Best of Friesland

Fryslân's Absolute Essentials

Fryslân’s landscape is defined by its centuries-old relationship with water and engineering. This collection features the UNESCO-listed Wouda Pumping Station, the massive Afsluitdijk causeway, and historic windmills like the Himriksmole. Architectural highlights include Leeuwarden’s leaning Oldehove tower and the medieval Skierstins, the province's only remaining fortified tower house. From the maritime defenses of the Kornwerderzand bunkers to the iconic red lighthouse on Ameland, these sites represent the engineering and cultural history of the Frisian people.

Fryslân's Absolute Essentials — Map

C messier / CC BY-SA 4.0

A

Afsluitdijk

The Afsluitdijk is a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands. It was constructed between 1927 and 1932 and runs from Den Oever in North…

Antoine / CC BY-SA 3.0

B

Oldehove

The Oldehove is a leaning and unfinished church tower in the medieval centre of the Dutch city of Leeuwarden.

Pa3ems / CC BY-SA 3.0

C

Wouda Pumping Station

The ir. D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station is a pumping station in the Netherlands, and the largest still operational steam-powered…

D

Grote of Jacobijnerkerk

The largest medieval church in Leeuwarden, dating to the late 13th century. It serves as the burial site for members of the Frisian Nassau family.

Denis Janssen / CC BY-SA 2.5

E

Waterpoort

The Waterpoort or Hoogendster Pijp is a water gate, a gate in a defensive wall that connects a city to a waterway.

Vidi Condor / CC BY-SA 3.0

F

kazemat VII

A 1930s concrete bunker part of the Stelling Kornwerderzand, a defensive line built to protect the Afsluitdijk and the northern Netherlands.

Vidi Condor / CC BY-SA 3.0

G

kazemat II

A defensive fortification on the Afsluitdijk, belonging to the Kornwerderzand military complex constructed in the 1930s.

Vidi Condor / CC BY-SA 3.0

H

kazemat XIV

One of the many concrete bunkers located at Kornwerderzand, designed to defend the sluices and the dam during World War II.

Vidi Condor / CC BY-SA 3.0

I

kazemat XVI

A military bunker within the Stelling Kornwerderzand complex, which successfully resisted German attacks in May 1940.

J

Lorentzsluizen

A complex of discharge sluices and shipping locks on the Afsluitdijk that regulates water levels between the IJsselmeer and the Wadden Sea.

K

De Jansmolen, Goëngahuizen

De Jansmolen or De Modden is a Hollow Post mill in Goëngahuizen, Friesland, Netherlands which has been restored as a landscape feature.

L

Koartwâld

A traditional corn and hulling windmill built in 1864, also known as De Hoop, located in Surhuisterveen.

Quistnix / CC BY-SA 2.5

M

De Hatsumermolen, Dronryp

De Hatsumermolen is a smock mill in Dronryp, Friesland, Netherlands which was built in 1878.

Rasbak / CC BY-SA 3.0

N

Himriksmole

The Himriksmole, also known as Groene Ster after the recreational area and nature reserve where it is located, is a drainage mill near the…

Udo Ockema / CC BY 3.0

O

Aldfaers Erf Museum

An open-air museum village in Allingawier depicting historical Frisian life through restored 18th and 19th-century buildings, including a bakery and a blacksmith.

P

Vuurtoren Ameland

A 55-meter tall cast-iron lighthouse built in 1880. Known for its distinct red and white horizontal bands and panoramic views over the Wadden Sea.

Gouwenaar / Public domain

Q

Harinxmastate

A 19th-century neoclassical manor house surrounded by extensive gardens and parkland in the village of Beetsterzwaag.

Wutsje / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA… / CC BY-SA 3.0

R

Skierstins

The Skierstins is a medieval Stienhús built c. 1300 out of brick in Feanwâlden.

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