoration in 1997, the building was used as a restaurant and gallery (in the meantime the restaurant will be closed on 1 June 2021). Het Armhuis is also an official wedding location on Vlieland.

De Vuurduin is the landmark of the island of Vlieland. This lighthouse - also called the Rode Kabouter (Red Gnome) - is a monument. It is only 16.8 metres high, but thanks to its location on the 42-metre-high Vuurboetsduin , the light from the tower shines 55 metres above sea level. The lights and the glass are stationary; a sort of curtain rotates to screen the light every two seconds. The cast-iron red tower was originally the superstructure of a tower from IJmuiden and was transferred to Vlieland in 1909. In 1929, an observation post on stilts was built next to the lighthouse. In 1986, the dome of the lighthouse was completely renovated. De Vuurduin works completely automatically. The lighthouse keeper is still regularly present for visitors. The stairs to the panoramic roof have 49 steps; the lamp is 9 steps higher. From the lighthouse one has a unique view over two seas: the Wadden Sea and the North Sea.

Vlieland is one of the Dutch Waddeneilanden (West Frisian Islands). The (car-free) island is known for its beautiful beaches. The wide beach on the North Sea is one of the most beautiful and cleanest in the Netherlands. On the west side of the beach (at the end of the Reddingbootpad ), there is a 'nursery' of new dunes (PiP5). The beach of Vlieland is about 15 kilometres long and 150 metres wide on average. It has only two beach pavilions (PiP4).

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.

Estate Oud Groevenbeek was acquired by Jacob Hendrik van Schermbeek at the beginning of the 20th century. He He had an existing house demolished and replaced it by a new, much larger house, which was built in 1907-1908 in Art Nouveau style to a design by the architects L.A. van Essen and J. van Zeggeren from Harderwijk. Around this period, in the immediate vicinity of the manor house and a farm, a number of outbuildings were also constructed, such as a gardener's house, a coach house and a greenhouse complex with a flower and grape greenhouse PiP5), which offers grapevines up to 90 years old. These buildings are located within a park-like layout that was inspired by the English landscape style and which incorporated the existing lanes and historical field complexes. The park layout was probably designed by Jacob van Schermbeek himself with the garden architect Copijn as advisor. Another striking element is the castle-like water tower (PiP6), which was built in 1912 on an artificially created hill. It was taken out of use in 1950 and restored in 1994. Oud Groevenbeek estate remained in the possession of the family for a considerable time. In 1968, when the estate had fallen into disrepair, it was sold by the then owner P.A. van Schermbeek to Natuurmonumenten (Society for Preservation of Nature Monuments in the Netherlands). This society has restored this Dutch national monument completely in the old style and ina perfect condition. Nowadays it is possible to rent one of the holiday suites in Oud Groevenbeek.

The protestant Sint-Agathakerk - before the refomation dedicated to St. Agatha - is dating back to the year of 1090. The church was originally built as a Romanesque church and was later rebuilt in a Gothic style. The detached tower, built around 1140 as a Romanesque defence tower, of which the spire was replaced in 1888 by a tented roof, has walls more than one meter thick, tuff on the outside and bricks on the inside. The tower has one clock from the 14th century; most probably the oldest clock in the Netherlands (another one is from 1949). In the 14th century the church was lengthened with a choir and two Gothic entrances were added to the nave. Most of the building is of tuff, but the Gothic former northern entrance is of brick. The shape of the choir changed in 1599, when the apse was replaced by the current east wall. In 1717 bigger windows were added to the nave and the east wall. The Sint-Agathakerk is listed as a national monument and is rated with a very high historical value.

The Oudorperhout is the oldest polder in the Netherlands. The area of 42 hectares is bordered by the centuries-old cobbled road "Munnikenweg" and the “Hoornse Vaart” with its windmills . After the village of Oudorp was merged with the city of Alkmaar, part of the polder remained open and developed into a unique meadow landscape with many birds, ponds, ditches, reed beds and unique plants. In the Oudorperhout the remains of two castles built in 1290 are visible: “Nieuwburg” and “Middelburg”.

Along the Molenkade on the banks of the Hoornsevaart are four of the six surviving windmills of Oudorp, once a separate village and municipality, now surrounded by modern housing and annexed to the city of Alkmaar in 1972. Originally there were six windmills on the dike - built from 1627 to 1630 - to drain the adjoining polder. One burnt down in 1688 and one was dismantled, to be rebuilt at the Netherlands Open-Air Museum in Arnhem. While it was there in storage, during World War II, it was destroyed by a British bomb. The four mills are simply called Strijkmolen B, C, D en E . Mill “C” burned down twice - 1998 and 2004 - but is rebuilt again. A strijkmolen is a water mill with a very low elevation, which "smooths" the water from one storage basin to another. The mill itself does not have the function of a polder mill, although its construction is similar. In fact, it is a storage pumping station.The term strijkmolen was only used in the province of North Holland.