Contributions of the group Gronings Landschap

Nederland - Oudeschans, Garnizoenskerk

nobody@ipernity.com (Jaap van 't Veen) — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 06:43:43 +0000

Oudeschans is a village with a population of less than 100 people in the Dutch province of Groningen. The 16th-century fortification is now a state protected village area with a couple of national heritage sites, among which a 17th-century garrison church.

The former garrison church was built in 1626 and originally served the military stationed here. It is an extremely austere hall church. In 1772, the church and the presbytery were joined together to form a whole, which is quite exceptional.

The church of Oudeschans serves as a multifunctional centre for the village. It functions as polling station, village hall, concert hall and wedding hall. Once a year, on New Year's Eve, a service is held in the church.

Nederland - Kerk van Ezinge

nobody@ipernity.com (Jaap van 't Veen) — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 06:59:11 +0000

Jaap van 't Veen has posted:

The Kerk van Ezinge (Church of Ezinge) is a single nave Romanesque church, which was built in the 13th century. The free-standing tower also dates from this period. The original entrances to the church are bricked-up. On the south side was the entrance for men - with a separate entrance for priests - and on the north side the entrance for women.

The church was restored in 1959 and is recognized as a national monument. The detached tower and the house built against the tower also have the status of a national monument. The small building beside the tower was originally a vergery and school. In 2011-2013 church and organ were restored again.

The buildings are located on the edge of a partially excavated wierde (a man made mound), protecting them against the sea. I have used some pictures from 2007, because nowadays trees largely hide the buildings almost completely (PiP1).

Ezinge is a village in the north of the province of Groningen; it is the oldest, constantly inhabited village in the Netherlands and is in archaeological context referred to as "the Pompeii of the North". The village is a protected village area

Nederland - Den Ham, Kerkje Harkema

nobody@ipernity.com (Jaap van 't Veen) — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 06:38:02 +0000

Jaap van 't Veen has posted:

Not the most impressive, beautiful or oldest church, but most probably one of the most remarkable churches in the Netherlands is Kerkje Harkema. Around 1960, livestock farmer Albert Harkema became the owner of a monastery farm and the surrounding farmlands.

Harkema soon started with digging and expanding of the old moat around the farm and in miniature he imitated the head-neck-torso farm as a shelter for the ducks. Later on he constructed the tower, followed by the construction of a miniature version of the former hospice of the nearby Abbey of Aduard. He used 12.000 bricks from Belgium, the organ from the Dutch village of IJhorst and Maria-statues of from more southern places.

Forty years later his long cherished wish - building his own church - became reality. A hidden gem in the middle of nowhere, surrounded from all sides by more than 2.000 years old landscape. Next to the church is a teahouse, also built by Harkema.

Nederland - Niehove en kerk

nobody@ipernity.com (Jaap van 't Veen) — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 16:29:00 +0000

Jaap van 't Veen has posted:

The village of Niehove dates back to before our era. Initially it was called Suxwort (Zuidwierde); around the year of 1200 it got its current name. Niehove is a beautiful example of a wierde village: a wierde is a man made elevation that served as a location for villages and as a refuge during rising water. Under the name Suxwort the village was for centuries the capital of Humsterland, which at that time - when the sea came much further inland - was a real island.

Niehove remained largely unchanged through the centuries. The village resembles a kind of spider’s web on its round wierde. The little red brick houses are located in two circles around the church, with their backs turned to the fields.

The church of Niehove (couldn’t find a ‘real’ name) is located on the top of the wierde. The Roman-Gothic church was built around the year of 1230, on the spot where a little wooden church has stood. Until the 16th century it was the only stone building in the village. It was not until the 18th century that the church was furnished with benches. Before then, churchgoers had to stand: men at the south side and women at the north side. For a long time, the Niehove churchyard was separated from the street by a circular canal, which was to force ghosts to remain at the churchyard and prevent them from venturing out into the village.

Today the church has an interesting visitor centre with information about the village and Humsterland. It is also used for events and weddings.

Nederland - Lauwersoog, Hondsroos

nobody@ipernity.com (Jaap van 't Veen) — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 06:53:06 +0000

Jaap van 't Veen has posted:

The hondsroos (dog rose) is quite common in the Netherlands. I came across a lot of them during a walk in the National Park Lauwersmeer. Its flowers - blooming in June and July - are usually pale pink, but can vary between a deep pink and white. They are 4 - 6 centimeters in diameter with five petals.

The name hondsroos refers to ancient Greek medicine when the plant was used against hondsdolheid (= rabies).

Nederland - Haren, De Helper

nobody@ipernity.com (Jaap van 't Veen) — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 07:26:03 +0000

Jaap van 't Veen has posted:

Not so long ago I visited windmill The Helper on the shore of the Paterswoldsemeer. On that gray rainy day I decided to come back at another time.

That moment came much sooner than expected. Due to the corona crisis, travelling abroad was no longer possible and I was already happy with a trip to this part of my country. Now under totally different circumstances: nice sunny weather with even sunbathing visitors along the water's edge.

What a difference with three months ago: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/49807386

De Helper is a polder mill on the east bank of the Paterswoldsemeer.

The mill was built in 1863 south of the city of Groningen for the drainage of the Helpman polder using a screw pump. In the sixties of the 20th century the mill became permanently out of use and fell into disrepair. Because of the expansion of the city of Groningen and the construction of the A28 motorway in 1969 De Helper was demolished at its original location. In 1971 the mill was rebuilt on its present location on the banks of the Paterswoldsemeer. The mill is in operation on a voluntary basis.

Nederland - Bellingwolde, Veldkamp's Meuln

nobody@ipernity.com (Jaap van 't Veen) — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 07:08:01 +0000

Jaap van 't Veen has posted:

Veldkamp's Meuln (Veldkamp’s Mill) is a 19th century seven storey tower mill, with a stage at the third floor level. The mill was built in 1855 as a grist and oil mill and owned by the Veldkamp family for many years, which explains the name of the mill.

During its existence the mill was regularly damaged by storms, namely in 1895, 1972 and 1976. The mill was restored several times, the last time in 2002. Since then, the mill is regularly operated by a volunteer miller. Most of the husking machinery has disappeared, the mill still possesses two pairs of millstones.

Since the year of 1972 the mill is a national heritage site. Nowadays Veldkamp's Meuln is owned by the municipality. The mill is open for visitors, although it has limited opening hours.

Nederland - Oudeschans, Doodenbastion

nobody@ipernity.com (Jaap van 't Veen) — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 07:07:22 +0000

Jaap van 't Veen has posted:

Oudeschans is the smallest fortress-village of the Netherlands. The fortress itself was built in 1593 ad the fortification was used for military purposes until 1814. The sconce changed into a common rural village and much of the military past disappeared. Until 1972, when a reconstruction of the fortress started. As a result the walls, moats and bastion are visible again. Almost twenty years later the fortification became a state protected village area.

Oudeschans had and has four so called bastions: a pentagonal masonry or earthen extension of a defensive wall or embankment. On one of the bastions lies a cemetery, called the Doodenbastion (“Death Bastion”). It is situated on a bastion because the fortress itself was located in a marshy area, which is not very suitable for a cemetery. The cemetery has been put into use shortly after the construction of the fortress. The cemetery has very old tombstones and tombs from our time.

Nederland - Oudeschans

nobody@ipernity.com (Jaap van 't Veen) — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 07:33:09 +0000

Jaap van 't Veen has posted:

In the middle of the 16th century the first inhabitants are mentioned on the site of today's Oudeschans. In those days a zijl (lock opening to the sea) was built in the river Westerwoldse Aa, on a strategic position close to a bay of the Wadden Sea. In the year of 1593 - during the Eighty Years’ War, or Dutch War of Independence (1566–1648) - Count Willem Lodewijk van Nassau-Dillenburg built a fortress around the lock, where he moored his 150 ships and had 2.200 troops disembark. The fortress played an important role in the battle of the Dutch troops against the Spanish authority.

The fortification was initially named Bellingwolderschans (Sconce of Bellingwolde). It was renamed Oudeschans (Old Sconce), after the fortification of Nieuweschans was built in 1628. As a result of reclamation and the relocation of the river, the fortress became less important in the middle of the 17th century. In the 18th century the sconce was neglected and disbanded in 1814. At the end of the 20th century, the remains of the sconce were made more clearly recognizable, reinforcing the character of the old fortress of Oudeschans.

Nowadays Oudeschans is a quiet village with just more than hundred inhabitants. In 1991 the walls, canal, bastions, and several other buildings became state protected monuments. The Garrison Church was built in 1626, near the harbour, nowadays a lawn with trees (main image). In 1772 the church was moved and a presbytery was built against it on the north side. A small museum in the village reminds of the military past.

Nederland - Noordlaren, Hunebed G1

nobody@ipernity.com (Jaap van 't Veen) — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 07:09:49 +0000

Jaap van 't Veen has posted:

Hunebedden (megalithic tombs) are the oldest monuments in the Netherlands. They were built more than 5.000 years ago in the last phase of the Stone Age by people of the Funnel Beaker Culture, who buried their dead in these hunebedden. They were built from the erratic boulders pushed here by the ice sheets during the Ice Ages.

Hunebed G1 is the only one still standing in the province of Groningen (one other is exhibited in a museum). G1 is the most northerly hunebed on the Hondsrug (a complex of several ridges formed by the land ice at the end of the Saale glaciation, 370.000 to 130.000 years ago). Officially known as G1, the hunebed is colloquially known as Hunebed ’t Heiveen. The first written record dates from 1694. It was excavated in 1957.

The tomb is no longer complete and nowadays has only one keystone, four uprights and two lintels remain. The most striking lintel is enormous (PiP1) - obviously far too large for the stone robbers. Although G1 is not complete any longer, by carefully marking with cement the position of the missing six uprights (PiP2), the one keystone and the two portal stones, which gives a good impression of the original size. Next to the tomb stands a large stone (PiP3) which was possibly once part of it.

Nederland - Haren, De Helper

nobody@ipernity.com (Jaap van 't Veen) — Fri, 20 Mar 2020 08:24:34 +0000

Jaap van 't Veen has posted:

De Helper is a polder mill on the east bank of the Paterswoldsemeer.

The mill was built in 1863 south of the city of Groningen for the drainage of the Helpman polder using a screw pump. In the sixties of the 20th century the mill became permanently out of use and fell into disrepair. Because of the expansion of the city of Groningen and the construction of the A28 motorway in 1969 De Helper was demolished at its original location. In 1971 the mill was rebuilt on its present location on the banks of the Paterswoldsemeer. The mill is in operation on a voluntary basis.

Nederland - Glimmen, Appelbergen

nobody@ipernity.com (Jaap van 't Veen) — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 08:37:27 +0000

Jaap van 't Veen has posted:

Nature area Appelbergen is a former military training area where troops assembled for field exercises. It is located east of the village of Glimmen on the Hondsrug. This complex of several ridges was formed by the land ice at the end of the Saale glaciation (370.000 to 130.000 years ago).

All over Appelbergen one can find traces of the last ice age (the Weichselian glaciation, 115.000 years to 10.000 years ago). For instance pingos, or hills of ice, which rose up and then collapsed when the ice melted. Nowadays they show up like round pools.

In the Appelbergen is the Grote Veen (main image and PiPs 1 and 2) a large peat bog with a round shape. Most probably it is one of the pingos. In World War II the Germans killed 34 people and buried them secretly here; 19 were found, but the other 15 have never been recovered. A part of the Grote Veen has been dug out in order to find these war victims. Despite the fact that nothing was found, a sober monument has been erected in 2004 in memory of them (PiP3).